LONDON, Feb. 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Malta retains 1st place in the 2025 Global Citizenship Program Index for the 10th consecutive year, while Greece reaches the top of the 2025 Global Residence Program Index for the first time, highlighting the dominance of European residence and citizenship by investment programs on Henley & Partners’ annual rankings of the most important investment migration programs in the world.
The firm onboarded clients from 94 different nationalities in 2024 and received enquiries from over 180 countries. US nationals accounted for 23% of all applications processed by Henley & Partners last year, totaling nearly as many as the next four client nationality groups — Indians, Turkish, Filipinos, and Brits — combined. Comparing 2024 US-American client numbers to five years ago (2019), there has been a staggering increase of over 1,000%. Last year was also record-breaking for the UK, with a 57% increase in the number of applications submitted by British citizens in 2024 versus 2023.
The two indexes — featured in the 2025 edition of the annual Investment Migration Programs report — offer a systematic analysis and comprehensive benchmarking of the world’s most attractive residence and citizenship by investment offerings, providing the gold standard in the sector. Interactive digital comparisons of the programs are also available, enabling global investors and wealthy families to select what matters most to them when weighing up their options.
Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners, says, “the publication is important for governments and policy makers looking to attract and retain wealth to achieve greater fiscal autonomy and economic growth. In this era of heightened global volatility, nation states are using residence and citizenship by investment programs as an innovative financing tool to fund development initiatives that mitigate sustainability and climate-related risks, and that directly benefit their citizens. For investors, alternative residence and citizenship is a unique investment that enables them to be as globally diversified as their wealth portfolios.”
Citizenship programs: Malta remains the gold standard
The Global Citizenship Program Index ranks 14 programs, with the strategically located European nation of Malta scoring 76 out of 100 and taking top honors for the 10th consecutive year. Retaining 2nd place with a score of 75 is Austria’s premium citizenship by investment offering, which requires applicants to make a substantial contribution to the country’s economy. The next two ranks are occupied by Caribbean island nations: Grenada 3rd with a score of 69, and Antigua and Barbuda 4th with 67.
Three other Small Island Developing States (SIDS) share the 5th spot, each scoring 66: newcomer to the index, Nauru, along with St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Lucia. Nauru’s citizenship program offers significant advantages in global mobility, granting an alternative and safe passport to travel on, with visa-free access to some of the world’s key wealth hubs. Successful applicants will also be contributing to climate crisis solutions in the South Pacific, where SIDS face rising sea levels and biodiversity loss, with the funds channeled into development projects, including climate resilience initiatives, infrastructure improvements, renewable energy projects, and sustainable economic diversification.
Residence programs: Greece takes the crown
In the 2025 Global Residence Program Index, which ranks 26 programs, Greece’s popular golden visa program secures top spot with a score of 73 out of 100, toppling Portugal, which has held or shared first place for the past nine years. Portugal now ranks joint 3rd with Italy and the UK, all scoring 70, while Switzerland, which has an option developed by Henley & Partners that combines private residence with Swiss forfait tax provisions, ranks 2nd with a score of 72.
Australia, which recently launched its National Innovation Visa (NIV) Program to attract high-level tech skills, Canada, which introduced changes to its Start-Up Visa Program to enhance its appeal and flexibility for entrepreneurs, and Spain (due to close in early 2025) are all joint 4th, each scoring 69, and the UAE, which strategically expanded its golden visa program last year to attract top talent and drive growth and innovation, rounds up the Top 5 with a score of 68.
One of two new entrants to the index in 2025 is Hungary which ranks 6th with a score of 67. Small but powerful wealth hubs — Luxembourg and Singapore — occupy the 7th and 8th spots, scoring 66 and 65, respectively, while two others share the 9th spot: Jersey and Panama, both scoring 64. Costa Rica, the second newcomer to the index, rounds up the Top 10 with a score of 63 out of 100 and offers investors and their families a business-friendly landscape, a favorable tax regime, and a safe environment in Central America.
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