Why Passports Matter More Now

SPEAKER_01 0:03

Hello and welcome to the World Cup of Passports. This is the Be Global Podcast, the show that explores global mobility, international opportunity, and how people build greater flexibility in an increasingly connected world. I am your host, Gisanne Campus, and today we are talking about something most of us carry at every trip, but rarely stop to think about our passport. In this episode, we are exploring the findings of the 2026 Global Passport Index, Global Citizen Solutions Annual Assessment of Passport Strength across mobility, investment attractiveness, and quality of life. Now, to help us unpack this year's finding, I am joined by Laura Madrid, lead researcher at our Global Intelligence Unit, and Manuel Gajido, Head of Marketing at Global Citizen Solutions. Welcome to the podcast. Hello, Laura. Hello, Manuel.

SPEAKER_00 1:10

Welcome, Susanny. Nice to be here.

SPEAKER_02 1:12

Welcome. Thank you for having us.

SPEAKER_01 1:14

Before we get into why the GPI is a great tool to access possible strength, I'd like to set the scene for our listeners. We live in a world where geopolitical tensions are running high, economic uncertainties everywhere, and even the simple act of travel has become more complicated than it used to be. The passport or passports you hold has never mattered more. So whether you are an investor, an advisor, or simply interested in global mobility, this episode is for you.

What The Index Really Measures

SPEAKER_01 1:51

Right, so let's dive in into how the global passport index works. Sometimes we call it GPI here, okay? Just to keep it shorter. I'd like to speak to Manuel first. Manuel, before we get into the numbers, the GPI is not just a visa-free country count. And I think that distinction really matters. What does it really mean, what does it actually measure?

SPEAKER_00 2:20

I think that to answer that, we need to go back when we first started thinking about creating our own passport index. At that time, there were, of course, already passport index in the market, but most of them were focused almost only on mobility, which is basically how many countries you can visit without a visa. And of course, that's important, but at Global System Solutions, we were speaking every day with clients who were looking for a second passport. And the questions were never only about travel. So they were asking things like where can I uh live with my family and have a better quality of life? Where can my children study? Um, where can I invest? Where is that more stability? What kind of future does this country offer? Um, so we looked at the existing rankings at that time and we felt that they uh didn't have like a fully representation of the real power of a passport. They were showing one angle, but not the full picture. So the Global Passport Index looks at a passport strength through three different dimensions: mobility, investment attractiveness, and quality of life. So, yes, of course, mobility is still a very important part of the ranking. And it has the biggest weight, 50%. But we don't look only at how many countries you can enter without a visa. We also look at the quality and the value of the access. For example, access to countries with a higher quality of life counts more than access to destinations that may be less relevant for travel or business or relocation. And also the type of visa that you can get. Um, of course, could be a uh uh visa on arrival or electronic travel authorization, or it's just plainly visa-free. So we wait different, each kind of visa as well. So the idea here is not only to ask how many places can this passport take me. It's also how useful is that access in real life. Uh, then we have the investment attractiveness, which represents 50% of the index. Here we look at the economic side of the country behind the password, things like income levels, um, innovation, tax environment, and economic competitiveness. So um if you had this passport, let's put it this way, and decide to live, invest, or do business there, what kind of economic environment would you be entering? And finally, we have the third dimension, quality of life. This is also 25% of the weight. Um, this looks at things like freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of um for the media, sustainability, environmental performance, and the overall living standards, like uh cost of living, for instance. Us it have like a high cost of living, is it low, medium? So, in the end, the index is not only uh measuring travel freedom, it's uh also trying to give you a more complete view of what a passport can actually offer to a person or to a family.

SPEAKER_01 5:42

So,

Beyond Visa Counts And Into Legacy

SPEAKER_01 5:43

Manel, that three-dimensional approach is quite deliberate on uh Global Citizen Solutions part, I guess. Yeah, exactly. So, why did your team decide decided that a single visa count ranking wasn't enough? And what should advisors tell clients who come in fixated on the headline number? I want a passport that can allow me to go to 250 countries without a visa. So um do you do you know what I mean? Do you what do you think advisors should be um guiding their clients through uh in understanding that it is beyond the visa count?

