Strategy & Practice Management

Malta and Portugal ranked as the world’s top investment migration programs

The Global Residence and Citizenship Programs 2017–2018 Report by Henley & Partners ranks Malta as top citizenship-by-investment program and Portugal as top residence-by-investment program.

The 3rd edition of the Global Residence and Citizenship Programs report provides an analysis of the world’s leading investment migration programs and provides a bird’s-eye view of the investment migration industry and a ranking of all the major programs on offer.

Citizenship-by-investment programs: Malta is far ahead

For the third consecutive year, Malta’s Individual Investor Program (MIIP) is the top-ranking citizenship-by-investment program in the world, with a score of 81 out of 100. The Mediterranean island-nation is followed by Cyprus in 2nd place (with a score of 72) and Austria in 3rd place (with a score of 63). Antigua and Barbuda ranked 4th, followed very closely by Grenada, which is ranked 5th. The lowest-ranked citizenship program is Dominica’s, with a score of 51.

Residence-by-investment programs: Portugal remains on top

Portugal’s Golden Residence Permit Program has emerged as the world’s best residence-by-investment program for the third year in a row, with a score of 79 out of 100. Portugal is very closely followed by Austria in 2nd place (with a score of 78) and Belgium in 3rd place (with a score of 77). In the last and 20th place, and with a score of 36, is Bulgaria’s residence program.

Dr. Christian H. Kälin, an international immigration and citizenship law expert and Group Chairman of Henley & Partners, explains that the need for a reference and benchmarking tool like the Global Residence and Citizenship Programs reflects the strong growth of the investment migration industry in recent years. “Interest in the industry has steadily increased over the past decade, and we anticipate that it will continue to do so.”