Nationals of the Grand Duchy have visa-free access to 191 countries worldwide.
Luxembourgers hold the fourth most “powerful” passport in the world, according to the latest Henley Index rankings published on Wednesday. This is the original and official ranking of all passports in the world according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. The index is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the world’s largest and most accurate database of travel information, enhanced by the Henley & Partners research team. The Global Mobility Report 2024 contains detailed information on the latest rankings.
On top worldwide since 2017
This puts the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in fourth place behind Norway, the UK, Belgium and Portugal, allowing its nationals to enter 191 countries without a visa. Singapore, which occupied first place in 2023, was joined this year by five other nations – Japan, France, Spain, Germany and Italy – in first place, with visa-free access to 194 territories.
” The Grand Duchy’s passport has featured in the world’s top 4 every year since 2017, and has never fallen lower than sixth place since the list was first compiled in 2006,” recalls Luxembourg newspaper Virgule. The index lists countries based on data provided by the International Air Transport Authority (IATA) and assesses the ease of travel to 227 locations, which includes territories belonging to other sovereign nations.”
A language test
Luxembourg has recognized dual nationality for over ten years, under a law that came into force in January 2009, Virgule explains. Anyone wishing to obtain Luxembourg nationality through naturalization must be able to speak Luxembourgish. They must therefore pass a Luxembourg language test, the Sproochentest, which includes an oral examination and a listening comprehension test. To pass the test, you need to achieve a sufficiently high score in the oral test.
The appeal of the Grand Duchy
Luxembourg had a population of 660,809 on January 1ᵉʳ, 2023, and covers an area of 2,586 km², making it one of the smallest sovereign nations in Europe. A small nation, but one of Europe’s largest financial centers, with just under 150 banks on its territory. Banking secrecy is protected by the country’s Criminal Code. Luxembourgers enjoy a high standard of living.
Luxembourg is an important domicile for holding companies. It offers a range of advantageous regimes, such as financial participation companies (soparfi), venture capital investment companies (sicar) and Luxembourg real estate companies (SIL), which are fully tax-exempt in Luxembourg for their operations in France.
Every day, the Grand Duchy welcomes some 200,000 cross-border commuters from neighboring countries, half of them from France, the other half from Germany and Belgium.