SPEAKER_00 6:26

Yeah, that that's a good question. I think that the best way to explain it is this a visa count ranking tells you where you can go, but it doesn't tell you what that access really means. For example, it does not tell you if you if those uh destinations are useful for business or education, investment, or relocation. And it also doesn't tell you much about the country behind the passport. For many clients that we have here, especially families and uh investors, a passport is not uh just about uh travel. They're looking for a second passport for them because they want um options. So, where could my children study? Where could we live in the future? So um, if someone only looks at the number of visa-free destinations, of course, they may miss the bigger picture. That's why we built the global passport index around mobility, investment, attractiveness, and also quality of life. Because we think that those are the areas that usually matter most when people are making um real life decisions. Um, and uh for us as advisors, I think that the the important thing here is, and for anyone looking into the numbers, is uh don't stop at the headline number. Okay, use it as a starting point, uh, but then look deeper. Uh the view, the the real value of a passport. We think it's not only how many doors uh it opens, but also what kind of doors they are.

SPEAKER_01 7:54

Thank you, Mel. This is really good points. Uh I like the way explained there.

SPEAKER_02 7:58

If I can just add up to what uh Mani said, yeah. Uh we say now that passport is also about legacy, because when you acquire passport or a citizenship, you're gonna transfer it to your kids, your your your siblings. And that's why we say it's about future and legacy, not only about even like future relocation. It's it's something that you can transfer uh throgen generations, and that's sometimes the point people miss when they just come to visa-free uh uh countries.

SPEAKER_01 8:35

Absolutely. That's a very good um perspective, a good angle to look at your passport. It's also something that you your future generations will inherit. Is that um okay, Laura?

Who Leads And Why Sweden Wins

SPEAKER_01 8:49

I'm glad you you you pitched in because I want to look at where things stand globally. So um I'd like us to give us the top line picture. Who is leading the ranking?

SPEAKER_02 9:05

I'm not going to give away uh, you know, the top positions, uh top 10 positions now. We can we can just leave to the end of the of the podcast of this conversation, but I can tell you again that uh you know European countries they they do um make uh almost the entire uh uh top 10. Uh we have Sweden, uh it's the third year Sweden is is in the top position, then you have Switzerland, Finland, German, Netherlands, and then uh I'll just uh tell you at the end of the podcast what are the top 10. We have, I cannot say it's an expected presence, but we have a different uh a country from a different continent in the top 10, and it's Singapore. Singapore uh is a country that tops mobility and investment uh indexes. It doesn't do that well in quality of life, but it managed to get to the top of the top 10 in 2026, is a very, very strong passport, especially for investment. The country has uh been working in bilateral agreements to uh improve their mobility in their passport, and it uh is in the top uh 10. And what I can say um as a general takeaway for this passport index is the top 10 is very compressed. We have only three points uh in in score difference from the top one to the top 10th position. So are countries that score really well across all dimensions. And the other takeaway I can tell you for uh start this conversation is that the gap between the top passports and the the bottom passports is widening because of geopolitical uh um uh turbulences, uh lack of reciprocity in bilateral agreements for visa-free and and other reasons. So having a strong passport is even more important and more relevant nowadays.

SPEAKER_01 11:13

Absolutely. And I wanted to, I can't believe we haven't mentioned that yet, and it's quite important. So we are recording this podcast right in the thick of the um 2026 World Cup. So um, passports, flags, and countries are more than relevant. It's in our face as we're watching it um and almost every day. So um, and now we're going to talk about Sweden, um, who qualifies uh to the World Cup, but I'm not gonna give you spoilers in case I don't know where we are right now. So um, but let's talk about Sweden as the top passport of our uh global passport index. So the great thing is uh Sweden hasn't won a World Cup yet, but it has won the top position in our passport index for three consecutive years. And um I imagine most people would assume it's because the Swedish passport holders can travel everywhere. Um, but I want to hear from the person behind the numbers. So what what is actually driving Sweden to the top of our cup of passports?

