05 March 2023 , 14:11
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Those with a passport from the United Arab Emirates now have the most powerful ticket in the world, according to a new study.
Nomad Capitalist, a tax and immigration consultancy firm, ranks the value of nearly 200 countries' passports based on five factors: the availability of visa-free travel, the taxation on residents living in foreign countries, perception, the availability of dual citizenship and personal freedom.
The UAE has new visa-free travel privileges and no income tax, making its passports the most valuable.
The United States came in near the bottom, at 43rd mainly because it taxes citizens who live in foreign countries. The United Kingdom also ranked 30th and Australia ranked 39.
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (Getty Images/Robert Harding World Imagery)Jovana Vojinovac, the director of operations and sales, told CNBC, that the UAE was the "winner of the decade" because it "added 106 new visa-free countries in the last decade" and is a "zero-tax country."
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She also said: "You can theoretically live on the moon if you're a US citizen and you'll pay taxes to the US."
Vojinovac said her clients used to be wary of the UAE due to it being a dominantly Muslim country and she said some would confuse UAE with Saudi Arabi.
But slowly people started to realise it has "very liberal visa policies and is very welcoming to foreigners, welcome to investments ... {it's] pretty much become a go-to destination for most people that have crypto-based business."
However, there are lots of stringent laws in western countries. The British government's website lists that there is zero tolerance for drug-related offences.
It also says alcohol licences are still required for Residents in Dubai but are no longer required for Residents in Abu Dhabi and other Emirates (save for the Emirate of Sharjah) to purchase alcohol for personal consumption.
Women must dress moderately and cross-dressing is illegal. Swearing and making rude gestures (including online) are considered obscene acts and offenders can be jailed or deported. All homosexual sex is illegal and same-sex marriages are not recognised.
The factor which has the biggest impact is the availability of visa-free travel but they also look at how much people are taxed, the perception of the country, the availability of dual citizenship and the personal freedoms that residents enjoy.
It assigned the lowest scores to counties that tax citizens no matter where they live — like the US. Countries that allow citizens to relocate to avoid taxes scored 20 to 30, countries that do not tax foreign incomes scored 40 and countries with zero taxes scored 50.
Those that strictly forbid dual citizenship, like China, received scores of 10, while those that allow for naturalization received a score of 50.