According to Experts.news, Malta took first place in the ranking of the world’s most valuable passports according to the Nomad Passport Index 2026, compiled by Nomad Capitalist. The country scored 109 points, ahead of Ireland, Greece, and Romania, which tied for second place with 108 points.
Unlike traditional passport rankings, which primarily consider the number of visa-free destinations, the Nomad Passport Index evaluates citizenship more broadly—as a tool for global mobility, tax planning, personal freedom, and international reputation. The methodology uses five criteria: visa-free access, taxation of citizens, the country’s global reputation, the possibility of holding dual citizenship, and the level of personal freedoms.
The top ten of the ranking looks like this: Malta—1st place, Ireland, Greece, and Romania—2nd place, Cyprus—5th place, the Czech Republic, New Zealand, Italy, and Bulgaria—6th place, Hungary and the UAE—10th place. Thus, the top of the ranking is dominated by European countries, particularly EU member states, which combine a high level of mobility, the ability to live and work within the single European area, and a relatively strong international reputation.
Malta scored 172 points for travel, 40 points for taxation, and the maximum 50 points for international perception, dual citizenship, and personal freedoms. This balance allowed it to take first place, despite the fact that it lags behind a number of other passports in terms of the number of visa-free destinations.
An interesting feature of the ranking was Romania’s high placement, which tied for second place with Ireland and Greece. Romanian citizenship received 108 points, including 172 points for travel, 40 points for taxation, 40 points for country perception, and top marks for dual citizenship and freedoms.
Singapore, which often ranks first in passport rankings for visa-free access, came in only 20th in the Nomad Passport Index. Its passport has a high travel score of 175, but a low score for dual citizenship limits the overall result. This highlights a key difference in the Nomad Capitalist ranking: it evaluates not only travel freedom but also the practical flexibility of citizenship for globally mobile people.
The U.S. ranked 43rd with 100 points. Despite strong international perception and a high level of mobility, U.S. citizenship receives a low score on the tax criterion, as the U.S. is one of the few countries in the world that taxes its citizens based on citizenship rather than residency alone.
Ukrainian airline SkyUp Airlines opened a company in Malta and received the relevant certificates, which in the future will allow it to open scheduled flights in Europe, as well as to effectively perform contracts on “wet” leasing terms.
“SkyUp MT airline received its air operator certificate (AOC), CAMO (Continuing airworthiness management organization) and flight operating license (AOL). The airline’s office is located in Malta, which is one of the countries of the European Union. “This allows the air carrier to effectively carry out contracts on a wet lease, as well as in the future to open scheduled flights from Europe,” the airline’s press service said on Friday.
The issuance of the AOC and AOL license is an important milestone for SkyUp MT to begin fully operating in Europe, the statement said.
SkyUp MT reportedly registered its first aircraft in Malta, a Boeing 737-800, which received the registration mark 9H-SAU, which used to be part of the SkyUp Airlines fleet. It is a 2011 aircraft with a 189-seat cabin configuration. Upon request of the airline, it was modified by installing modern Geven seats. Also the ship was equipped with winglets, which help to save fuel.
By the end of 2023 SkyUp MT plans to receive new aircraft. Their exact number is not reported, but it is specified that they will not be from the Ukrainian fleet of SkyUp Airlines, but will come under new contracts.
“The SkyUp brand with Ukrainian DNA is becoming international. We are one of the first to do so in the history of Ukrainian aviation. For us it means opening new opportunities and scaling the business,” the press service quoted SkyUp Airlines co-owner Alexander Alba as saying.
He also stressed that the hull of the aircraft, which was the first aircraft SkyUp MT, has the inscription The Power of Freedom, which was applied within the partnership with the fundraising platform UNITED24. The airline believes that this is not only symbolic, but also will attract more fundraising for Ukraine, as the ship will operate on European flights.
Earlier it was reported that SkyUp Airlines evacuated the last plane from Boryspil airport to Iasi (Romania).
SkyUp Airlines (Kiev) carried 2.3 times fewer passengers in 2022 than in 2021 – 1.08 million, due to the full-scale aggression of Russia and against Ukraine and the closure of Ukrainian skies since February 24 last year. After the war began, the company worked on a “wet lease” with 10 airlines, including Wizz Air, SmartWings, Freebird Airlines, Tailwind Airlines, and Corendon Airlines, and in just one year it operated 7,713 flights to 204 airports worldwide on 627 routes.
Skyap Airlines LLC was registered in Kiev in June 2016, and made its first flight in 2018. The founder is ACS-Ukraine LLC of Tatyana and Yuri Alba, who also own JoinUp tour operator!
The Central Bank of Malta and the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) have launched a program for Ukrainian refugees to exchange hryvnia for euros since August 1, the NBU press service reported.
According to the report, Ukrainians who have a certificate of protection from the International Protection Agency in Malta will be able to exchange up to UAH 10,000 for one person.
Banknotes from UAH 100 to UAH 1,000 are accepted for exchange.
As reported, the hryvnia cash exchange program has already been launched in Poland, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
Malta has closed the entrance for tourists from Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reported.
“Travel is prohibited. To enter the country, you must obtain a special permit, which is issued under exceptional circumstances,” the statement on the website of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry tripadvisor.mfa.gov.ua. reported.
It is indicated that from now on, only citizens of Ukraine are allowed to enter Malta who have valid Maltese ID or Residence card documents and have a permanent residence in Malta and have a valid recognized vaccination certificate or are under 12 years of age and may request to be quarantined in an alternative location, provided that meet certain criteria.
In particular, no more than four additional persons will live at the place of quarantine (except for those who will be quarantined); Persons who are 12 years of age or older who live at the same address as those returning from the dark red zone countries, will be fully vaccinated.
Non-residents of Malta of any age who must undergo quarantine, unvaccinated residents of Malta from 12 years of age traveling from countries of the dark red zone and those who are not allowed to undergo quarantine in an alternative location must undergo a 14-day quarantine at hotels officially approved by the Ministry of Health of Malta, exclusively at your own expense.
The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine and the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Malta have agreed on the mutual lifting of restrictions on regular air traffic between the two states.
The agreement, in particular, provides for the removal of restrictions on: the number of designated airlines, points of departure/destination in the territories of both countries, the number of flights with regular air traffic, the Ministry of Infrastructure reported on Facebook.
The new agreement is expected to increase the number of flights between the countries, as well as positively affect the cost of air tickets.
The ministry also recalled that in October Ukraine and the EU are planning to sign the agreement on Common Aviation Area (ECAA). Thanks to this, Ukraine will fully enter the common airspace of the EU, and the practical result of the agreement will be to expand the geography of flights and reduce the cost of tickets.
Earlier, executive director of the Irish airline Ryanair Michael O’Leary said that the company is planning an aggressive expansion in Ukraine after joining the EU Open Skies Agreement. According to him, Ryanair expects to operate flights from 12 airports in the country, which are already technically ready.
