Geopolitical tension has joined taxation, citizenship programmes and regulatory competitiveness in reshaping private wealth migration around the world.
Singapore, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, Hong Kong and New Zealand are emerging as some of the most attractive destinations for internationally mobile wealth in 2026.
This is contained in the Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2026.
Britain, Germany, France, Norway and South Korea are facing growing competitiveness pressures as tax reforms, fiscal uncertainty and policy shifts prompt wealthy individuals and families to reassess their options.
Two flashpoints this year are the US and the Gulf.
America, the world’s largest private wealth market and creator of new wealth, is also generating record demand for residence and citizenship optionality as its affluent seek international diversification in unprecedented numbers.
Ongoing conflict is testing the resilience of the Gulf region’s emerging wealth hubs, particularly the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — the leading destination for millionaire migration over the past two years — prompting a new phase of contingency planning among its internationally mobile residents.
The objective is to ensure no single government holds the whole of a family’s life and capital
— Basil Mohr-Elzeki, head of private clients in the Americas at Henley & Partners
Henley & Partners, an international residence and citizenship advisory firm, has identified a growing shift away from traditional relocation planning as the world’s wealthiest increasingly build “sovereign portfolios” of residence rights, citizenships, investments and business interests across many jurisdictions.
In the first five months of 2026 alone, the firm said it received applications from 86 nationalities across 47 investment migration programmes. More than 28% of applicants currently live outside their country of nationality, underscoring how high-net-worth individuals are increasingly structuring their lives across a range of jurisdictions rather than remaining tied to a single country.
“For much of the past century, governments could largely treat their wealthiest residents as a relatively fixed asset rooted by businesses, family ties and limited international mobility. That assumption is becoming increasingly outdated,” said Juerg Steffen, CEO at Henley & Partners.
“As a result, jurisdictions are competing not only for capital, but also for the entrepreneurs, investors, business owners and skilled individuals who drive economic growth, innovation, employment and prosperity.”
Parag Khanna, CEO of AlphaGeo, which assisted with the study, said: “The wealthy individual of 2026 is no longer selecting a single country. They are making jurisdictional decisions the way sovereign wealth funds allocate portfolios — diversifying across climates, governance systems and geopolitical zones to protect against shocks none of us can fully foresee.”
The report identifies a group of jurisdictions demonstrating particularly strong structural positioning in 2026 for attracting, retaining and supporting internationally mobile wealth.
Among the standout performers are Singapore (with a Wealth Mobility Competitiveness score of 79.5 out of 100) and New Zealand (75.8). The Southeast Asian sovereign city-state continues to consolidate its position as one of the world’s leading wealth hubs, underpinned by political stability, strong institutions, deep capital markets and sustained demand from internationally mobile wealth across Asia.
New Zealand is attracting renewed investor interest after reforms to its Active Investor Plus Visa Programme, supported by strong rule of law, geopolitical stability and its appeal as a destination for long-term family planning.
A second group of strong performers includes the Cayman Islands (74.3), Cyprus (73.5), the Netherlands (72.8), Portugal (72.5), Italy (72.3) and Bermuda (72.0).
Italy is among the leading European success stories of 2026, the report said. Interest continues to be driven by its flat-tax regime for new residents, favourable inheritance tax framework and access to the EU market, with Milan increasingly emerging as an international financial and family office centre.
The report also highlights Uruguay (71.8), Latvia (71.7), Panama (71.5), Hong Kong (71.2), Switzerland (70.8), Greece (70.5), Costa Rica (70.2) and Monaco (70.0) as highly competitive wealth mobility jurisdictions.
Switzerland is benefiting from heightened demand for stability, capital preservation and wealth protection amid elevated geopolitical uncertainty, while Hong Kong is experiencing renewed momentum as family office activity and investor migration demand regain traction.
Greece is one of the clearest beneficiaries of recent changes to Europe’s investment migration landscape after Spain’s golden visa closure and Portugal’s withdrawal of its real-estate-linked investment route.
“Its rise reinforces a broader policy lesson: when governments close established pathways for globally mobile wealth, demand does not disappear, it relocates.”
Areas under pressure are named in the report as Germany (69.7), Norway (69.0), the UK (68.3), South Korea (66.2) and France (65.7).
Henley & Partners said Britain has simultaneously weakened its attraction and retention proposition.
The abolition of the non-dom tax regime, changes to inheritance tax treatment, the closure of the Tier 1 Investor Visa, and a broader climate of fiscal and policy uncertainty have collectively reshaped the UK’s value proposition for globally mobile wealth.
