Swedish passports have most black market appeal

Different passports have different powers attached to them when it comes to travelling around the world. While the Swedish passport has been recognised as “the most powerful” to possess, because of its status, it also is the most sought-after travel permit on the black market, with each copy selling for as much as £6,000.

Different passports have different powers across the world. Image by slgckgc / CC BY 2.0

These and other findings are part of a new GoEuro infographic that lists the most powerful passports in the world while also focusing on some quirky facts about such travel documents.

One of those ‘funny but true’ items is that a Canadian passport displays colourful images on its pages when it is placed under ultra-violet light. The Finnish version shows a walking moose as the pages are flipped, while perhaps not unsurprisingly, a Belgian passport has three different language sequences – Dutch, German and French.

A British Passport is one of the most sought after in the globe. Image by Katie Collins/PA Wire

The reports says UK passengers are forced to pay one of the highest passport costs in the world. At the other end of the scale, citizens in places such as China, Afghanistan, the Czech Republic and Russia pay a lot less. The UAE has the most affordable passport at just £9, while Turkey has the most expensive at £166.

Using the cost as a deciding factor, the British passport – costing £73 – is the fourth most powerful in the world with Sweden, Finland and Germany ahead in the rankings. The £28 Swedish passport has the status of visa-free entry into 174 countries, which is similar to Britain, Finland, Germany, and the US, but was ranked number one by the website due to its cost.