SPEAKER_02 12:28

Yeah, because you know our passport index is a championship as well. Every year we we just wait to see the you know the data and the numbers to check if the opposition has moved and how countries have uh evolved. But when you talk about Sweden, we can say that Sweden is a country that does its homework in every single dimension of the passport index, especially, of course, quality of life. It's a country that has this robust welfare state, is a country that um um offers good services. So that's why in quality of life, the country is in the top position, the second position, sorry, and also in investment is a country that has invested a lot in technology. So uh it doesn't mean uh that you have to be in the top positions in enhanced mobility to have the strongest passport. It all depends on uh the composite of the GPI, as NECA was explaining, the dimensions, and usually the top positions are held by countries that are um that score well across all dimensions.

SPEAKER_01 13:36

Okay, so Elayman's term it is um some people might not know what composite is, like me, um, but it's basically a um combination you need to do well, relatively well, in those three pillars. And then um the uh final number will be um if I mark well in those three pillars, I will certainly be on the top. But if one of those pillars is not doing so well, that will still get me a place amongst the best, such as Singapore.

SPEAKER_02 14:09

Exactly. Exactly. This is the perfect example. Okay, Singapore is top 10. It doesn't do that well in quality of life, but it's very strong on the the other dimensions of the passport index.

SPEAKER_01 14:20

Great, thank you, Manuel. I want your take on Sweden's story. Um, you know, it's balanced over any single dimension, and that sounds like exactly the message you'd want to bring to clients who are obsessing over visa-free counts.

Three Big Shifts In 2026

SPEAKER_01 14:37

What are the three structural findings from the 2026 data that you think every advisor needs to have at their fingertips?

SPEAKER_00 14:46

Giusani, I would highlight three points here. Um, the first one is that the global mobility gap is getting uh bigger, if not smaller. This is one thing. So if you look at the difference between uh a top passport like Sweden and a passport at the bottom of the ranking, like I don't know, uh Afghanistan, that gap has grown every year since 2021. So we are not seeing a system here where weaker passports are catching up. In many cases, uh the stronger the strongest passports uh are getting stronger, while the weakest passports, of course, are losing ground. So this is one thing. So the second thing is uh about as Laura mentioned, uh, reciprocity. People often assume that visa-free access works uh both ways, but in reality, uh that that is not always the case. In fact, in 2026, less than 40% of the visa relationships are uh equal, are mutual. So one country may allow citizens for another country to enter visa-free, but that access may not be returned uh in the same way. Uh and this usually benefits, of course, wealthier and more stable countries. They tend to give each other um more access while keeping more restrictions for other parts of the world. And this helps explain um why mobility planning has become so important. People are not only thinking about um where they can travel today, but also um about how secure and flexible their access will be in the future. And the third point is that mobility is still the main factor that defines the global passport hierarchy, of course. Uh, but it's not the only thing that matters. If someone is thinking about relocation, family planning, education, investment, long-term security, then maybe the other dimensions become very important too. Uh, that's why we always uh say to our clients, oh, mobility may open the door, but of course, investment, attractiveness, and then quality of life um uh help you understand what is behind that door.

SPEAKER_01 17:05

Okay, Manuel, and I think that um hardening divide is striking. And you also mentioned the Gulf. The UAE uh is one of the countries that seems to be actively defying that trend. So I'd like to ask Laura. Laura, what is happening here with the UAE?

