World Passport Rankings - How to Get Canadian Citizenship

Canada is always placed at the top of all kinds of rankings: here Canada is the best country for students, there Canada is the best country for immigrants, and in 2021 Canada took first place in the ranking of the best countries in the world.

Today I want to tell you about another ranking where Canada also holds leading positions – the top most powerful passports in the world. You will find out why the Canadian passport is one of the coolest, how easy it is to get one compared to the United States and European countries. And, of course, I'll tell you where CIS passports rank.

World passport ranking

So, the ranking is called Global Passport Ranking Index. It was first released in 2006 and compares countries in terms of their citizens' mobility: how many countries people can visit without applying for a visa, or by getting one upon arrival. There is a total of 199 countries in the ranking. Canada, unfortunately, is not on first place, but on the 8th. On the other hand, 8th position out of 199 is cool.

Canadian citizens can freely visit 186 countries without having to go to their embassies for a visa or any kind of entry permit beforehand. When you immigrate to Canada and gain citizenship, you will travel almost all over the world without any restrictions: The United States, Mexico, all European countries, many countries in Asia and South America are open to Canadians. Basically, you can stay there without a visa from 3 up to 6 months, it depends on the country.

Fun fact: with a Canadian passport you can fly to Ukraine and Moldova without a visa for 90 days, to Kyrgyzstan for 60 days and to Belarus and Uzbekistan for 30 days. It does not work the other way around.

Since 2022, the Government of Canada has activated Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel – CUAET.

What other countries made it to the top? On first place there are Japan and Singapore, with 193 countries open to their citizens, they are the absolute record holders. On second place there is South Korea — 192, Germany, Italy and Spain share the third position: the passport holders of these states have access to 191 countries. Next in the ranking are mostly European countries. U.S. is on the 7th place, Americans can visit 187 countries. Other top ten include Latvia, Poland and Greece. Canada is on 8th place.

You're probably wondering where the CIS countries are on the ranking. Ukraine is at the top of the list, on 31st place, its residents can freely visit 144 countries. Also, Ukrainians can fly to Europe without visas and visas to the U.S. are issued for 5 years. Moldova is on the 46th place with 120 countries. Russia comes next on 48th place with 118 countries. Belarus and Kazakhstan are 64th and 67th, their citizens can easily travel to 79 and 75 countries and all the other countries are below the ranking.

If you want to find your country, subscribe to my Telegram channel, there will be a link to the full list.

How to get a Canadian passport

Despite the fact that Canada is number 8 in the ranking, it is much easier to obtain its passport than any other. Let me tell you how.

The first step for you is to get permanent residency. There are now more than 120 immigration programs in Canada, each has different requirements that will work for almost everyone. A huge number of people can get residency in the country. From 2023 to 2025, for example, Canada plans to invite up to 1.5 million people into the country, about 500,000 each year.

Second step: after living in Canada for only 3 years as a permanent resident, you can apply for Canadian citizenship. You will need to pass a simple language test and country knowledge test about freedoms, rights and obligations of its residents and etc.

U.S. citizenship, for example, can be obtained after 5 years of living in the country as a permanent resident, but the problem is that obtaining this status is almost unreal. I myself have tried and I know what it is like. The US simply do not have such easy-to-understand well-functioning immigration programs as Canada.

The are very few ways to immigrate to the European Union and not everyone will be able to pass the requirements. Citizenship is even more difficult to obtain. In Germany, for example, you have to live as a permanent resident for 8 years, and there are many restrictions, so it is not a 100% fact that you get citizenship at all. In Austria you have to live 10 years, in Great Britain and France you need to live for 5 years, as well as in the USA. Even in Russia you can become a citizen only after 5 years of residence.

My family had lived in Poland for a year and a half. We had a temporary residence permit. We had to go through hell to get it. We were given a residence permit for 2 years, pretty lucky, I have to tell you. Some of my friends only got a residence permit for a year. One of the reasons why we left Poland was the restrictions and documents bureaucracy. I had to renew the residence permit once or twice, then to apply for permanent residence permit, constantly proving my status in the country, permanently waiting and only after that I applied for the European passport.

If you are comfortable living in constant stress, choose a story with made-up reasons for asylum in the U.S. or prove that you are not a camel in Europe. On the other hand, I do believe that Canada is the best option for living and getting a powerful passport. Well, and you can often get a Canadian permanent residence permit right away without applying for temporary residence.

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You can check right now how realistic it is for you to move to Canada. Just fill out the questionnaire to calculate your chances. The system will compare your answers to the requirements of immigration programs and show whether you have a good chance or whether you should try... well, Poland, for example.

And if you need a consultation our immigration lawyers are always available and will gladly help you sort out any issue.