Why Everyone’s Granny Is Suddenly From Mayo

It’s a good thing the Irish passport is now basically gold dust—because half the country is using it to emigrate to Sydney, and the other half is applying “just in case.” Truth be told, the Irish passport has been passed around more than a dodgy Diceys ID in 2014—but this time it’s legit.

Ireland has just been ranked number one in the world for passport power in the 2025 Nomad Capitalist Index, knocking Switzerland off its perch in what they’re calling an “ongoing rivalry between two neutral nations”—very Eurovision of them.

What makes our maroon beauty the best? Five things: visa-free travel, taxation, global perception, dual citizenship access, and personal freedom. Irish passport holders can work across the EU, live in the UK (still), and travel to over 190 countries without blinking. Plus, it’s got that entrepreneur-friendly tax vibe if you’re someone who says “hustle culture” unironically.

The best bit? You might qualify without even knowing it. If your granny was born in Ireland—or even just had a really strong opinion on Christy Moore—you could be in via Foreign Birth Registration. In the U.S. alone, over 11,000 people registered for Irish citizenship last year.

And this isn’t a once-off win. Ireland also came third globally in the 2024 Henley Passport Index and issued over 1 million passports that year—our biggest number ever.

So if you’ve ever stared longingly at a Ryanair boarding pass or used “tax residency” in a sentence without knowing what it means—congrats. You’re part of the passport elite now.

Just don’t lose it on the first night out in Bondi.