SPEAKER_02 17:25

Yeah, it's um Neko was just saying that uh less than 40% of the relationships between countries uh are reciprocal or mutual nowadays. Uh, but the UAE is is uh the exception that confirms the the norm. The country has been um um working on on establishing bilateral agreements and participating in um mobility blocks, and it has actually improved a lot the mobility dimension of their passport. Um they were in the 26th position in 2021 in mobility, and now they are the third more uh uh mobile passport or the passport that is strongest in the mobility dimension. And it's directly related to this engineering or of bilateral agreements and diplomacy that the country has been building with other countries. Um, and it's I think from the dimensions that we uh measure in our passport index, mobility is the one that the countries can act faster, uh uh establishing agreements. It's true that strong countries, geopolitical and economic strong countries doesn't need to give away access to get access in return. And the US, we're going to talk about the US lately, is a is a clear example of this. But the UAE did the opposite. It has been building uh um strength in the passport, especially in the mobility dimension, because of this diplomacy strategy. And other countries in the Gulf region also have uh been improving their um GPI uh uh ranking overall, like uh Saudi Arabia, and then we talk about investment dimension as well, Qatar and Bahrain uh are rising too.

UAE Surge Caribbean Gains Africa Stuck

SPEAKER_01 19:13

Great. Now talking about rising, I think Laura, you gave us a perfect link to the Caribbean. Um also because that's another example of how deliberate policy choices can translate into stronger passport performances. Um give us a bit of an overlook on how um the Caribbean passports are fair in the global passport index.

SPEAKER_02 19:39

It's another very revealing region, the Caribbean. Uh, and um we we can say that that region um kind of does much better in the passport strength comparing to the size of the countries because they are small islands, and usually uh we say that uh big economies because of geopolitical power and economic power will have uh uh strongest, uh stronger passports. But the Caribbean just uh does really, really, really well without having this um leverage to work with. Um again, this is this is a deliberate strategy to uh enhance the mobility of the passport by engaging in mobility blocks. They just created the uh um Caribbean mobility block, and more countries join the block and the the the CARI-CON, so they have freedom of mobility. And an example, I can uh mention St. Kitts and Nevis that gain most ground in the mobility uh dimension. Dominica, Granada, and Antigua and Barbuda also climbed in the passport index.

SPEAKER_01 20:53

Okay, so that is a um a very interesting world cup of passports here, and that we covered the European countries, we did cover um Middle East, we covered the Caribbean region, and now I'd like us to fly to Africa. So on the other end of that spectrum, so that's where passport holders are looking to benefit from a different passport. So um, but there are some data that shows where the gains would be transformative for passport holders of that region. So, Laura, can you give us a bit of an update of what's going on in the African continent?

SPEAKER_02 21:33

Yeah, sure. Africa is a clear case where um nationals from most states would benefit uh from having uh an option in terms of passports. Of course, we have countries like Mauritius and Seychelles that have, let's say, middle tier uh passports in terms of strength. But it's a region that um, you know, the wealth in Africa is growing a lot, the predictions for uh uh wealth improving in Africa are are very uh exciting for the next dec decade is busy but still the passports they are in the bottom positions in the in the passport index so um and there is again the the the situation of reciprocity most countries in africa would allow access to their territories without um requiring reciprocity from from other countries so it means that the passports are not strong enough as Manuel mentioned previously the gap between the top positions and the bottom positions is widening every year so um we can say that Africa is a region that is in the growing necessity of improving the strength of uh their passport and on the other hand they don't have access to to some of the most desirable territories so they will always require uh a visa to travel or they will be imposed restrictions from countries when they want to travel now yeah the US uh I have to say when I first saw this data I did a double take the United States I'm not gonna say anything else I'm gonna be very cryptic here but Laura you set the scene yeah sure uh and everybody when when we wanna we analyze the data from 2021 to 2026 um we can see that the United States in is in a kind of sharp decline in the passport strength um by 2026 it has fallen 12 positions in the overall score and this this represents the steepest um decline from g7 countries wow uh the decline of the US is basically related to the mobility dimension of the passport uh we know that some countries have been imposing uh restrictions of visa to the US um reciprocating restrictions that the US is imposing to those countries and we have Brazil and China as as the examples of um this visa um uh requirements that have been imposed uh the dimension that the US still does really really well is investment so we can um explain or justify the decline in the overall index for the United States on mobility and quality of life rankings cost of living is growing in the US you have um the sentiment uh a sentiment of frustration in in for different reasons and people are talking more about you know um having optionality when you talk about American citizens or having a second passport most of them have ancestry rights to a second passport they are looking at investment migration and other forms of acquiring residency and citizenship everywhere because it's true that um the country they still holds a very strong passport but it has declined in the uh five years that we are observing or analyzing numbers. Another uh relevant point about the US passport is that the US holds the highest reciprocity balance in the world.

