Malaysia is among the third globally in Passport Index ranking
It’s always a small win when we realise we don’t have to apply for a visa to travel to a destination.
So, it comes as happy news that the Malaysian passport ranks 3rd in a global ranking of powerful passports by the Passport Index 2025. In other words, Malaysians are among the top countries that can enjoy access to other countries, either visa-free or with a visa-on-arrival.
Visa-free & visa-on-arrival access to 174 countries
According to its website, the Passport Index ranks passports according to a three-tier method. It weighs: mobility score, or the total destinations a passport holder can travel to visa-free, or with visa on arrival, eTA, and eVisa access; visa-free access against visa on arrival; and the United Nations Development Programme Human Development Index 2018, which considers a country’s significant perception abroad.
The rankings are released annually.
The Malaysian passport ranks in 3rd place on Passport Index’s Global Passport Power Rank 2025 list. The ranking was shared by the Immigration Department in a Facebook post on 5th November, which highlighted that Malaysian citizens can travel to 174 countries without a visa.
According to the Passport Index list, the Malaysian passport has a total mobility score of 174, as Malaysian citizens can enjoy visa-free access to 128 countries, and will need a visa-on-arrival to 46 countries.
Malaysia is in 3rd place, along with 15 other countries that achieved the same mobility score. The full list of nations is: Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Finland, Luxembourg, Italy, Denmark, Portugal, Switzerland, Greece, Austria, Malaysia, Norway, Ireland, and South Korea.
In first place is the United Arab Emirates, with a mobility score of 179, and access to 133 countries without a visa. Tied in 2nd is Singapore, with visa-free travel to 137 countries and visa-on-arrival required for 38 countries, and Spain, with 131 and 44, respectively.
Plenty of destinations to travel to, visa-free
Not having to deal with extra paperwork is always a win for us. So it’s nice to know that we are among the top powerful passports globally in terms of mobility, and have a long list of visa-free destinations that we can travel to and skip those applications.
Cover image adapted from: TheSmartLocal Malaysia