Passport comparison · updated 17 June 2026

China vs United Arab Emirates Passport

Q: Which passport is stronger: China vs United Arab Emirates?

The United Arab Emirates passport is stronger with 128 visa-free destinations, 85 more than the next passport in this comparison. China ranks #115 of 199. United Arab Emirates ranks #2 of 199.

Q: How many countries can all of them visit visa-free?

38 destinations are visa-free for every passport in this comparison, including Albania, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Barbados and Belarus.

Q: Where can China citizens travel visa-free but the others cannot?

5 destinations: Benin, Jamaica, Malawi, Maldives and United Arab Emirates.

Q: Where can United Arab Emirates citizens travel visa-free but the others cannot?

90 destinations: Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Botswana, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia and 75 more.

United Arab Emirates passport wins

128 visa-free destinations — 85 more than the China passport.

China

#115

43visa-free

Unlimited stay: 2
Visa on arrival: 38
eTA: 5
eVisa: 28
Visa required: 84
Only this passport: 5

All visa-free countries →

United Arab Emirates

128visa-free

Unlimited stay: 12
Visa on arrival: 36
eTA: 6
eVisa: 15
Visa required: 13
Only this passport: 90

All visa-free countries →

Side by side

Visa-free

China · 43

United Arab Emirates · 128

Visa-free + on arrival + eTA

China · 86

United Arab Emirates · 170

Visa on arrival

China · 38

United Arab Emirates · 36

eTA

China · 5

United Arab Emirates · 6

eVisa

China · 28

United Arab Emirates · 15

Visa required

China · 84

United Arab Emirates · 13

Where each passport travels visa-free

Visa-free for both (38)
Only China (5)
Only United Arab Emirates (90)
Visa needed for both (66)

Only China visa-free (5)

Benin, Jamaica, Malawi, Maldives and United Arab Emirates

Only United Arab Emirates visa-free (90)

Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Botswana, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Finland, France, Gambia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kosovo and 50 more