SPEAKER_01 25:33

So American citizens will receive on average far more openness when they travel abroad than any foreign national receives when attempting to get into the the United States no other passport generates uh this one-way privilege as the US passport so in this in this uh perspective the US passport is still very strong the US imposes uh restrictions to 48 countries now that uh nationals from those countries cannot access the US and it's still their nationals uh um um uh experience openness everywhere Laura this is a very relevant uh point here and um very interesting to analyze it because it is a passport even though it declined so much that is the um a a a privilege uh that even with all the um reciprocity um of other countries and restricting it's not even about restricting it's about how um Americans are perceived uh received well abroad in comparison to what is happening now when you arrive at that country so let's I like to explore a bit more um on on the US and I I want to speak to Manuel about it.

The US Decline And Reciprocity Politics

SPEAKER_01 26:55

So Brazil involved the reciprocity principle explicitly um China systematically excluding the US while opening to everyone else so I'd like to ask Manuel do you think this is a um this bureaucratic friction piling up or does the data suggest something more deliberate is happening?

SPEAKER_00 27:19

I think it's uh it's a bit of both uh some changes that we see of course they're more technical uh for example when the EU introduces uh new systems for non-EU nationals um that is more like a um a structural change it applies broadly and it's not necessarily aimed to one specific country but in other cases um visa policy can also uh let's say become part of a wider uh diplomatic conversation uh and Brazil is a good example when Brazil talks about reciprocity the message um I think it's quite clear if if our citizens need a visa to enter your country then of course your citizens may also need a visa to enter ours uh I mean that doesn't mean uh it is aggressive uh I think it's maybe more about uh balance and about countries like Brazil using visa policy to um try to reflect the position and the international system as a as a player and um China is another uh interesting uh case uh because uh China has open visa-free access to many countries but not equally to everyone so I think that there is also um uh a strategic element here uh there as well so um you can use visa policies as a country to to support tourism uh business soft power and of course to to um your diplomatic priorities but the mobility rules uh we can see that through the data across the years they are not fixed but uh they they can change they can change because of politics security concerns or diplomatic relationships so I would not say that it's um only bureaucracy of course there is probably more intention behind some of those decisions uh that's one reason why um more and more American clients are and also clients from uh other countries are thinking about long-term mobility planning they want more options they want more flexibility and of course they want less dependence of on a on uh on just one single passport Manuel I think we need now to analyze um not only the global passport index per se but how uh it it its findings impact the investment migration market because um you know where we see that a market where four billion people carry passport scoring below 50 where the US the world's largest wealth market is on a five year downward trajectory and where bilateral agreements that took decades to build are being reversed in months so what does the 2026 GPI tell the investment migration market i think I think Susan it it tells the market that the the value of investment migration for us at least is becoming much easier to explain to people and it's much easier to to of course prove uh with data uh for a long time people in this industry talk about mobility in a very little general way but the the the global passport index helps us um to show that the mobility that this mobility premium access is real is real it can be measured and and mobility is still one of the as I said the strongest factor in the global passport uh hierarchy so when clients um invest in a second citizenship to get better access they are not just let's say buying convenience of course they are investing in one of the most uh important variables that defines a passport strength and um the other the other important point here is I think is the size of the market if we look at only high net worth individuals let's say the numbers are already very clear India's high net worth individual population for example grew by uh 5.6% in 2024 and the country has thousands of ultra high net worth individuals holding hundreds of billions and uh of dollars in wealth and and also across Africa we see a large and large growing wealth market with millionaires concentrated in countries like um South Africa Egypt Morocco Nigeria Kenya so the opportunity is not just like um uh a hard guess for this market it's not just based on what we feel in the market the global passport index data gives us this this stronger data foundation to explain uh the scale of this this this demand for a second passport it shows where mobility gaps exist where wealth is growing and where where people may have like a a clear reason to look for a stronger passport and to look for a second citizenship but the the story you've been telling us here is that um needs a better passport story right but the American story is a bit different isn't it yeah yeah of course the the American the American passport uh situation it's it's very different as Laura uh mentioned and I think this is one of the most um important points in this report many clients um from emerging markets are looking for a a stronger passport because they the current passport limits them uh they want better access more freedom more options for the family but the American clients um they're not in in the in the same position they they they don't um have this same need of course the US passport is still one of the most powerful and economically privileged passports in the world so for Americans this is not usually about um uh escaping a weak passport it's more about uh planning ahead so the United States is the largest wealth market in the world we know that millions of high net worth individuals fell very very large share of the world centimillionaires and billionaires but at the same time the US passport has been on this downward trajectory for five consecutive years as Laura mentioned so American clients are increasingly looking at a second passport uh as a form of insurance they want optionality they want relocation flexibility you know so they want a plan B for the family that's that's what they want and in some cases they want to protect the global access before things become more difficult. So many emerging market clients need a better passport but I would say that many American clients they want a second passport as definitely a that as a plan B.

