About
About the data
What each entry type means, how passports are scored, and what to check before you travel.
Check before you travel
Entry rules change, and your residence, existing visas, travel dates, transit and reason for travel can all affect entry. Confirm current rules with the destination’s immigration authority or embassy before booking.
Dates
The rules were last updated on September 28, 2026. That is when the data was updated, not when a rule was last officially confirmed. Each comparison column shows the date of its data.
A few rules are missing, mostly for Palestine, Kosovo, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan. They show as “Not confirmed” and don’t count toward any score.
Entry types
- Visa-free
- No visa needed for a short visit. You may still be asked for an arrival form, an onward ticket or proof of funds.
- Visa on arrival
- You get the visa at the border, usually for a fee. Not every airport or land crossing issues it.
- eTA required
- Not a visa, but an approval you apply for online and must have before you travel, like the US ESTA or the UK ETA.
- eVisa required
- A visa you apply for online before you travel. It is still a visa, and approval can take several days.
- Visa required
- Apply for a visa before you travel, usually through an embassy or consulate.
- Entry restricted
- Entry is refused or restricted for this passport. Check official guidance for any exceptions.
- Home country
- The country that issued the passport. It is not counted as a destination.
- Not confirmed
- No rule is listed for this destination. Don’t take that as permission to enter.
How passports are scored
The global ranking
Only destinations marked visa-free count toward the score. Visas on arrival, eTAs, eVisas, and the passport’s home country are excluded. The dataset covers 199 passports and 198 international destinations per passport.
Equal scores share a rank. If two passports tie at #1, the next rank is #3. Regional filters retain the global rank. This differs from broader mobility scores such as the Passport Index.
Comparing and combining
Shared access means all selected passports are visa-free. Combined access means at least one is. Additional access counts destinations beyond the first passport’s visa-free list. All selected home countries are excluded from these totals.
Mixed-date comparisons are illustrative. Missing stay durations do not mean unlimited entry. Regional allowances may be shared across destinations.
How entry types are assigned
A destination that needs no visa but does need an electronic travel authorisation (ESTA, eTA, ETA, NZeTA, K-ETA and similar) counts as an eTA, so the visa-free score only includes destinations that need no approval before travel. Where both an eVisa and a visa on arrival are available, the visa on arrival is shown.
Rules are not equally detailed for every passport: one may note an authorisation that another leaves out. Check the destination’s official site for the trip you plan.
How updates are handled
Each update is checked before it goes live. It is held back for review when a passport’s rules are missing or incomplete, when more than 2% of rules are missing, or when more than 5% of rules change at once. An accepted update replaces the data in one step, and the previous version is kept.
Credits
Visa rules are adapted from the “Visa requirements for … citizens” articles by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. The adapted data, including the CSV export and the API, is shared under the same licence. Passport Unlock is independent and not endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation.
Map geometry: D3 Maps Atlas. Flags: flag-icons.