“High-net-worth migration is the canary in the coal mine for economic policy,” said Douglas McWilliams, founder at the Centre for Economics and Business Research. “If wealthy people are leaving a country en masse, you can be reasonably sure the country’s economic policy isn’t working.”
Germany and France tell a related story, said the report. Both countries continue to benefit from strong institutions, economic scale and international connectivity, yet debates around wealth taxation, exit taxes, fiscal predictability and long-term competitiveness are increasingly prompting their affluent residents to explore residence and citizenship options beyond their home markets.
High-net-worth migration is the canary in the coal mine for economic policy
— Douglas McWilliams, founder at the Centre for Economics and Business Research.
“What is striking is that Germany and France have not become unattractive. They have become less competitive on precisely the dimensions internationally mobile wealth weighs most heavily, just as some of their peers have strengthened their own proposition,” said Guenther Dobrauz-Saldapenna, head of the Europe division at Henley & Partners.
“Within Europe, we are increasingly seeing capital and talent gravitate towards jurisdictions that combine strong institutions with attractive tax frameworks, policy predictability and clear residence pathways. Italy and Greece have been particularly successful in positioning themselves for this shift.”
The report also highlighted a group of jurisdictions facing more persistent structural wealth mobility challenges, including Brazil (64.2), China (60.5), Russia (58.7), India (56.5), Iran (45.8), Lebanon (45.5) and Nigeria (43).
“India and China remain among the world’s most important sources of new wealth, yet factors such as capital controls, tax complexity, international access considerations, geopolitical uncertainty and broader lifestyle and diversification needs continue to encourage many of their affluent families to adopt international wealth and mobility planning strategies,” said Henley & Partners
With a Wealth Mobility Competitiveness score of only 62.3, the US occupies a unique position in the framework.
“The US remains the largest engine of wealth creation, entrepreneurship, and capital formation, yet it is also Henley & Partners’ largest single source market for residence and citizenship planning globally. Applications from US nationals doubled in 2025 compared to the previous year and remain elevated in 2026. Only 7% of applications by US citizens originate from Americans living outside the country, highlighting demand is being driven overwhelmingly by US residents rather than expatriates. Nearly half of all applications from US nationals are directed towards European programmes, while more than a quarter focus on programmes in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
The contrast reflects a broader trend identified by the framework: wealth creation and wealth mobility competitiveness are not the same thing.
While the US remains unmatched in capital markets and wealth generation, factors such as citizenship-based taxation, fiscal complexity and lengthy immigration processing times are encouraging affluent Americans to build greater international optionality.
“The wealthiest families increasingly think like portfolio managers,” said Basil Mohr-Elzeki, head of private clients in the Americas at Henley & Partners. “They are building a deliberate architecture across jurisdictions: residence in one country, citizenship in another, business and banking structures elsewhere.
“The objective is to ensure no single government holds the whole of a family’s life and capital. Additional citizenship and residence rights provide access and a hedge against political risk, while wealth tends to remain invested where opportunities and returns are strongest.”
The UAE tells an opposite scenario.
What we are seeing in the UAE is greater engagement around resilience and contingency planning
— Dominic Volek, group head of private clients at Henley & Partners.
Despite recent regional tensions, the Emirates achieved a Wealth Mobility Competitiveness score of 85.3, one of the highest in the framework, reflecting its strength across tax competitiveness, investor access, family inclusion, safety, connectivity and long-term residence pathways.
However, Henley & Partners recorded a 41% increase in enquiries from UAE-based individuals between the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, while applications for alternative residence or citizenship rose by 29% over the same period. Most of the demand is being driven by expatriate entrepreneurs, investors and internationally mobile families using the UAE as a base rather than seeking to relocate away from it.
“The Gulf has proved remarkably resilient in the face of a historic shock,” said Justin Alexander, director of Khalij Economics. “While uncertainty may influence short-term behaviour, the region’s long-term appeal remains underpinned by low taxation, strong connectivity, high quality of life and increasingly sophisticated financial services.”
Demand from UAE-based residents remains diversified across Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean, Africa and the Americas, reinforcing the view that families are expanding their options rather than replacing their Gulf presence.
“What we are seeing is greater engagement around resilience and contingency planning rather than relocation,” said Dominic Volek, group head of private clients at Henley & Partners. “The UAE story in 2026 is one of diversification and optionality, not an exodus.”
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