The Discreet Investor
World Passport Index · October 2026
Malawi passport: rank 134 of 199
The Malawi passport scores 45.4 out of 100 in our Investor Score and opens 64 destinations without a prior visa (Mobility Score 72.7, rank 132).
Photo: Lake Malawi National Park · Kevin Walsh · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (cropped)
Investor Score
How the Malawi passport scores on each pillar
| Pillar | Points | What drives it |
|---|---|---|
| Weighted mobility | 3.8 / 30 | 64 of 198 destinations without a prior visa; 13% of the maximum once destinations are weighted by economic importance. |
| Right to live and work | 0.0 / 20 | No automatic right to live and work in another country. |
| Banking access | 15.0 / 15 | Not on the FATF, EU or sanctions lists that banks check. |
| Tax and obligations | 15.0 / 15 | No worldwide tax, military service or exit permit for citizens abroad. |
| Citizenship flexibility | 7.0 / 10 | Dual citizenship allowed; Passed automatically to children born abroad; Can be withdrawn on broad grounds |
| Stability and consular protection | 4.6 / 10 | Political stability 63/100 · rule of law 56/100 · embassies or consulates in 21 countries. |
| Investor Score | 45.4 / 100 |
Weighted mobility
Where Malawi passport holders can travel
Entry rules for a short tourist or business stay, by category. Destinations are the 199 passport-issuing jurisdictions; dependent territories will be added in the first full edition.
Visa-free39
- Angola · 30 days
- Antigua & Barbuda · 30 days
- Bahamas
- Bangladesh · 90 days
- Barbados
- Belize
- Benin · 90 days
- Botswana · 90 days
- Dominica
- Ecuador · 90 days
- Fiji
- Gambia · 90 days
- Grenada
- Haiti
- Hong Kong · 90 days
- Jamaica · 180 days
- Kiribati · 30 days
- Kosovo · 90 days
- Lesotho · 90 days
- Malaysia · 30 days
- Mauritius · 90 days
- Micronesia · 30 days
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Palestine
- Philippines · 30 days
- Rwanda · 30 days
- Samoa · 60 days
- Seychelles
- Singapore · 30 days
- South Africa · 30 days
- St Lucia
- St Vincent & the Grenadines
- Tanzania · 90 days
- Trinidad & Tobago
- Uganda
- Vanuatu · 120 days
- Zambia · 90 days
- Zimbabwe
Electronic travel authorisation3
- Israel
- Sri Lanka · 30 days
- St Kitts & Nevis
Visa on arrival22
- Bolivia · 90 days
- Burundi · 30 days
- Cambodia · 30 days
- Cape Verde
- Comoros · 45 days
- Ethiopia · 90 days
- Ghana · 30 days
- Guinea-Bissau · 90 days
- Iran · 30 days
- Jordan
- Laos · 30 days
- Macao
- Madagascar · 90 days
- Maldives · 30 days
- Nepal · 90 days
- Nicaragua · 30 days
- Palau · 30 days
- Senegal · 90 days
- Sierra Leone
- Timor-Leste · 30 days
- Togo · 7 days
- Tuvalu
E-visa39
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Bahrain
- Bhutan
- Burkina Faso
- Cameroon
- Chad
- Colombia
- Cuba
- Côte d’Ivoire
- DR Congo
- Djibouti
- El Salvador
- Equatorial Guinea
- Gabon
- Georgia
- Guinea
- India
- Iraq
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kyrgyzstan
- Libya
- Mauritania
- Moldova
- Mongolia
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Papua New Guinea
- Qatar
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Suriname
- Syria
- São Tomé & Príncipe
- Tajikistan
- Thailand
- United Arab Emirates
- Vietnam
Visa required95
- Algeria
- Andorra
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Bosnia & Herzegovina
- Brazil
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Central African Republic
- Chile
- China
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Dominican Republic
- Egypt
- Eritrea
- Estonia
- Eswatini
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Guatemala
- Guyana
- Honduras
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Kuwait
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Liberia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Mali
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Mexico
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Myanmar
- Nauru
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Niger
- North Korea
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Oman
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Republic of the Congo
- Romania
- Russia
- San Marino
- Saudi Arabia
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sudan
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- Tonga
- Tunisia
- Turkmenistan
- Türkiye
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Vatican City
- Venezuela
- Yemen
Right to live and work
Where Malawi citizens can live and work
Malawi citizens have no automatic right to live and work in another country: residence abroad depends on each country's immigration rules — or on a residence or citizenship by investment programme.
Banking access · Tax and obligations · Citizenship flexibility
Banking, tax and citizenship rules for Malawi citizens
Banking
- Not on the FATF, EU or sanctions lists that banks check.
Tax and obligations
- No worldwide tax, military service or exit permit for citizens abroad.
Citizenship
- Dual citizenship allowed
- Passed automatically to children born abroad
- Can be withdrawn on broad grounds
Stability and consular network
- Political stability 63/100 · rule of law 56/100 · embassies or consulates in 21 countries.
Malawi passport: common questions
How many countries can Malawi passport holders visit without a visa? +
64 of the 198 other passport-issuing jurisdictions: 39 visa-free, 3 with an electronic travel authorisation and 22 with a visa on arrival. A further 39 offer an e-visa, and 95 require a visa from an embassy or consulate.
Do Malawi citizens need a visa for the Schengen area, the United Kingdom and the United States? +
Schengen area (France): Visa required. United Kingdom: Visa required. United States: Visa required.
Is the Malawi passport good for investors? +
It ranks 134 of 199 in the Investor Score, with 45.4 points out of 100. Its strongest pillar is Banking access; its weakest is Right to live and work.
Sources: entry rules from the Wikipedia article Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), read in October 2026; other pillars from official lists, legislation, the World Bank, UNDP and UN Tourism. Preliminary edition — see the methodology.
Looking beyond the Malawi passport?
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