Passport comparison · updated 17 June 2026

Ireland vs United Kingdom Passport

Q: Which passport is stronger: Ireland vs United Kingdom?

The Ireland passport is stronger with 120 visa-free destinations, 2 more than the next passport in this comparison. Ireland ranks #23 of 199. United Kingdom ranks #29 of 199.

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

115 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?

5 destinations: Honduras, Palau, Tajikistan, Uganda and United Kingdom.

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

3 destinations: Ireland, Rwanda and Vietnam.

Ireland passport wins

120 visa-free destinations — 2 more than the United Kingdom passport.

Ireland

#23

120visa-free

Unlimited stay: 39
Visa on arrival: 37
eTA: 8
eVisa: 19
Visa required: 14
Only this passport: 5

All visa-free countries →

United Kingdom

#29

118visa-free

Unlimited stay: 9
Visa on arrival: 37
eTA: 9
eVisa: 17
Visa required: 17
Only this passport: 3

All visa-free countries →

Side by side

Visa-free

Ireland · 120

United Kingdom · 118

Visa-free + on arrival + eTA

Ireland · 165

United Kingdom · 164

Visa on arrival

Ireland · 37

United Kingdom · 37

eTA

Ireland · 8

United Kingdom · 9

eVisa

Ireland · 19

United Kingdom · 17

Visa required

Ireland · 14

United Kingdom · 17

Where each passport travels visa-free

Visa-free for both (115)
Only Ireland (5)
Only United Kingdom (3)
Visa needed for both (76)

Only Ireland visa-free (5)

Honduras, Palau, Tajikistan, Uganda and United Kingdom

Only United Kingdom visa-free (3)

Ireland, Rwanda and Vietnam

Country-by-country comparison

Destination	Ireland	United Kingdom
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	eVisa
Bahamas	90 days	240 days
Bahrain	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Bangladesh	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Barbados	180 days	180 days
Belarus	30 days	30 days
Belgium	Unlimited	90 days
Belize	Unlimited	Unlimited
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	Visa on arrival
Burundi	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Cambodia	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Cameroon	eVisa	eVisa
Canada	eTA	eTA
Cape Verde	30 days	30 days
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	Unlimited	90 days
Gabon	eVisa	eVisa
Gambia	90 days	90 days
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	Visa required
Hong Kong	90 days	180 days
Hungary	Unlimited	90 days
Iceland	Unlimited	90 days
India	eVisa	eVisa
Indonesia	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Iran	Visa on arrival	Visa required
Iraq	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Ireland	Own country	Unlimited
Israel	90 days	90 days
Italy	Unlimited	90 days
Jamaica	90 days	Unlimited
Japan	90 days	90 days
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	Visa on arrival
Latvia	Unlimited	90 days
Lebanon	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Lesotho	90 days	Unlimited
Liberia	Visa required	Visa required
Libya	eVisa	eVisa
Liechtenstein	Unlimited	90 days
Lithuania	Unlimited	90 days
Luxembourg	Unlimited	90 days
Macau	90 days	180 days
Madagascar	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Malawi	30 days	30 days
Malaysia	90 days	Unlimited
Maldives	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
Mali	Visa required	Visa required
Malta	Unlimited	90 days
Marshall Islands	90 days	90 days
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	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	eVisa	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	180 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	Visa required
Rwanda	Visa on arrival	30 days
Saint Kitts and Nevis	90 days	180 days
Saint Lucia	42 days	42 days
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	90 days	180 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	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	Unlimited
Slovakia	Unlimited	90 days
Slovenia	Unlimited	90 days
Solomon Islands	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival
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	Visa required
Suriname	eTA	eTA
Sweden	Unlimited	90 days
Switzerland	Unlimited	90 days
Syria	eVisa	eVisa
Taiwan	90 days	90 days
Tajikistan	30 days	Visa on arrival
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	Visa on arrival
Trinidad and Tobago	Unlimited	Unlimited
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	30 days
United Kingdom	Unlimited	Own country
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	eVisa	45 days
Yemen	Visa required	Visa required
Zambia	90 days	90 days
Zimbabwe	Visa on arrival	Visa on arrival

Ireland vs United Kingdom passport: which is stronger in 2026?

The Ireland passport opens 120 destinations visa-free (#23 of 199), while the United Kingdom passport opens 118 destinations visa-free (#29 of 199). The Ireland passport is therefore the stronger one in this Ireland vs United Kingdom passport comparison, with 2 more visa-free destinations.

Add visa on arrival and eTA destinations and the overall mobility score reads Ireland 165 vs United Kingdom 164. A traditional visa from an embassy is still required by Ireland citizens for 14 countries and by United Kingdom citizens for 17 countries, and an online eVisa by 19 (Ireland) and 17 (United Kingdom).

Where both passports travel visa-free

Both passports are visa-free in 115 destinations, among them popular trips such as Japan, China, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Türkiye, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and 10 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. 76 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 4 destinations: Honduras, Palau, Tajikistan and Uganda.

Only United Kingdom citizens can travel visa-free to 2 destinations: Rwanda and Vietnam.

Visa-free access by continent

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

Africa (54 countries): Ireland 17, United Kingdom 17
Americas (35 countries): Ireland 31, United Kingdom 30
Asia (47 countries): Ireland 20, United Kingdom 20
Europe (49 countries): Ireland 46, United Kingdom 46
Oceania (14 countries): Ireland 6, United Kingdom 5

Holding both passports (dual citizenship)

A traveller with both passports can always use the stronger one for each trip. Combined, they open 123 destinations without a visa — 3 more than the Ireland passport alone. Remember to enter and leave a country on the same passport, and check whether Ireland and United Kingdom allow dual citizenship before you apply.

Frequently asked questions

Which passport is stronger: Ireland vs United Kingdom?

The Ireland passport is stronger with 120 visa-free destinations, 2 more than the next passport in this comparison. Ireland ranks #23 of 199. United Kingdom ranks #29 of 199.

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

115 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?

5 destinations: Honduras, Palau, Tajikistan, Uganda and United Kingdom.

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

3 destinations: Ireland, Rwanda and Vietnam.

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

Compare other passports

Passport 1

Passport 2

Passport 3 (optional)