Passport comparison · updated 17 June 2026

France vs Japan Passport

Q: Which passport is stronger: France vs Japan?

The France passport is stronger with 126 visa-free destinations, 10 more than the next passport in this comparison. France ranks #3 of 199. Japan ranks #34 of 199.

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

113 destinations are visa-free for every passport in this comparison, including Albania, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Austria and Bahamas.

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

13 destinations: Cape Verde, Gambia, Japan, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Palau, Rwanda, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and United Kingdom.

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

3 destinations: France, Iran and Laos.

France passport wins

126 visa-free destinations — 10 more than the Japan passport.

France

126visa-free

Unlimited stay: 37
Visa on arrival: 31
eTA: 9
eVisa: 18
Visa required: 14
Only this passport: 13

All visa-free countries →

Japan

#34

116visa-free

Unlimited stay: 2
Visa on arrival: 39
eTA: 10
eVisa: 18
Visa required: 15
Only this passport: 3

All visa-free countries →

Side by side

Visa-free

France · 126

Japan · 116

Visa-free + on arrival + eTA

France · 166

Japan · 165

Visa on arrival

France · 31

Japan · 39

eTA

France · 9

Japan · 10

eVisa

France · 18

Japan · 18

Visa required

France · 14

Japan · 15

Where each passport travels visa-free

Visa-free for both (113)
Only France (13)
Only Japan (3)
Visa needed for both (70)

Only France visa-free (13)

Cape Verde, Gambia, Japan, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Palau, Rwanda, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and United Kingdom

Only Japan visa-free (3)

France, Iran and Laos

Country-by-country comparison

Destination	France	Japan
Afghanistan	Visa required	Visa required
Albania	90 days	90 days
Algeria	Visa required	Visa required
Andorra	Unlimited	90 days
Angola	30 days	30 days
Antigua and Barbuda	180 days	180 days
Argentina	90 days	90 days
Armenia	180 days	180 days
Australia	eTA	eTA
Austria	Unlimited	90 days
Azerbaijan	eVisa	Visa on arrival
Bahamas	90 days	90 days
Bahrain	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Bangladesh	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Barbados	90 days	90 days
Belarus	30 days	30 days
Belgium	Unlimited	90 days
Belize	Unlimited	90 days
Benin	eVisa	eVisa
Bhutan	eVisa	eVisa
Bolivia	90 days	90 days
Bosnia and Herzegovina	90 days	90 days
Botswana	90 days	90 days
Brazil	90 days	90 days
Brunei	90 days	90 days
Bulgaria	Unlimited	90 days
Burkina Faso	Visa on arrival	eVisa
Burundi	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Cambodia	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Cameroon	eVisa	eVisa
Canada	eTA	eTA
Cape Verde	30 days	Visa on arrival
Central African Republic	Visa required	Visa required
Chad	Visa required	Visa required
Chile	90 days	90 days
China	30 days	30 days
Colombia	90 days	90 days
Comoros	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Costa Rica	180 days	180 days
Côte d'Ivoire	eTA	eTA
Croatia	Unlimited	90 days
Cuba	eVisa	eVisa
Cyprus	Unlimited	90 days
Czechia	Unlimited	90 days
Denmark	Unlimited	90 days
Djibouti	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Dominica	180 days	180 days
Dominican Republic	Unlimited	Unlimited
DR Congo	eVisa	eVisa
Ecuador	90 days	90 days
Egypt	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
El Salvador	180 days	180 days
Equatorial Guinea	eVisa	eVisa
Eritrea	Visa required	Visa required
Estonia	Unlimited	90 days
Eswatini	30 days	30 days
Ethiopia	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Fiji	120 days	120 days
Finland	Unlimited	90 days
France	Own country	90 days
Gabon	eVisa	eVisa
Gambia	90 days	Visa required
Georgia	360 days	360 days
Germany	Unlimited	90 days
Ghana	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Greece	Unlimited	90 days
Grenada	90 days	90 days
Guatemala	90 days	90 days
Guinea	eVisa	eVisa
Guinea-Bissau	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Guyana	90 days	90 days
Haiti	90 days	90 days
Honduras	90 days	90 days
Hong Kong	90 days	90 days
Hungary	Unlimited	90 days
Iceland	Unlimited	90 days
India	eVisa	Visa on arrival
Indonesia	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Iran	Visa on arrival	15 days
Iraq	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Ireland	Unlimited	90 days
Israel	90 days	90 days
Italy	Unlimited	90 days
Jamaica	30 days	30 days
Japan	90 days	Own country
Jordan	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Kazakhstan	30 days	30 days
Kenya	eTA	eTA
Kiribati	90 days	90 days
Kosovo	90 days	90 days
Kuwait	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Kyrgyzstan	60 days	60 days
Laos	Visa on arrival	15 days
Latvia	Unlimited	90 days
Lebanon	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Lesotho	14 days	90 days
Liberia	Visa required	Visa required
Libya	eVisa	eVisa
Liechtenstein	Unlimited	90 days
Lithuania	Unlimited	90 days
Luxembourg	Unlimited	90 days
Macau	90 days	90 days
Madagascar	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Malawi	30 days	Visa on arrival
Malaysia	90 days	90 days
Maldives	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Mali	Visa required	Visa required
Malta	Unlimited	90 days
Marshall Islands	90 days	Visa on arrival
Mauritania	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Mauritius	90 days	90 days
Mexico	180 days	180 days
Micronesia	90 days	30 days
Moldova	90 days	90 days
Monaco	Unlimited	90 days
Mongolia	30 days	30 days
Montenegro	90 days	90 days
Morocco	90 days	90 days
Mozambique	30 days	30 days
Myanmar	eVisa	eVisa
Namibia	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Nauru	Visa required	Visa required
Nepal	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Netherlands	Unlimited	90 days
New Zealand	eTA	eTA
Nicaragua	90 days	90 days
Niger	Visa required	Visa required
Nigeria	eVisa	eVisa
North Korea	Visa required	Visa required
North Macedonia	90 days	90 days
Norway	Unlimited	90 days
Oman	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Pakistan	eTA	eTA
Palau	90 days	Visa on arrival
Palestine	Unlimited	Unlimited
Panama	90 days	90 days
Papua New Guinea	eTA	eTA
Paraguay	90 days	90 days
Peru	90 days	180 days
Philippines	30 days	30 days
Poland	Unlimited	90 days
Portugal	Unlimited	90 days
Qatar	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Republic of the Congo	Visa required	Visa required
Romania	Unlimited	90 days
Russia	eVisa	eVisa
Rwanda	30 days	Visa on arrival
Saint Kitts and Nevis	90 days	90 days
Saint Lucia	90 days	42 days
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	90 days	90 days
Samoa	90 days	Visa on arrival
San Marino	Unlimited	90 days
Sao Tome and Principe	15 days	15 days
Saudi Arabia	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Senegal	90 days	90 days
Serbia	90 days	90 days
Seychelles	90 days	90 days
Sierra Leone	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Singapore	90 days	30 days
Slovakia	Unlimited	90 days
Slovenia	Unlimited	90 days
Solomon Islands	90 days	Visa on arrival
Somalia	Visa on arrival	eVisa
South Africa	90 days	90 days
South Korea	90 days	90 days
South Sudan	eVisa	eVisa
Spain	Unlimited	90 days
Sri Lanka	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Sudan	Visa required	Visa required
Suriname	eTA	eTA
Sweden	Unlimited	90 days
Switzerland	Unlimited	90 days
Syria	eVisa	eVisa
Taiwan	90 days	90 days
Tajikistan	30 days	30 days
Tanzania	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Thailand	60 days	60 days
Timor-Leste	90 days	Visa on arrival
Togo	eVisa	eVisa
Tonga	90 days	Visa on arrival
Trinidad and Tobago	90 days	90 days
Tunisia	90 days	90 days
Türkiye	90 days	90 days
Turkmenistan	Visa required	Visa required
Tuvalu	90 days	Visa on arrival
Uganda	eVisa	eVisa
Ukraine	90 days	90 days
United Arab Emirates	90 days	30 days
United Kingdom	180 days	eTA
United States	eTA	eTA
Uruguay	90 days	90 days
Uzbekistan	30 days	30 days
Vanuatu	120 days	120 days
Vatican City	Unlimited	90 days
Venezuela	90 days	90 days
Vietnam	45 days	45 days
Yemen	Visa required	Visa required
Zambia	90 days	90 days
Zimbabwe	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival

