A passport is perhaps the most powerful piece of official documentation one possesses. Apart from confirming your identity and allowing you to travel anywhere on the globe, it ascertains your nationality and the country you call home. But are you aware what it costs to get one issued for yourself? Yes, you don’t get it for free, and the cost can go even above a sizeable ₹10 thousand!
Generally, countries provide applicants a passport for a fee, except for autonomous territories and nations like Greenland. Did you know that since it’s a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, it issues a version of the Danish passport for Greenland’s citizens? Also, even for the same country, different versions of the document can exist depending on factors such as period of validity and age of the applicant.
All these parameters decide the fee charged for a passport.
Compare The Market, a price comparison website for travel insurance amongst other fields, has released a report ranking 29 passports across the world, from most expensive to cheapest. The comparison is based on three parameters: the cost to get the passport, validity period, and its value based on the number of countries it allows the holder to visit visa-free. Rank 1 indicates the priciest passport while rank 29 indicates the most affordable passport.
Mexico Has The Most Expensive Passports – Yes, It’s Plural!
The nation issues three passport variations, all of which fall in the top 10 most expensive category. Its 10-year passport is the most expensive passport in the world, charged at roughly ₹19,468. Coming 4th in the category is the 6-year version costing about ₹11,117. And its 3-year passport priced at around ₹8,177 collected the 9th spot.
Australia issues the 2nd most expensive passport, with a fee of around ₹19,033 with a 10-year validity. The 3rd position is bagged by the United States of America, inviting a fee of approximately ₹13,902 for the same validity period.
Indian Passport Is The 2nd Most Affordable In The World
As per the report, the United Arab Emirates provides the cheapest passport, for roughly ₹1,492 for a 5-year period. Priced at about ₹1,523 for 10 years, the Indian passport is the world’s 2nd cheapest. Bagging the 3rd spot in this category is the Hungarian passport that’ll cost one around ₹1,748 for a validity period of 5 years.
Here’s the complete list:
Travelling Visa-Free
A very important indicator for the travel enthusiasts is the number of nations one can visit on a given passport without a visa. Spain, Germany, France, and Italy all allow their citizens to visit a whopping 192 countries around the world, while Singapore gives access to 195 nations.
Mexico, despite having the most expensive passport, provides visa-free travelling to 159 countries, and the US to 186 countries. With the UAE and Hungarian passports, you can make plans for 185 and 187 nations respectively. You can fly out to 58 countries visa-free on an Indian passport, including Bhutan, Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal, and Barbados.
Bon voyage!