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Passport comparison · 2026 data

German passport vs Canadian passport: which is stronger?

German passport ahead

The German passport is stronger: it reaches 163 destinations without an embassy visit, 4 more than the Canadian passport (159).

Side by side

MeasureGerman passportCanadian passport
World rank4 of 19724 of 197
Without an embassy visit163159
Visa-free124115
Visa on arrival3137
eTA87
e-Visa1818
Visa required1519

Counts are out of the other 196 sovereign countries. “Without an embassy visit” is visa-free, visa on arrival and eTA together.

Places the German passport can enter without an embassy visit and the Canadian passport cannot 4

Places the Canadian passport can enter without an embassy visit and the German passport cannot 0

None: every place the Canadian passport reaches without an embassy visit is also open to the German passport.

What both can enter

158 countries are open to both passports without an embassy visit. The two home countries are not counted in these lists.

Compare with another passport

Questions

Which is stronger, the German passport or the Canadian passport?

The German passport is stronger: it reaches 163 destinations without an embassy visit, 4 more than the Canadian passport (159). The German passport ranks 4 of 197 and the Canadian passport ranks 24.

How many countries can the German passport and the Canadian passport enter without an embassy visit?

The German passport: 163 (124 visa-free, 31 on arrival, 8 eTA). The Canadian passport: 159 (115 visa-free, 37 on arrival, 7 eTA). Both count the 196 other sovereign countries.

Where can one passport go that the other cannot?

The German passport can enter 4 countries without an embassy visit that the Canadian passport cannot, among them Vietnam, China, Iran and Venezuela. There is no country that the Canadian passport can enter without an embassy visit and the German passport cannot. Both passports can enter 158 of the same countries without an embassy visit. The two home countries are left out of these counts.

How is passport strength measured here?

We count the other 196 sovereign countries a passport can enter with visa-free entry, a visa on arrival or an eTA. An e-Visa counts as a visa. The data is the open Passport Index dataset, last updated 18 February 2026. Other indexes count differently, so their rankings can differ, and rules change often, so check the official source before you book.

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Entry rules come from the open Passport Index dataset by Ilya Ilyankou (MIT), last updated 18 February 2026. Governments change rules often, so treat this as a guide and check with the embassy or the official immigration site before you book.