Country-by-country comparison

Destination	China	United Arab Emirates
Afghanistan	Visa required	Visa required
Albania	90 days	90 days
Algeria	Visa required	Visa required
Andorra	Visa required	90 days
Angola	30 days	30 days
Antigua and Barbuda	30 days	90 days
Argentina	Visa required	90 days
Armenia	180 days	180 days
Australia	eVisa	eVisa
Austria	Visa required	90 days
Azerbaijan	30 days	90 days
Bahamas	90 days	90 days
Bahrain	Visa on arrival	Unlimited
Bangladesh	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Barbados	30 days	90 days
Belarus	30 days	90 days
Belgium	Visa required	90 days
Belize	Visa required	Visa required
Benin	30 days	eVisa
Bhutan	eVisa	eVisa
Bolivia	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Bosnia and Herzegovina	90 days	90 days
Botswana	eVisa	90 days
Brazil	30 days	90 days
Brunei	Visa on arrival	30 days
Bulgaria	Visa required	90 days
Burkina Faso	eVisa	Unlimited
Burundi	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Cambodia	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Cameroon	eVisa	eVisa
Canada	Visa required	eTA
Cape Verde	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Central African Republic	Visa required	Visa on arrival
Chad	Visa required	Unlimited
Chile	Visa required	90 days
China	Own country	30 days
Colombia	eVisa	90 days
Comoros	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Costa Rica	Visa required	180 days
Côte d'Ivoire	eTA	eTA
Croatia	Visa required	90 days
Cuba	90 days	90 days
Cyprus	Visa required	90 days
Czechia	Visa required	90 days
Denmark	Visa required	90 days
Djibouti	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Dominica	180 days	180 days
Dominican Republic	Visa required	Unlimited
DR Congo	eVisa	eVisa
Ecuador	eVisa	90 days
Egypt	Visa on arrival	180 days
El Salvador	eVisa	180 days
Equatorial Guinea	eVisa	90 days
Eritrea	Visa required	Visa required
Estonia	Visa required	90 days
Eswatini	Visa required	Visa required
Ethiopia	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Fiji	120 days	120 days
Finland	Visa required	90 days
France	Visa required	90 days
Gabon	eVisa	eVisa
Gambia	Visa required	90 days
Georgia	30 days	90 days
Germany	Visa required	90 days
Ghana	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Greece	Visa required	90 days
Grenada	30 days	90 days
Guatemala	Visa required	90 days
Guinea	eVisa	Visa on arrival
Guinea-Bissau	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Guyana	Visa required	Visa on arrival
Haiti	90 days	90 days
Honduras	Visa required	90 days
Hong Kong	Visa required	30 days
Hungary	Visa required	90 days
Iceland	Visa required	90 days
India	Visa required	Visa on arrival
Indonesia	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Iran	21 days	15 days
Iraq	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Ireland	Visa required	90 days
Israel	Visa required	90 days
Italy	Visa required	90 days
Jamaica	30 days	Visa on arrival
Japan	eVisa	90 days
Jordan	Visa on arrival	90 days
Kazakhstan	30 days	30 days
Kenya	eTA	eTA
Kiribati	90 days	90 days
Kosovo	Visa required	90 days
Kuwait	Visa required	Unlimited
Kyrgyzstan	eVisa	60 days
Laos	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Latvia	Visa required	90 days
Lebanon	Visa on arrival	180 days
Lesotho	eVisa	eVisa
Liberia	Visa required	Visa required
Libya	eVisa	eVisa
Liechtenstein	Visa required	90 days
Lithuania	Visa required	90 days
Luxembourg	Visa required	90 days
Macau	Visa required	90 days
Madagascar	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Malawi	30 days	eVisa
Malaysia	30 days	90 days
Maldives	30 days	Visa on arrival
Mali	Visa required	90 days
Malta	Visa required	90 days
Marshall Islands	Visa required	Visa on arrival
Mauritania	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Mauritius	90 days	90 days
Mexico	Visa required	180 days
Micronesia	30 days	30 days
Moldova	eVisa	90 days
Monaco	Visa required	90 days
Mongolia	eVisa	30 days
Montenegro	Visa required	90 days
Morocco	90 days	90 days
Mozambique	30 days	30 days
Myanmar	Visa on arrival	Visa required
Namibia	Visa required	Visa on arrival
Nauru	Visa required	Unlimited
Nepal	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Netherlands	Visa required	90 days
New Zealand	Visa required	eTA
Nicaragua	Visa required	90 days
Niger	Visa required	Visa required
Nigeria	eVisa	eVisa
North Korea	Visa required	Visa required
North Macedonia	Visa required	90 days
Norway	Visa required	90 days
Oman	Visa on arrival	Unlimited
Pakistan	eTA	90 days
Palau	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Palestine	Unlimited	Unlimited
Panama	Visa required	90 days
Papua New Guinea	eTA	30 days
Paraguay	Visa required	90 days
Peru	Visa required	90 days
Philippines	14 days	30 days
Poland	Visa required	90 days
Portugal	Visa required	90 days
Qatar	30 days	Unlimited
Republic of the Congo	Visa required	Visa on arrival
Romania	Visa required	90 days
Russia	eVisa	90 days
Rwanda	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Saint Kitts and Nevis	90 days	90 days
Saint Lucia	42 days	60 days
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Visa required	90 days
Samoa	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
San Marino	Visa required	90 days
Sao Tome and Principe	Visa on arrival	15 days
Saudi Arabia	Visa on arrival	Unlimited
Senegal	Visa on arrival	90 days
Serbia	30 days	90 days
Seychelles	90 days	90 days
Sierra Leone	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Singapore	30 days	30 days
Slovakia	Visa required	90 days
Slovenia	Visa required	90 days
Solomon Islands	Visa on arrival	90 days
Somalia	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
South Africa	eVisa	90 days
South Korea	eVisa	90 days
South Sudan	eVisa	eVisa
Spain	Visa required	90 days
Sri Lanka	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Sudan	Visa required	Unlimited
Suriname	eTA	eTA
Sweden	Visa required	90 days
Switzerland	Visa required	90 days
Syria	eVisa	Unlimited
Taiwan	Visa required	eVisa
Tajikistan	eVisa	30 days
Tanzania	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Thailand	60 days	60 days
Timor-Leste	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Togo	eVisa	eVisa
Tonga	Visa on arrival	60 days
Trinidad and Tobago	Visa required	Visa required
Tunisia	90 days	90 days
Türkiye	Unlimited	90 days
Turkmenistan	Visa required	Visa required
Tuvalu	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Uganda	eVisa	eVisa
Ukraine	Visa required	90 days
United Arab Emirates	30 days	Own country
United Kingdom	Visa required	eTA
United States	Visa required	Visa required
Uruguay	Visa required	90 days
Uzbekistan	10 days	30 days
Vanuatu	120 days	120 days
Vatican City	Visa required	90 days
Venezuela	Visa required	Visa required
Vietnam	eVisa	eVisa
Yemen	Visa required	Visa on arrival
Zambia	90 days	90 days
Zimbabwe	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival

