Data Study · 2026

The most & least open countries to visit

Passport indexes rank travellers. This is the other side of the ledger: how open is each destination? We ranked 109 destinations by how many of the 122 nationalities we track can enter visa-free or with a visa on arrival — with the full access mix per destination: e-Visa/ETA, visa required, and pairs where entry is not permitted at all. Resolved from the same verified rules that power every page on this site.

Maldives — 99%Most open: 106 of 107 nationalities enter without a visa

48Destinations where most tracked nationalities need no visa

3Destinations where every tracked nationality needs a visa or pre-approval

#	Destination	No visa needed	e-Visa / ETA	Tracked
1	🇲🇻Maldives	106 of 10799%	0	107
2	🇲🇺Mauritius	79 of 9088%	0	90
3	🇸🇬Singapore	83 of 9686%	2	96
4	🇭🇰Hong Kong	64 of 8377%	9	83
5	🇪🇨Ecuador	90 of 11777%	4	117
6	🇸🇨Seychelles	76 of 10076%	23	100
7	🇫🇯Fiji	55 of 8069%	9	80
8	🇨🇴Colombia	56 of 8367%	14	83
9	🇳🇦Namibia	29 of 4367%	13	43
10	🇨🇱Chile	57 of 8666%	0	86
11	🇵🇦Panama	57 of 8666%	0	86
12	🇧🇴Bolivia	49 of 7565%	19	75
13	🇵🇪Peru	54 of 8365%	0	83
14	🇳🇵Nepal	56 of 8764%	25	87
15	🇿🇲Zambia	77 of 12164%	32	121
16	🇬🇪Georgia	50 of 7963%	13	79
17	🇧🇷Brazil	59 of 9463%	0	94
18	🇰🇬Kyrgyzstan	51 of 8262%	31	82
19	🇨🇷Costa Rica	53 of 8662%	0	86
20	🇹🇭Thailand	62 of 10261%	19	102
21	🇲🇽Mexico	60 of 9961%	0	99
22	🇯🇲Jamaica	70 of 11760%	0	117
23	🇦🇷Argentina	49 of 8260%	0	82
24	🇲🇾Malaysia	42 of 7258%	8	72
25	🇩🇴Dominican Republic	68 of 11758%	0	117
26	🇰🇿Kazakhstan	66 of 11756%	37	117
27	🇿🇦South Africa	53 of 9456%	9	94
28	🇧🇼Botswana	68 of 12156%	50	121
29	🇹🇷Turkey	55 of 9856%	12	98
30	🇵🇾Paraguay	67 of 12155%	0	121
31	🇷🇸Serbia	67 of 12155%	0	121
32	🇵🇭Philippines	41 of 7555%	2	75
33	🇯🇴Jordan	41 of 7753%	17	77
34	🇶🇦Qatar	54 of 10253%	22	102
35	🇲🇪Montenegro	64 of 12153%	0	121
36	🇦🇪United Arab Emirates	51 of 9753%	8	97
37	🇺🇿Uzbekistan	61 of 11752%	44	117
38	🇪🇺Schengen Area	54 of 10452%	0	104
39	🇸🇻El Salvador	59 of 11750%	5	117
40	🇦🇹Austria	61 of 12150%	0	121
41	🇪🇪Estonia	61 of 12150%	0	121
42	🇫🇮Finland	61 of 12150%	0	121
43	🇮🇸Iceland	61 of 12150%	0	121
44	🇱🇻Latvia	61 of 12150%	0	121
45	🇱🇹Lithuania	61 of 12150%	0	121
46	🇸🇰Slovakia	61 of 12150%	0	121
47	🇸🇮Slovenia	61 of 12150%	0	121
48	🇨🇭Switzerland	61 of 12150%	0	121
49	🇧🇬Bulgaria	60 of 12150%	0	121
50	🇭🇷Croatia	60 of 12150%	0	121
51	🇨🇿Czech Republic	60 of 12150%	0	121
52	🇫🇷France	60 of 12150%	0	121
53	🇩🇪Germany	60 of 12150%	0	121
54	🇭🇺Hungary	60 of 12150%	0	121
55	🇮🇹Italy	60 of 12150%	0	121
56	🇳🇱Netherlands	60 of 12150%	0	121
57	🇵🇹Portugal	60 of 12150%	0	121
58	🇷🇴Romania	60 of 12150%	0	121
59	🇪🇸Spain	60 of 12150%	0	121
60	🇦🇱Albania	58 of 11750%	27	117
61	🇦🇲Armenia	58 of 11750%	48	117
62	🇹🇳Tunisia	58 of 11750%	1	117
63	🇧🇪Belgium	59 of 12149%	0	121
64	🇩🇰Denmark	59 of 12149%	0	121
65	🇬🇷Greece	59 of 12149%	0	121
66	🇲🇹Malta	59 of 12149%	0	121
67	🇳🇴Norway	59 of 12149%	0	121
68	🇵🇱Poland	59 of 12149%	0	121
69	🇸🇪Sweden	59 of 12149%	0	121
70	🇲🇦Morocco	48 of 10048%	4	100
71	🇯🇵Japan	46 of 9648%	0	96
72	🇺🇾Uruguay	56 of 11748%	0	117
73	🇱🇦Laos	26 of 5646%	26	56
74	🇵🇰Pakistan	38 of 8246%	37	82
75	🇱🇮Liechtenstein	55 of 12145%	0	121
76	🇱🇺Luxembourg	55 of 12145%	0	121
77	🇪🇬Egypt	33 of 7345%	9	73
78	🇰🇷South Korea	43 of 9645%	10	96
79	🇿🇼Zimbabwe	25 of 5645%	30	56
80	🇹🇼Taiwan	29 of 6545%	2	65
81	🇮🇱Israel	52 of 11744%	8	117
82	🇨🇾Cyprus	51 of 11744%	0	117
83	🇮🇩Indonesia	40 of 10339%	15	103
84	🇷🇺Russia	19 of 5038%	15	50
85	🇻🇳Vietnam	32 of 10032%	37	100
86	🇮🇪Ireland	19 of 7426%	0	74
87	🇬🇭Ghana	29 of 11725%	63	117
88	🇷🇼Rwanda	21 of 9921%	15	99
89	🇬🇧United Kingdom	14 of 7020%	2	70
90	🇦🇿Azerbaijan	10 of 5020%	25	50
91	🇳🇿New Zealand	13 of 7019%	3	70
92	🇴🇲Oman	13 of 7617%	7	76
93	🇺🇬Uganda	18 of 11715%	95	117
94	🇨🇳China	10 of 7513%	0	75
95	🇰🇪Kenya	9 of 7512%	23	75
96	🇰🇼Kuwait	13 of 11711%	31	117
97	🇨🇺Cuba	5 of 4711%	37	47
98	🇹🇿Tanzania	6 of 976%	26	97
99	🇰🇭Cambodia	5 of 906%	85	90
100	🇨🇦Canada	3 of 704%	10	70
101	🇳🇬Nigeria	3 of 983%	25	98
102	🇮🇳India	3 of 1212%	104	121
103	🇱🇰Sri Lanka	2 of 872%	83	87
104	🇧🇹Bhutan	1 of 472%	15	47
105	🇪🇹Ethiopia	1 of 751%	32	75
106	🇺🇸United States	1 of 981%	39	98
107	🇦🇺Australia	0 of 750%	16	75
108	🇧🇭Bahrain	0 of 740%	34	74
109	🇸🇦Saudi Arabia	0 of 770%	7	77

