Passport comparison · updated 17 June 2026

Ireland vs United Arab Emirates Passport

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

The United Arab Emirates passport is stronger with 128 visa-free destinations, 8 more than the next passport in this comparison. Ireland ranks #23 of 199. United Arab Emirates ranks #2 of 199.

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

104 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 Ireland citizens travel visa-free but the others cannot?

16 destinations: Belize, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Eswatini, Guyana, Jamaica, Lesotho, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Palau, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and 1 more.

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

24 destinations: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cuba, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Ireland, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mali, Nauru, Oman and 9 more.

United Arab Emirates passport wins

128 visa-free destinations — 8 more than the Ireland passport.

Ireland

#23

120visa-free

Unlimited stay: 39
Visa on arrival: 37
eTA: 8
eVisa: 19
Visa required: 14
Only this passport: 16

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: 24

All visa-free countries →

Side by side

Visa-free

Ireland · 120

United Arab Emirates · 128

Visa-free + on arrival + eTA

Ireland · 165

United Arab Emirates · 170

Visa on arrival

Ireland · 37

United Arab Emirates · 36

eTA

Ireland · 8

United Arab Emirates · 6

eVisa

Ireland · 19

United Arab Emirates · 15

Visa required

Ireland · 14

United Arab Emirates · 13

Where each passport travels visa-free

Visa-free for both (104)
Only Ireland (16)
Only United Arab Emirates (24)
Visa needed for both (55)

Only Ireland visa-free (16)

Belize, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Eswatini, Guyana, Jamaica, Lesotho, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Palau, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and Venezuela

Only United Arab Emirates visa-free (24)

Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cuba, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Ireland, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mali, Nauru, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, Sudan, Syria and Tonga

Country-by-country comparison

Destination	Ireland	United Arab Emirates
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	90 days
Argentina	90 days	90 days
Armenia	180 days	180 days
Australia	eTA	eVisa
Austria	Unlimited	90 days
Azerbaijan	eVisa	90 days
Bahamas	90 days	90 days
Bahrain	Visa on arrival	Unlimited
Bangladesh	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Barbados	180 days	90 days
Belarus	30 days	90 days
Belgium	Unlimited	90 days
Belize	Unlimited	Visa required
Benin	eVisa	eVisa
Bhutan	eVisa	eVisa
Bolivia	90 days	Visa on arrival
Bosnia and Herzegovina	90 days	90 days
Botswana	90 days	90 days
Brazil	90 days	90 days
Brunei	90 days	30 days
Bulgaria	Unlimited	90 days
Burkina Faso	Visa on arrival	Unlimited
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 on arrival
Chad	Visa required	Unlimited
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	90 days
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	180 days
El Salvador	180 days	180 days
Equatorial Guinea	eVisa	90 days
Eritrea	Visa required	Visa required
Estonia	Unlimited	90 days
Eswatini	30 days	Visa required
Ethiopia	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Fiji	120 days	120 days
Finland	Unlimited	90 days
France	Unlimited	90 days
Gabon	eVisa	eVisa
Gambia	90 days	90 days
Georgia	360 days	90 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	Visa on arrival
Guinea-Bissau	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Guyana	90 days	Visa on arrival
Haiti	90 days	90 days
Honduras	90 days	90 days
Hong Kong	90 days	30 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	Own country	90 days
Israel	90 days	90 days
Italy	Unlimited	90 days
Jamaica	90 days	Visa on arrival
Japan	90 days	90 days
Jordan	Visa on arrival	90 days
Kazakhstan	30 days	30 days
Kenya	eTA	eTA
Kiribati	90 days	90 days
Kosovo	90 days	90 days
Kuwait	Visa on arrival	Unlimited
Kyrgyzstan	60 days	60 days
Laos	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Latvia	Unlimited	90 days
Lebanon	Visa on arrival	180 days
Lesotho	90 days	eVisa
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	eVisa
Malaysia	90 days	90 days
Maldives	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Mali	Visa required	90 days
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	30 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	Visa required
Namibia	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Nauru	Visa required	Unlimited
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	Unlimited
Pakistan	eVisa	90 days
Palau	90 days	Visa on arrival
Palestine	Unlimited	Unlimited
Panama	90 days	90 days
Papua New Guinea	eTA	30 days
Paraguay	90 days	90 days
Peru	180 days	90 days
Philippines	30 days	30 days
Poland	Unlimited	90 days
Portugal	Unlimited	90 days
Qatar	Visa on arrival	Unlimited
Republic of the Congo	Visa required	Visa on arrival
Romania	Unlimited	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	90 days	90 days
Samoa	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
San Marino	Unlimited	90 days
Sao Tome and Principe	15 days	15 days
Saudi Arabia	Visa on arrival	Unlimited
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	Visa on arrival	90 days
Somalia	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
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	Unlimited
Suriname	eTA	eTA
Sweden	Unlimited	90 days
Switzerland	Unlimited	90 days
Syria	eVisa	Unlimited
Taiwan	90 days	eVisa
Tajikistan	30 days	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	Unlimited	Visa required
Tunisia	90 days	90 days
Türkiye	90 days	90 days
Turkmenistan	Visa required	Visa required
Tuvalu	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Uganda	90 days	eVisa
Ukraine	90 days	90 days
United Arab Emirates	30 days	Own country
United Kingdom	Unlimited	eTA
United States	eTA	Visa required
Uruguay	90 days	90 days
Uzbekistan	30 days	30 days
Vanuatu	120 days	120 days
Vatican City	Unlimited	90 days
Venezuela	90 days	Visa required
Vietnam	eVisa	eVisa
Yemen	Visa required	Visa on arrival
Zambia	90 days	90 days
Zimbabwe	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival

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

The Ireland passport opens 120 destinations visa-free (#23 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 Ireland vs United Arab Emirates passport comparison, with 8 more visa-free destinations.

If you also count destinations with a visa on arrival or an eTA, the totals become Ireland 165 vs United Arab Emirates 170. A traditional visa from an embassy is still required by Ireland citizens for 14 countries and by United Arab Emirates citizens for 13 countries, and an online eVisa by 19 (Ireland) and 15 (United Arab Emirates).

Where both passports travel visa-free

Both passports are visa-free in 104 destinations, among them popular trips such as Japan, China, Thailand, Türkiye, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea and 9 more. Neither passport gets visa-free entry to United States, Canada, Australia, India, Indonesia, Vietnam and 2 more — plan an eVisa, eTA or embassy visa for those. 55 destinations require some kind of visa for every passport in this comparison.

Where only one of the passports is visa-free

Only Ireland citizens can travel visa-free to 15 destinations: Belize, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Eswatini, Guyana, Jamaica, Lesotho, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Palau, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago and 3 more.

Only United Arab Emirates citizens can travel visa-free to 23 destinations: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cuba, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mali and 11 more.

Visa-free access by continent

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

Africa (54 countries): Ireland 17, United Arab Emirates 18
Americas (35 countries): Ireland 31, United Arab Emirates 26
Asia (47 countries): Ireland 20, United Arab Emirates 28
Europe (49 countries): Ireland 46, United Arab Emirates 48
Oceania (14 countries): Ireland 6, 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 144 destinations without a visa — 16 more than the United Arab Emirates passport alone. Remember to enter and leave a country on the same passport, and check whether Ireland and United Arab Emirates allow dual citizenship before you apply.

Frequently asked questions

Which passport is stronger: Ireland vs United Arab Emirates?

The United Arab Emirates passport is stronger with 128 visa-free destinations, 8 more than the next passport in this comparison. Ireland ranks #23 of 199. United Arab Emirates ranks #2 of 199.

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

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

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

16 destinations: Belize, Bolivia, Cape Verde, Eswatini, Guyana, Jamaica, Lesotho, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Palau, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and 1 more.

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

24 destinations: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cuba, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Ireland, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mali, Nauru, Oman and 9 more.

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

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