Why UAE passport is 'stronger' than USA's

When passports are ranked according to value, they are often assessed against nominators such as visa-free travel to other countries.

What these rankings do not take into account is the rights citizens of these countries enjoy in other countries when they want to work or settle there, said Dimitri Kochenov, Chair in EU Constitutional and Citizenship Law at the University of Groningen, who spoke at the 9th Global Citizenship and Residency Conference in Dubai earlier this month.

"When assessing passports of the world in this way, a different ranking will be the result."

Although the report revealing these rankings is yet to be published, the professor shared some of its details with Emirates 24|7.

“Lichtenstein ranks number 1 considering the rights its citizens enjoy outside its jurisdiction. This is far beyond popular immigration countries such as the US, which is ranked 34. The UAE scores relatively well in 26th position.”

In another ranking, Kochenov compared countries considering these rights internally as well as externally. Here, Germany topped the list of strongest passports, while the UAE ranked 63th out of the 199 countries compared.

“It is interesting to see that powerhouses such as the US are so far down the list. These states grant citizens rights within its borders, but outside the state these rights are less favourable.

“The UAE is much better in this regard, as its citizens are offered good opportunities outside its borders,” Kochenov said.

Having rights in jurisdictions other than that of your country of origin is something Kochenov referred to as inter-citizenship.

“Politicians already played with this idea at the end of the 19th century, when a joint passport was proposed for the UK and the US citizens, who would enjoy the same rights as if they were holders of the same passport.

“Everybody laughed at this idea, but the implications of citizenship today is not at all far from this concept.”

India and Nepal, Australia and New Zealand, the United States and Latin America are just some examples of jurisdictions that are stretched to provide access to citizens of the states defined.

In fact, roughly half of Europe offers jurisdictions favourable to its neighbouring citizens.

However, only a small percentage of European citizens actually benefit from the freedom to settle and work in another country, the professor noted.

The freedom that is enjoyed by holding a strong passport in this regard should not be underestimated, he continued.

“Visa-free travel is not the only thing that matters to people, because not everybody is a tourist. Some people aim to migrate, and a weak passport can lead to immigration hassles, or administrative difficulties when relocating.

"When I moved from Russia and arrived in The Netherlands, I had to travel back and forth many times to present all the paperwork before I was allowed to settle in The Netherlands. Now I have a Dutch passport, and the same procedure is much easier.

According to Kochenov, European countries produce some of the strongest passports, not only because jurisdictions all over the world are favourable towards these passports, but also because the EU zone dictates the equal distribution of citizenship rights among all member states.

"The law obliges each member state to equalise each citizenship across the EU zone. There is an agreement of mutual recognition that applies when one state grants citizenship to a person. In this manner, there are 28 ways to gain the same status.

"Moreover, the rights of these citizens are protected by the European Court of Justice. This court will protect each citizen of the EU, even against the state where the passport was granted.”

Although these factors are favourable to new citizens, they also bring challenges to the immigration industry as it increases the pressure on member states to uphold due diligence when it comes to granting citizenship to newcomers. “When a member state fails to uphold due diligence, the system will break down,” he pointed out.

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