Henley & Partners experts have published annual rankings of programs that enable you to apply for a residence permit and citizenship by investments.

The analysts have studied investment programs for obtaining a residence permit in 23 countries. The countries were assessed according to ten basic criteria: reputation, living standards, taxation, visa-free travels to other countries, duration period to consider the submitted application, quality of data processing, investment requirements, compliance, total costs, conditions and term for citizenship obtaining.

In addition, the third-party experts, investors and government officials from different states were attracted to the assessment process. They set scores from 0 to 10 for each index, after which the results were summed up.

Austria, Portugal, Italy — the whole last year’s top three — kept their positions. Each of these countries received maximum points in terms of visa- free entry to other countries. Also, their reputation and quality of living were appreciated at a high level.

The most loyal conditions are offered by the programs of Thailand and Malaysia, Greece and Latvia. The programs presented by Hong Kong and Austria turned out to be the best in terms of investment requirements.

Pos Program Minimal investments Index
1 Austria – 75
2 Portugal 200 thousand euros 71
3 Italy 500 thousand euros 67
4 Canada 150 thousand Canadian dollars 64
4 Switzerland – 64
5 Malta 330 thousand euros 63
6 United Kingdom 2 million pounds 62
7 Australia 1.3 million Australian dollars 61
8 Ireland 500 thousand euros 60
8 Latvia 50 thousand euros 60
8 USA 900 thousand dollars 60
9 Jersey 145 thousand pounds 59
9 Mauritius 500 thousand dollars 59
10 Thailand 16 thousand dollars 58
11 Greece 250 thousand euros 56
12 Singapore 2.5 million Singapore dollars 53
12 Spain 500 thousand euros 53
13 Hong Kong – 52
14 Malaysia – 51
15 Monaco – 50
16 Dubai, UAE 5 million dirhams 49
17 Cyprus 300 thousand euros 48
18 Bulgaria 512 thousand euros 43

Countries with the best investments for residence permit programs

Furthermore, they studied citizenship by investments programs of 13 different countries. Malta leads, Austria and Cyprus share second position. For foreigners, the programs of these states are of the greatest interest, because their citizenship enables to live and find jobs in all member-states of the European Union. Montenegro took the third line in the ranking. Under their program a citizenship was granted to the first investor in February of this year.

Caribbean countries also held high positions. The main advantages of their programs are the low cost of participation and the possibility of visa-free travel in the Schengen zone, travels to the UK, China, etc.

Obtaining citizenship of the Caribbean and Montenegro is possible remotely.

The assessment was carried out for 10 indicators. They considered reputation, living standards, visa-free entry, duration of the application period, quality of data processing, compliance, investment requirements, need of permanent stay in the country and possibility of moving out of it, the transparency of the procedure, need for periodic entry into the territory of the state.

Pos Program Minimal investments Index
1 Malta 1 million euros 79
2 Austria Various 72
2 Cyprus 2 million euros 72
3 Montenegro 350 thousand euros 69
4 Saint lucia 100 thousand dollars 66
5 Grenada 150 thousand dollars 65
6 Antigua and Barbuda 100 thousand dollars 64
7 Saint Kitts and Nevis 150 thousand dollars 63
8 Turkey 250 thousand dollars 61
9 Jordan 750 thousand dollars 59
10 Dominica 100 thousand dollars 58
11 Cambodia 1 million dollars 51
12 Vanuatu 130 thousand dollars 50

Countries with the best investments for citizenship programs

According to Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners, additional jurisdictions open up even greater opportunities for citizens and eliminate serious risks for them. He also noted mutual benefits for investors and host states. Citizens receive many benefits from the acquired status. The economy of the country, which provides the opportunity to obtain such a status, receives a significant influx of foreign investments.

Based on materials: Tranio
Photo: Envato