NEW DELHI: Switzerland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand emerged as the strongest performers on quality of life among residence-by-investment destinations in the 2026 rankings released by Henley & Partners, while Gulf and Caribbean jurisdictions are setting the pace on ease of access.
The annual indexes benchmark 40 residence and citizenship programmes worldwide across criteria including reputation, compliance, investment requirements, tax efficiency, mobility strength, and quality of life.
Among residence programmes, Switzerland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand achieved perfect or near-perfect scores for reputation, reflecting institutional stability, healthcare standards, education systems and personal safety. Greece retained first place overall in the residence index, combining European Union mobility rights with relatively accessible property-linked investment thresholds.
The United Arab Emirates climbed into joint second place overall and ranked at the top for quality of life alongside advanced Western jurisdictions, underlining its rapid transformation into a global wealth hub. Zero personal income tax, long-term “Golden Visa” options and fast processing timelines have strengthened its competitive position. Singapore continued to rank strongly among Asian jurisdictions, offering regulatory clarity and financial sector depth, though with stricter eligibility thresholds than many European programmes. In contrast, ease of access favoured jurisdictions with streamlined procedures, minimal physical presence requirements and clear capital thresholds. In the residence category, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Panama, Costa Rica, Malaysia and Thailand were noted for administrative efficiency and comparatively flexible residency obligations. These programmes typically offer faster approvals and lower friction entry compared with parts of Europe, where heightened compliance scrutiny and political debate around “golden visas” have lengthened timelines in recent years. In the citizenship-by-investment segment, small island states continued to dominate ease metrics. St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda and St Lucia maintained streamlined processing and limited physical presence requirements, allowing applicants to secure second passports without relocating permanently. Malta retained first position in the citizenship index for the eleventh consecutive year, reflecting its compliance standards and European Union mobility advantages, though it requires more substantive residence commitments than Caribbean counterparts.
The rankings highlight a clear trade-off in the global market for investment migration. Jurisdictions scoring highest on quality of life tend to impose higher capital requirements, stricter due diligence and longer processing periods. Those leading on ease generally offer faster timelines and light residency obligations, but may not match the institutional depth of advanced Western economies.
The 2026 results suggest that wealthy families are increasingly weighing this balance carefully. Rather than selecting a single destination, many are structuring multi-jurisdictional mobility strategies that combine tax efficiency, political stability and lifestyle considerations across different regions.
While Europe remains central to global residence planning, the growing competitiveness of the Gulf and selected Asia-Pacific and Caribbean states indicates that the market for investor migration is becoming more diversified and strategically segmented.
