By NAN Staff Writer
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Jan. 20, 2017: A lot has been said recently about the Citizenship and Investment Programs run by five Caribbean countries that allows non-nationals to invest as little as US 150,000 and secure passports there. But what power do these Caribbean passports hold? Here are the most “powerful” Caribbean passports ranked by their total visa-free score according to the latest Global Passport Index. Visa-free score represents the number of countries a passport holder can visit visa-free or with visa on arrival.
1: Barbados
Barbados is the most “powerful” passport in the Caribbean, according to the Index because it allows holders to travel to 131 countries in the world without having a visa, giving it a power rank of 22, right behind Brunei at 21
2: The second most “powerful” passport in the Caribbean is The Bahamian passport. According to the index, a holder can travel to 129 nations’ visa free with it, giving it a power rank of 23 globally, same as a passport of Vatican City as well as Mexico.
3: Antigua & Barbuda
Coming in at third of the 9 most powerful passport list is the passport of Antigua & Barbuda, which is one of five nations to run a controversial Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP). In recent years, citizenship by investment has become a US$2B industry, with over 20,000 investors seeking a second residency or citizenship around the globe every year. The Antigua & Barbuda passport has a rank of 26 globally and allows the holder to travel to 123 nations’ visa free.
4: St. Kitts & Nevis
Also coming in with a power rank of 23 and fourth on our list is St. Kitts & Nevis, which launched the controversial Citizenship by Investment Program in the Eastern Caribbean first. The St. Kitts & Nevis passport allows the holder to travel to 123 nations’ visa free.
5: Trinidad & Tobago
The fifth most powerful passport in the Caribbean according to the Index is the Trinidad & Tobago passport. Despite it crime rate, the T&T passport has a global rank of 28 and as with nationals from Costa Rica and Venezuela, its holders can travel to 212 nations globally visa free.
6: St. Vincent & the Grenadines
Coming in at 6th on our power rank list is St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which has refused to adopt the CIP. That island’s passport is ranked globally at 29th along with Taiwan and allows for visa free travel to 119 countries globally.
7: Saint Lucia
With a global rank of 30, the Saint Lucia passport comes in at 7th on our list of most powerful Caribbean passport. Its holder is able to travel to 118 nations’ visa free.
8: Grenada
Coming in at 8th on our list is the Spice Island of Grenada which also runs a CIP. The Grenadian passport scored a global power rank of 32, according to the Index and allows for visa free travel to 115 nations.
9: Dominica
Rounding out our top 9 list of most powerful Caribbean passport is Dominica. The island, which has taken severe international criticism recently for its CIP program that allows for investors of as little as USD 150,000 to secure its passport, ranks at 34th globally and allows for visa free travel to 111 nations.
GLOBALLY
Globally, Germany is the most powerful passport currently with a visa-free score of 157. Singapore overtakes South Korea and becomes the highest ranked Asian passport, with a visa free score of 156, coming second. South Korea fell to 6th place (152), while Japan, rose to 4th place, tied with European countries like Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, and others whose visa-free score is 154. The US with a visa-free score is 155 is ranked at 11th globally.
