# Best second passport for US citizens by travel access

Every other passport was tested with the United States passport. The numerical winner optimizes only short-visit access; it does not establish that the passport is obtainable.

**Important correction:** the United Arab Emirates is the mathematical travel-access winner, but the [official UAE framework](https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/passports-and-traveling/emirati-nationality) describes citizenship only through exceptional government nomination for narrow categories. It is not a conventional second-passport application route for US citizens.

Data checked August 29, 2026. Easy access means citizenship, visa-free entry, ETA, or visa on arrival.

| Rank | Second passport | Marginal gain | Combined access | Acquisition / compatibility context |
| ---: | --- | ---: | ---: | --- |
| 1 | [United Arab Emirates](https://multipassrank.com/passport/united-arab-emirates) | +19 | 204 | Exceptional nomination only |
| 2 | [Malaysia](https://multipassrank.com/passport/malaysia) | +18 | 203 | Not reviewed |
| 3 | [Singapore](https://multipassrank.com/passport/singapore) | +17 | 202 | Generally restricted |
| 4 | [Rwanda](https://multipassrank.com/passport/rwanda) | +15 | 200 | Not reviewed |
| 5 | [Burkina Faso](https://multipassrank.com/passport/burkina-faso) | +15 | 200 | Not reviewed |
| 6 | [Barbados](https://multipassrank.com/passport/barbados) | +14 | 199 | Not reviewed |
| 7 | [The Gambia](https://multipassrank.com/passport/the-gambia) | +14 | 199 | Not reviewed |
| 8 | [Tunisia](https://multipassrank.com/passport/tunisia) | +14 | 199 | Not reviewed |
| 9 | [Benin](https://multipassrank.com/passport/benin) | +14 | 199 | Not reviewed |
| 10 | [Côte d'Ivoire](https://multipassrank.com/passport/cote-d-ivoire) | +14 | 199 | Not reviewed |

## EU routes may be strategically more useful

Nationality of an EU member state also brings EU citizenship rights to live, work, and study across the Union. Those rights are not counted by the tourist-access score. The following high-gain EU candidates have at least one official-source acquisition route in the reviewed dataset; personal eligibility is not assumed.

| EU passport | Travel gain with US | Reviewed route |
| --- | ---: | --- |
| Italy | +9 | [Italian citizenship by descent after the 2025 reform](https://multipassrank.com/citizenship-by-descent#italy-descent-2026) |
| Spain | +9 | [Spanish nationality through legal residence](https://multipassrank.com/citizenship-by-descent#spain-residence-2026) |
| Germany | +7 | [German citizenship through naturalisation](https://multipassrank.com/citizenship-by-descent#germany-naturalisation-2026) |
| France | +7 | [French nationality by decree](https://multipassrank.com/citizenship-by-descent#france-naturalisation-2026) |
| Ireland | +7 | [Irish citizenship through a parent or grandparent](https://multipassrank.com/citizenship-by-descent#ireland-descent-2026); [Irish citizenship through reckonable residence](https://multipassrank.com/citizenship-by-descent#ireland-naturalisation-2026) |
| Portugal | +6 | [Portuguese nationality through a Portuguese ancestor](https://multipassrank.com/citizenship-by-descent#portugal-descent-2026); [Portuguese nationality through legal residence](https://multipassrank.com/citizenship-by-descent#portugal-naturalisation-2026) |

- [European Commission: EU citizenship rights](https://ec.europa.eu/justice/citizenship/index_en.html)
- [Build an incremental sequence from the US passport](https://multipassrank.com/improve?set=US)

## Destination gains

### United Arab Emirates

New easy-access destinations: Azerbaijan · Belarus · Brazil · Burkina Faso · Central African Republic · Chad · China · Congo (Rep.) · Cuba · Equatorial Guinea · Iran · Mali · Niger · Pakistan · Papua New Guinea · Russian Federation · Sierra Leone · Sudan · Uganda.

- [View combined rank](https://multipassrank.com/rank?set=US%2CAE)
- [Compare the passports](https://multipassrank.com/compare?set=US&set=AE)
- [See the incremental gain](https://multipassrank.com/improve?set=US&set=AE)

### Malaysia

New easy-access destinations: Algeria · Belarus · Benin · Brazil · Chad · China · Cuba · Iran · Iraq · Laos · Libya · Pakistan · Sierra Leone · Sudan · Togo · Uganda · Venezuela · Vietnam.

