Passport comparison
Canada vs China passport: which opens more doors in 2026?
The Canada passport reaches 78 more destinations without a prior visa. But that headline hides the useful part: each passport opens countries the other one does not, and if you hold both, the right choice changes by destination.
🇨🇦 Canada
161
destinations without a prior visa
- Visa-free
- 117
- Visa on arrival
- 37
- eTA
- 7
- e-Visa
- 18
- Visa required
- 19
- No admission
- 0
🇨🇳 China
83
destinations without a prior visa
- Visa-free
- 41
- Visa on arrival
- 38
- eTA
- 4
- e-Visa
- 29
- Visa required
- 86
- No admission
- 0
Travel on your Canada passport for these
84 destinations you can enter without a prior visa on the Canada passport but not on the China one. If you hold both, this is the list that matters.
Travel on your China passport for these
6 destinations you can enter without a prior visa on the China passport but not on the Canada one. If you hold both, this is the list that matters.
Open to both: 77 destinations
77 places accept either passport without a prior visa. Here it makes no difference which one you travel on — though it can still be worth checking stay durations, which sometimes differ.
Closed to both: 30 destinations
30 destinations require a visa in advance on both the Canada and China passports. Holding both does not help here; you will need to apply either way.
Frequently asked questions
Which is stronger, the Canada or the China passport?
By destination count the Canada passport is ahead: Canada reaches 161 destinations without a prior visa and China reaches 83, a difference of 78. But "stronger" is the wrong question if you hold both — what matters is which passport opens the specific country you are going to.
I hold both. Which one should I travel on?
It depends on the destination. There are 84 places that accept the Canada passport but not the China one, and 6 the other way round. Check the lists above before you book. Note that most countries expect you to leave on the same passport you entered with.
How current is this comparison?
The counts are rebuilt from our visa dataset on every deployment. Turkish passport data comes from the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the other passports use the open-source passport-index dataset. Visa rules change without notice, so confirm your own case with an official source before you travel.
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Important: this content is general information
Visa rules can change without notice. Always confirm your situation with an official source before you travel: Also check with the embassy or consulate of your destination country in your own country. The information on this page is guidance, not legal advice.