China vs United Arab Emirates passport: which is stronger in 2026?

The China passport opens 43 destinations visa-free (#115 of 199), while the United Arab Emirates passport opens 128 destinations visa-free (#2 of 199). The United Arab Emirates passport is therefore the stronger one in this China vs United Arab Emirates passport comparison, with 85 more visa-free destinations.

If you also count destinations with a visa on arrival or an eTA, the totals become China 86 vs United Arab Emirates 170. A traditional visa from an embassy is still required by China citizens for 84 countries and by United Arab Emirates citizens for 13 countries, and an online eVisa by 28 (China) and 15 (United Arab Emirates).

Where both passports travel visa-free

Both passports are visa-free in 38 destinations, among them popular trips such as Thailand, Türkiye, Brazil, Singapore, Morocco and Philippines. Neither passport gets visa-free entry to United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, India, Indonesia and 3 more — plan an eVisa, eTA or embassy visa for those. 66 destinations require some kind of visa for every passport in this comparison.

Where only one of the passports is visa-free

Only China citizens can travel visa-free to 4 destinations: Benin, Jamaica, Malawi and Maldives.

Only United Arab Emirates citizens can travel visa-free to 89 destinations: Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Botswana, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Chile, Colombia and 77 more.

Visa-free access by continent

How the China vs United Arab Emirates passports compare region by region (visa-free destinations per continent):

Africa (54 countries): China 9, United Arab Emirates 18
Americas (35 countries): China 11, United Arab Emirates 26
Asia (47 countries): China 12, United Arab Emirates 28
Europe (49 countries): China 7, United Arab Emirates 48
Oceania (14 countries): China 4, United Arab Emirates 8

Holding both passports (dual citizenship)

A traveller with both passports can always use the stronger one for each trip. Combined, they open 133 destinations without a visa — 5 more than the United Arab Emirates passport alone. Remember to enter and leave a country on the same passport, and check whether China and United Arab Emirates allow dual citizenship before you apply.

Frequently asked questions

Which passport is stronger: China vs United Arab Emirates?

The United Arab Emirates passport is stronger with 128 visa-free destinations, 85 more than the next passport in this comparison. China ranks #115 of 199. United Arab Emirates ranks #2 of 199.

How many countries can all of them visit visa-free?

38 destinations are visa-free for every passport in this comparison, including Albania, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Barbados and Belarus.

Where can China citizens travel visa-free but the others cannot?

5 destinations: Benin, Jamaica, Malawi, Maldives and United Arab Emirates.

Where can United Arab Emirates citizens travel visa-free but the others cannot?

90 destinations: Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Botswana, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia and 75 more.

Data: Passport Index dataset with official corrections (MIT) · updated 17 June 2026.

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