Malaysia has the 44th most powerful passport in the world, and the 7th strongest passport in the Asian continent, according to our pioneering Global Passport Index. When taking into account the Malaysia passport ranking, key factors used to determine Malaysia’s passport strength include its visa free access, investment opportunity, and quality of life offered by the country.
Read on to discover how our research team came up with Malaysia’s passport score, with a detailed breakdown of its country profile.
Malaysia Passport Ranking
Trailing behind the likes of Chile and Cyprus, Malaysia holds the 44th spot in the world for its powerful passport status and 7th in the Asian continent. When coming up with our nuanced and original ranking system, we went beyond looking at a passport’s visa-free travel privileges.
Indeed, numerous factors make certain passports attractive over others, including factors like ease of doing business, quality of life, and investment opportunities offered by the respective destination country. The bottom line is, individuals looking to improve their lives and obtain a second passport don’t just look at visa-free travel facilitation. So how then, does a Malaysian passport compare in terms of travel, relocation, and investment options?
To get an idea of our scoring system, our index is split into three standalone indexes, with the Malaysia passport performing differently for each index.
1. The Enhanced Mobility Index:
holds the most weight (50 percent) and is based on the destination’s travel benefits for each passport holder, while taking into account the destination country’s level of ‘attractiveness’ based on its quality of life standards.
Malaysian passport ranking: 39th
2. The Investment Index:
Holds 25 percent of the overall calculation and is based on the country’s economic strength, looking at how investor-friendly and business-friendly it is as a destination country for passport holders.
Malaysian passport ranking: 30th
3.The Quality of Life Index:
Is worth 25 percent of the total calculation. Six components related to the quality of life are covered under this index including (but not limited to) healthcare, education, and personal safety.
Malaysia passport ranking: 116th
For more information, consult Malaysia’s country profile here.
Malaysia Passport Ranking: Mobility Highlights
A Malaysian passport offers visa-free access to 170 destinations worldwide. A visa is required in just 27 countries. Some prime destinations that facilitate visa-free travel access include Schengen countries in Europe, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and Qatar.
For more information, check out our Enhanced Mobility Index.
Malaysia Passport Ranking- Investment Highlights
As a fast-developing country, the Malaysian government is taking active steps to transform itself into a high-income nation, thanks to its participation in the Economic Transformation Program. Key market areas that are showing positive investment trends include the oil and gas industry, as well as the manufacturing and services sector.
Overall, Malaysia’s business-friendly policies, robust infrastructure, and healthy supply chains continue to attract a swathe of international investors year-round. With a multicultural and knowledgeable workforce, Malaysia is an ideal destination to start a business or invest in an existing one.
The Gross National Income per capita currently stands at $28,730, with a personal tax rate of 30 percent. The markets and innovation conditions are considered most favorable in Malaysia, which is unsurprising really, considering Malaysia has such a high-performing, versatile economy.
For more information, check out our Investment Index.
Malaysia Passport Ranking- Quality of Life Highlights
Malaysia is somewhat of a haven for retirees. Indeed, expats from all over the world flock to Malaysia for retirement, showcasing just how desirable Malaysia is in Southeast Asia for retirement opportunities. What’s more, the cost is approximately three times cheaper in Malaysia than in the United States. In other words, your money can take you far here.
Thanks to Malaysia’s rapid economic growth, a substantial amount has been invested in the country’s infrastructure, healthcare system, and larger cities, making it comfortable to live here. What’s more, the weather is pleasant and warm year-round, and you’re absolutely spoiled for choice when it comes to untouched countryside, dense rainforests, gorgeous beaches, dreamy islands, and developed cities. In short, Malaysia caters to all walks of life, offering everything you could want in a single country.
In our Quality of Life index, Malaysia scores very favorably in the sustainable development, happiness, and cost of living categories, with a partially-free status concerning political and personal freedoms offered to citizens. Sadly, Malaysia has a zero-tolerance policy for illegal migrants, reflecting its poor score in our migrant acceptance category.
For more information, check out our Quality of Life index.
World’s Most Powerful Passports
According to our passport index, the top ten world’s most powerful passports are Germany, the USA, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Finland, the United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, and Switzerland.
About the Global Passport Index
Over the years, several global passport index rankings have been created, enabling individuals to understand how easily a passport can facilitate travel abroad with little to no visa restrictions. Yet, besides visa-free travel, there are also other, just as key advantages to obtaining a second passport. We came up with our own real take on the Passport Index to address this, ranking all the world’s passports.
Ultimately, our index uses a unique scoring system to determine the globe’s most desirable passports for business, quality of life, and investment opportunities. Our quantitative tool offers individuals a detailed breakdown of mobility and country attractiveness across three standalone indexes: Enhanced Mobility Index, Investment Index, and Quality of Life Index. Each index allows users to filter results for individual country rankings.
Our passport index uses quantitative data like composite indicators to evaluate specific criteria that make certain passports so attractive. The authoritative ranking is based on data from various international institutions and multilateral organizations such as The World Bank, the World Economic Forum, and the Sustainable Development Report and is bolstered by senior analysts.
Discover more about the most powerful passports in our Global Passport Index.
A Strong Passport Can Take You Anywhere
There are ample benefits for individuals seeking a powerful second passport—from increased travel mobility and unlimited access to business and educational opportunities to asset diversification and improved safety and security. A second passport is the ultimate backup plan for individuals looking to enhance their personal and financial freedoms, and improve their families’ lifestyles and start anew.
How to get a powerful second passport?
While citizenship has traditionally been granted through birth, naturalization, and marriage, the rules have changed since 1984. Other countries worldwide have carved out a new path toward citizenship —known as citizenship by investment. By investing in a nation’s infrastructure or economy, qualified and vetted individuals are granted second passports, and can, in turn, enjoy personal freedoms and financial prosperity while simultaneously protecting their assets.
What Global Citizen Solutions Can Do For You
As a boutique investment immigration consultancy, our sole mission rests on finding the right citizenship by investment or second residency scheme for individuals wishing to secure their future and become global citizens.
With offices in Portugal, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and Brazil, our multilingual team guides individuals and families from start to finish, providing expert advice considering freedom, mobility, taxation, and security.
To get a powerful second passport, simply apply for one via citizenship by investment scheme or contact us for more information. If in doubt, visit our site to get a comprehensive overview of what countries offer citizenship by investment and residency by investment.
Here are just some of the countries we offer passports by investment or second residency programs in:
