What Happened to Visa-Free Travel on Investment Passports

Here is what happened to the mobility of investment passports over ten years, who lost destinations and who gained them, and how to read the figure so as not to buy yesterday's picture.

In short

• There is no single method for counting visa-free destinations.
• The spread between counting methods reaches several dozen countries.
• Over ten years investment passports lost destinations more often than they gained them.
• The segment's largest loss is the visa regime with the European Union for Vanuatu from 2025.
• The Caribbean programmes keep visa-free Schengen access, and that is their main argument.

Why the figures differ so much

The same passport gets anywhere from 90 to 150 destinations in different sources. The cause is not dishonesty but methodology.

We count the first two categories. If you see a figure noticeably higher than ours, check the method: it most likely includes electronic authorisations and territories.

What happened over ten years

Fact: the key changes for investment passports over the period.

Bridges Global estimate: the direction of travel across the segment is one — towards contraction. Outside regulators scrutinise investment citizenship programmes more closely than ten years ago, and the visa regime remains the main instrument of pressure.

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Where each passport gives access today

The data are indicative and are checked on the date of filing: visa regimes change without long transition periods. We keep the Vanuatu list separately in visa-free countries for the Vanuatu passport.

How to read the figure before buying

• Make your own list of countries — the ones you actually travel to.
• Check each against the official source of the country of entry, not an aggregator.
• Check Schengen, the United Kingdom and the United States separately — they most often decide the matter.
• Remember that regimes change: the passport is bought for ten years, and visa rules live shorter lives.

Above all: if the only goal is visa-free travel, a second passport may prove an expensive way to solve something a visa solves. This fork in the road is analysed in Vanuatu after the end of EU visa-free travel.

Why countries change their visa regime

The decision on visas is taken by the country of entry, and it has its own grounds. Understanding them helps predict changes before they happen.

In Vanuatu's case the first two grounds were triggered: the European Commission pointed to short processing times and a low refusal rate. Formally the decision took the form of a regulation, but preparation had been under way since 2022.

Bridges Global estimate: a programme that tightens its checks lowers the risk of losing visa-free travel. That is why we regard a rising refusal rate as good news for passport holders, even though it means extra work for applicants.

What to do if visa-free travel matters

• Do not build the plan on a single regime. Visa rules live shorter lives than the passport.
• Look at the Caribbean segment if Schengen is critical: the regime holds there, and that is the segment's main distinguishing feature.
• Separate travel from residence. Living in Europe requires resident status, not visa-free entry.
• Check routes against the destination countries' official sources before every trip, not against a year-old table.