Why Investment Migration Demand Grows

SPEAKER_01 34:24

Okay thank you yes the plan B the word the big word that I wanted to to explore here um Laura Manuel talks about insurance uh plan B and that brings me to something I'd like to push on so if someone acquires a Caribbean or an European citizenship today is the value of that document fixed or um can it grow or can it shrink after acquisition?

SPEAKER_02 34:57

Absolutely it can change and as you said in both directions I just mentioned the UAE case uh that the the the passport has climbed 23 positions in the mobility ranking we have the Caribbean islands that have been improving over the years in the passport index also some Eastern European countries and when they get access to the EU their mobility that the mobility dimension of their passport has increased from one year to the other because you get access to a mobility block but we have also countries that have um lost power in their passport and the US is the clear example we we gave it's it's the country that has the biggest decline in G7 uh economies as as I mentioned. So um in our index in our composite the structure that we have for our passport index state policy diplomacy and even how state influences in quality of life indicators and investment indicators will uh affect the strength of the passport um of course we know that European passports will will always be strong as long as we have the European Union as a strong mobility block.

SPEAKER_01 36:14

The US has lost uh strength but is a strong passport and when when you talk about reciprocity is the strongest passport but um it's not uh a fixed uh um measure it's it's an evolution we have to analyze the evolution of the the the countries over the years right so if you've been listening to us or or watching on our YouTube channel you probably want to know who are the top 10 passports in our ranking of global passports um and I'm gonna give this um word I'm gonna give the word to Laura now okay sure let's blow the drums go Laura I'll start uh by a country that I already mentioned in the 10th position we have Singapore and Singapore is first in investment and enhanced mobility index uh then in the ninth position we have Norway eighth in the United Kingdom seventh Ireland so we have this field between the UK and Ireland and Ireland has been winning every year I have to say how nice then in the the fifth position we have the Netherlands and Denmark even and then fourth position Germany and the top three are third Finland second Switzerland and first as you already mentioned Sweden because it does well in all dimensions they really do their homework.

SPEAKER_02 37:47

Excellent thank you Laura yeah let's see how they do in the World Cup.

SPEAKER_01 37:51

Yeah sure and then now Manuel for um people who want to explore the rankings in more details where can they find the global passport index and see the data?

