Passport reach measures what a passport opens. For each of 199 passports (the 193 UN members plus Taiwan, Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, Kosovo, Palestine and the Holy See), Palanor records what the governments of the largest economies allow its holders to do, from each government's own published list, and weights each destination by the size of its economy. It is a Palanor calculation, not a rating of a country, and it is not weighted into Country Strength.
The three levels
- Visit (`passport.reach.visit.<iso3>`): destinations the holder can enter for a short stay without arranging a visa in advance: free movement, visa-free entry, an online travel authorisation such as the U.S. ESTA, Canada's eTA or the UK ETA, or a visa on arrival. An e-visa applied for before travel does not count.
- Work (`passport.reach.work.<iso3>`): destinations where nationality carries the right to work without a permit (free movement in the EU and EEA with Switzerland, the Common Travel Area, Trans-Tasman, the Mercosur Residence Agreement, the GCC, the Compacts of Free Association with the United States, the Eurasian Economic Union, India's treaties with Nepal and Bhutan) count in full. Routes open only to some nationalities and with conditions count at half: treaty visas (the U.S. TN, E-1/E-2, E-3 and H-1B1) and working-holiday visas for young adults.
- Live (`passport.reach.live.<iso3>`): destinations where nationality alone carries a right to reside.
How it is calculated
Reach is the GDP of the destinations open to the passport, as a percentage of world GDP, with the holder's own country left out of both. GDP is the World Bank's figure at market exchange rates (NY.GDP.MKTP.CD) for one year, used for the whole history, so a passport's line moves only when a list changes. Each value is for the first day of a month; the record of list changes starts on 1 January 2023. Every passport also has a rank among the 199 (ties share a rank). Destinations whose rules Palanor does not record count as closed for every passport, so reach is the same floor for everyone; the page states what share of world GDP the recorded destinations hold. There is no wage-weighted version: Palanor does not hold wage data for enough of the destinations.
Where the rules come from
Each destination's own list: the EU visa regulation (Regulation 2018/1806, Annexes I and II) for the Schengen area and Cyprus, the U.S. Visa Waiver Program and treaty country lists, the UK Immigration Rules, Canada's eTA list, Australia's ETA and eVisitor lists, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the equivalent for China, India, Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, Russia, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Argentina, Singapore, New Zealand and Ireland. Every rule cites its page and the date it was read. Palanor reads every page once a week and flags any whose text changed or that no longer names a country the table lists, for a person to re-read; a list change is recorded with the date it took effect, and the old rule is kept.
Citizenship and residence by investment
The Passports and citizenship page lists programs that grant citizenship or residence for a set investment: the cheapest route as the government publishes it (contribution or minimum investment plus mandatory government fees, for one person and for a family of two adults and two children under 16; agent fees excluded), processing time, residence or visit requirements and status (open, closed or suspended), each with its source. Where a government publishes how many people used a program, or the European Commission does in its Visa Suspension Mechanism reports, Palanor publishes the count per year and per 1,000 residents; where nobody publishes it, the cell stays empty. Country Dossiers flag countries that grant citizenship for a set investment.
What it does not say
Entry is always at the border officer's discretion. Stays are capped, travel authorisations cost money, working-holiday visas have age limits and quotas, and treaty visas need a job offer or an investment. GDP measures the size of an economy, not what a visitor can do there. Palanor does not say which passport or program anyone should acquire, and links to no agent.
Related: [Country Dossier](/help/modules/country-dossier)