American citizens dominated the global market for second passports and residency rights in 2024, with applications surging more than 1,000 per cent compared to 2019, according to new research released Tuesday by investment migration consultancy Henley & Partners.
US nationals accounted for 23 per cent of all applications processed by the firm last year, exceeding the combined total from the next four largest source countries – India, Turkey, the Philippines, and Britain, the company’s annual Investment Migration Programs report showed.
The findings come as Malta retained its position as the world’s most attractive citizenship by investment programme for the tenth consecutive year, while Greece overtook Portugal to claim the top spot in the residence programme rankings.
“2024 was also record-breaking for the UK, with a 57 per cent increase in the number of applications submitted by British citizens versus 2023,” said Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, chairman of Henley & Partners.
European dominance
Malta scored 76 out of 100 in the Global Citizenship Programme Index, followed closely by Austria with 75 points. The Caribbean nation of Grenada placed third with 69 points, while Antigua and Barbuda ranked fourth with 67 points.
In a significant shift, Greece secured the leading position in the Global Residence Programme Index with 73 points, dethroning Portugal which had held or shared first place for the past nine years. Switzerland ranked second with 72 points, while Portugal tied for third place with Italy and the UK, each scoring 70 points.
However, the 2025 index featured several newcomers, including the Pacific island nation of Nauru in the citizenship rankings, sharing fifth place with St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Lucia, each scoring 66 points.
Hungary emerged as a strong contender in the residence rankings, securing sixth place with 67 points through its Guest Investor Residence Permit programme, which offers investors and their families access to Europe’s Schengen Area.
Wealth migration trends
The report forecasts 2025 to be a record year for wealth migration, with 142,000 high-net-worth individuals expected to relocate to new countries, up from 134,000 in 2024 and 120,000 in 2023.
“Faced with unprecedented instability and uncertainty, investors and wealthy families are adopting a strategy of geopolitical arbitrage,” said Dominic Volek, Group Head of Private Clients at Henley & Partners.
The firm’s research shows that wealthy individuals increasingly seek multiple citizenship and residence options to “hedge against jurisdictional risk and leverage differences in legal, economic, political, and social conditions across countries,” Volek added.
Investment requirements
The report evaluated 40 programmes across multiple criteria, including reputation, quality of life, visa-free access, processing time, compliance, and investment requirements.
Nauru topped the citizenship programmes for investment requirements, scoring 8 out of 10, while Australia, Hong Kong, and Switzerland achieved perfect scores in the residence rankings due to having no upfront investment requirements for securing residence rights.
Dr. Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners, emphasized that such programmes are increasingly being used by governments as “an innovative financing tool to fund development initiatives that mitigate sustainability and climate-related risks.”
The rankings analysed a total of 14 citizenship-by-investment programmes and 26 residence programmes worldwide, selected from over 100 global offerings.
Monaco and the UAE achieved perfect scores for tax benefits in the residence programme rankings, while EU member states dominated in visa-free travel access, with countries including Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, and Spain all scoring maximum points for Schengen Area access.
Top 5 citizenship programmes 2025
- Malta (76/100)
- Austria (75/100)
- Grenada (69/100)
- Antigua and Barbuda (67/100)
- Nauru, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia (66/100)
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