How we built this index

What we measure. For every (passport → destination) pair in the Visa Search database, we resolve the single best entry regime among the destination’s visitor programs: visa-free, then visa on arrival, then e-Visa/ETA, then visa required. A destination’s openness score is the share of tracked nationalities whose best regime is visa-free or visa on arrival — entry with just a passport, no pre-approval.
e-Visas and ETAs are counted separately. An approved-before-you-fly authorisation (e-Visa, ESTA, eTA, ETA) is real friction, however fast — so it never inflates the headline number. Destinations that route almost everyone through electronic pre-authorisation (the US, Canada, Australia) rank low on openness by design; their e-Visa/ETA column tells that part of the story.
Entry bans override everything. Where a relationship constraint makes travel impossible (no diplomatic relations, passport not valid, entry banned), the pair counts as not permitted — never as “visa required” — using the same sourced constraint set as our travel restrictions tracker.
Honest denominators. Each destination is measured only against the nationalities we have verified rules for (its “tracked” count) — never against a notional world total. Coverage varies by destination and grows continuously.
One data spine. The index is computed from the same eligibility and constraint resolution as our visa-free world map, passport power badge and every nationality page — the numbers here always agree with the page you land on.

Visa openness — FAQ

Which country is the easiest to visit without a visa in 2026?

Maldives is the most open destination in our index: 106 of the 107 nationalities we track for it (99%) can enter visa-free or with a visa on arrival. Openness is not the same as ease of travel — always check the entry conditions for your specific passport before booking.

Does an e-Visa or ETA count as "no visa needed"?

No. The headline "no visa needed" number counts only visa-free entry and visa on arrival — cases where you can board with just your passport. An e-Visa or electronic travel authorisation (ETA, ESTA, eTA) is shown in its own column because it still requires an approved application before you travel, even when approval is fast and cheap.

Why do the United States, Canada and Australia rank near the bottom?

Because of how we define openness, not because they are hard to visit for everyone. All three require almost every visitor to obtain either a visa or an electronic pre-authorisation (ESTA, eTA, ETA/eVisitor) before boarding — so very few nationalities can show up with just a passport. On the "no visa needed" measure that puts them near the bottom, while their e-Visa/ETA column is correspondingly large.

Why is each destination measured against a different number of nationalities?

The denominator is the number of passports we have verified rules for at that destination — coverage varies, so shares are always shown against the destination’s own tracked count and never against a world total. We extend coverage continuously; a destination’s share can move as more nationalities are verified.

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Cite this study

Visa Search by Altoglobe. (2026). Visa Openness Index (2026). Retrieved from https://www.thevisasearch.com/visa-openness-index

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<p>Source: <a href="https://www.thevisasearch.com/visa-openness-index">Visa Openness Index (2026)</a> by Visa Search by Altoglobe.</p>

Sources & verification. Every entry regime is drawn from the Visa Search database, where each rule is verified against the highest available authority — the destination government’s immigration or foreign-ministry portal, then official e-visa/application portals and reputable visa-policy references — and relationship constraints (entry bans, passport-validity exclusions) carry their own source and verification date. Data last reviewed July 2026. For the traveller-side view, see the passport power index or your own passport’s visa-free list. See our Editorial & Data Standards for our full sourcing and correction process. Spot an error? Tell us and we’ll review it.