SPEAKER_00 38:02

Sure it's very easy you can access the full global passport index the 2026 index on the of course global seats and solutions website just go to global seats and solutions dot com slash passport index but we have also created um uh a shortcut for that so you can use also you can type directly in your browser passport index dot global that's it don't need anything else passport index dot global um there you can see the complete rankings for the passport index compare different passports explore the three dimensions we discuss mobility

Top 10 List Tool Link Advice

SPEAKER_00 38:40

investment attractiveness um the quality of life you can see way more data than we mentioned here not only the top 10 overall but also like the biggest climbers decliners um there is a really a lot of data uh see the US trajectory and the in the form of a table data or a chart data so it's not only uh report to it is also a tool that people can use to better understand uh the real strength of a passport excellent there's even more isn't it when you uh arrive at the global passport index you'll also be you're very close to all the uh global intelligence unit uh reports and briefings as well of course we have a lot of information in the website yeah great okay well first of all I'd like to um congratulate you two for working in such a um useful project um it's something that is free it's available to everyone who are uh currently thinking about what to do with their passport or where to move or even to understand a bit of um what their citizenship um brings to them um as uh in in the uh three spheres that we uh explore in the global passport index uh quality of life um investment and also the uh mobility so before we wrap up I'd like to ask one of you uh for a piece of advice uh for someone listening and someone who's thinking seriously about the passport strategy for 2026 Laura you can go first um I think anyone that is thinking about having this uh strategy as a tool like having a second passport or even having a second residency and they then applying true citizenship through naturalization for instance need to think in long term as we said in the beginning of the podcast um passport or citizenship is a legacy it's not one generation asset it's a multi-generation asset for sure so you think you need to think about portfolio and kind of building your mobility portfolio um if you if we just analyze the number the numbers from the 70s to the uh this uh century the number of countries that allow for dual or multiple citizenship has improved a lot um in the 60s um one third of the countries would allow a dual uh citizenship national and now more than 70 percent of countries have dual citizenship uh regulations so uh it's uh easier now to hold multiple passports so think long term think in portfolio portfolios think um where do you want to live where you want to invest what you want to uh leave uh and transfer to your um to your kids um and then um talk to someone that can help you to build this mobility portfolio okay thank you uh Laura and Manuel um it's clear that you well done for uh working on this uh product it's definitely um something extremely useful and uh before we wrap up um I'd like to ask you um each a piece of advice for someone listening and um who is thinking seriously about their passport strategy in 2026.

SPEAKER_01 42:28

Given everything you just said about trajectory I imagine your answer is it about time horizon?

SPEAKER_00 42:36

I I I would try my best to say something uh on top of what Laura already said. Uh I think that the main point here is that second citizenship planning should not depend only on one country one program or one timeline. Regulations can change governments can change and program processing times can change. So I think that the strongest strategies are usually built with more than one option in mind.

SPEAKER_01 43:10

Today our clients are not only asking what is the fastest route or uh which passport or second citizenship will give me this or that uh they are asking uh broader questions uh where do I have more stability you see where can my family realistically live how does this affect my tax position my business my banking uh my long-term plans so in many cases I think that a good plan D is not just one solution it's like a layered strategy and that could mean combining one residency option maybe with a second citizenship option elsewhere or choosing uh jurisdictions that serve different goals so the point is not that one country is always better than other one program is better than other I think that the point is uh that if you want to have like a serious mobility planning um you need a long-term view because uh the real optionality uh comes from planning before you need it not after that's very good advice thank you Lauren thank you Manuel and for joining us today and making the data talk so Jacob now has a personality and is um advising you um what to do with regards to your passports um strategy so now to everyone listening uh check the notes the show notes um for the full 2026 global passport index and if this episode gave you something to think about please subscribe and um share it with someone who needs to hear who should hear it and leave us a review so until next time this was Big Global Podcast