France vs Japan passport: which is stronger in 2026?

The France passport opens 126 destinations visa-free (#3 of 199), while the Japan passport opens 116 destinations visa-free (#34 of 199). The France passport is therefore the stronger one in this France vs Japan passport comparison, with 10 more visa-free destinations.

Counting visa on arrival and electronic travel authorisations (eTA) as well, the mobility scores are France 166 vs Japan 165. A traditional visa from an embassy is still required by France citizens for 14 countries and by Japan citizens for 15 countries, and an online eVisa by 18 (France) and 18 (Japan).

Where both passports travel visa-free

Both passports are visa-free in 113 destinations, among them popular trips such as China, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Türkiye, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea and 9 more. Neither passport gets visa-free entry to United States, Canada, Australia, India, Egypt, Russia and 4 more — plan an eVisa, eTA or embassy visa for those. 70 destinations require some kind of visa for every passport in this comparison.

Where only one of the passports is visa-free

Only France citizens can travel visa-free to 12 destinations: Cape Verde, Gambia, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Palau, Rwanda, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and United Kingdom.

Only Japan citizens can travel visa-free to 2 destinations: Iran and Laos.

Visa-free access by continent

How the France vs Japan passports compare region by region (visa-free destinations per continent):

Africa (54 countries): France 17, Japan 13
Americas (35 countries): France 31, Japan 31
Asia (47 countries): France 22, Japan 22
Europe (49 countries): France 46, Japan 46
Oceania (14 countries): France 10, Japan 4

Holding both passports (dual citizenship)

A traveller with both passports can always use the stronger one for each trip. Combined, they open 129 destinations without a visa — 3 more than the France passport alone. Remember to enter and leave a country on the same passport, and check whether France and Japan allow dual citizenship before you apply.

Frequently asked questions

Which passport is stronger: France vs Japan?

The France passport is stronger with 126 visa-free destinations, 10 more than the next passport in this comparison. France ranks #3 of 199. Japan ranks #34 of 199.

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

113 destinations are visa-free for every passport in this comparison, including Albania, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Austria and Bahamas.

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

13 destinations: Cape Verde, Gambia, Japan, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Palau, Rwanda, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and United Kingdom.

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

3 destinations: France, Iran and Laos.

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

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