- [View combined rank](https://multipassrank.com/rank?set=US%2CMY)
- [Compare the passports](https://multipassrank.com/compare?set=US&set=MY)
- [See the incremental gain](https://multipassrank.com/improve?set=US&set=MY)

### Singapore

New easy-access destinations: Azerbaijan · Belarus · Benin · Brazil · Burkina Faso · Chad · China · Cuba · Ghana · Iran · Laos · Pakistan · Papua New Guinea · Sierra Leone · Togo · Uganda · Vietnam.

- [View combined rank](https://multipassrank.com/rank?set=US%2CSG)
- [Compare the passports](https://multipassrank.com/compare?set=US&set=SG)
- [See the incremental gain](https://multipassrank.com/improve?set=US&set=SG)

### Rwanda

New easy-access destinations: Benin · Central African Republic · Chad · Congo (Dem. Rep.) · Congo (Rep.) · Ghana · Iran · Liberia · Mali · Niger · Pakistan · Sierra Leone · South Sudan · Togo · Uganda.

- [View combined rank](https://multipassrank.com/rank?set=US%2CRW)
- [Compare the passports](https://multipassrank.com/compare?set=US&set=RW)
- [See the incremental gain](https://multipassrank.com/improve?set=US&set=RW)

### Burkina Faso

New easy-access destinations: Benin · Burkina Faso · Central African Republic · Chad · Congo (Rep.) · Ghana · Iran · Liberia · Mali · Mauritania · Niger · Nigeria · Senegal · Sierra Leone · Togo.

- [View combined rank](https://multipassrank.com/rank?set=US%2CBF)
- [Compare the passports](https://multipassrank.com/compare?set=US&set=BF)
- [See the incremental gain](https://multipassrank.com/improve?set=US&set=BF)

### Barbados

New easy-access destinations: Belarus · Benin · Brazil · Chad · China · Cuba · Equatorial Guinea · Ghana · Iran · Liberia · Pakistan · Sierra Leone · Uganda · Venezuela.

- [View combined rank](https://multipassrank.com/rank?set=US%2CBB)
- [Compare the passports](https://multipassrank.com/compare?set=US&set=BB)
- [See the incremental gain](https://multipassrank.com/improve?set=US&set=BB)

### The Gambia

New easy-access destinations: Belarus · Benin · Chad · Ghana · Iran · Liberia · Mali · Mauritania · Niger · Nigeria · Senegal · Sierra Leone · Togo · Uganda.

- [View combined rank](https://multipassrank.com/rank?set=US%2CGM)
- [Compare the passports](https://multipassrank.com/compare?set=US&set=GM)
- [See the incremental gain](https://multipassrank.com/improve?set=US&set=GM)

### Tunisia

New easy-access destinations: Algeria · Benin · Brazil · Equatorial Guinea · Ghana · Iran · Libya · Mali · Mauritania · Niger · Pakistan · Senegal · Sierra Leone · Togo.

- [View combined rank](https://multipassrank.com/rank?set=US%2CTN)
- [Compare the passports](https://multipassrank.com/compare?set=US&set=TN)
- [See the incremental gain](https://multipassrank.com/improve?set=US&set=TN)

### Benin

New easy-access destinations: Benin · Central African Republic · Chad · Congo (Rep.) · Ghana · Iran · Liberia · Libya · Mali · Niger · Nigeria · Senegal · Sierra Leone · Togo.

- [View combined rank](https://multipassrank.com/rank?set=US%2CBJ)
- [Compare the passports](https://multipassrank.com/compare?set=US&set=BJ)
- [See the incremental gain](https://multipassrank.com/improve?set=US&set=BJ)

### Côte d'Ivoire

New easy-access destinations: Benin · Central African Republic · Chad · Congo (Rep.) · Ghana · Iran · Liberia · Mali · Mauritania · Niger · Nigeria · Senegal · Sierra Leone · Togo.

- [View combined rank](https://multipassrank.com/rank?set=US%2CCI)
- [Compare the passports](https://multipassrank.com/compare?set=US&set=CI)
- [See the incremental gain](https://multipassrank.com/improve?set=US&set=CI)

## Important legal distinction

This is not a general answer to “the best dual citizenship for US citizens.” It optimizes short-visit access only.

- [Review citizenship by descent and naturalisation routes](https://multipassrank.com/citizenship-by-descent)
- [Review multiple-citizenship compatibility](https://multipassrank.com/dual-citizenship-countries)
- [See the unrestricted best passport pair](https://multipassrank.com/best-passport-combination)
- [Read the scoring method](https://multipassrank.com/methodology)