Antigua and Barbuda Ranks 4th in Global Citizenship Program Index for 2025. Photo: Antigua Newsroom

Malta retains 1st place in the 2025 Global Citizenship Program Index for the 10th consecutive year, while Greece reaches the top of the 2025 Global Residence Program Index for the first time, highlighting the dominance of European residence and citizenship by investment programs on Henley & Partners’ annual rankings of the most important investment migration programs in the world.

The firm onboarded clients from 94 different nationalities in 2024 and received enquiries from over 180 countries. US nationals accounted for 23% of all applications processed by Henley & Partners last year, totaling nearly as many as the next four client nationality groups — Indians, Turkish, Filipinos, and Brits — combined. Comparing 2024 US-American client numbers to five years ago (2019), there has been a staggering increase of over 1,000%. Last year was also record-breaking for the UK, with a 57% increase in the number of applications submitted by British citizens in 2024 versus 2023.

The two indexes — featured in the 2025 edition of the annual Investment Migration Programsreport — offer a systematic analysis and comprehensive benchmarking of the world’s most attractive residence and citizenship by investment offerings, providing the gold standard in the sector. This year’s edition features a total of 40 programs, presenting the most relevant of over 100 worldwide. These have been appraised by a panel of independent experts including leading academic researchers, country risk specialists, economists, independent expert immigration and citizenship lawyers, and other specialists, who consider a broad range of relevant factors. Interactive digitalcomparisons of the programs are also available, enabling global investors and wealthy families to select what matters most to them when weighing up their options.

Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, international immigration and citizenship law expert and Chairman of Henley & Partners, says Investment Migration Programs 2025 is essential for all those interested in keeping up to date with developments in the sector or considering residence or citizenship by investment as a diversification and risk mitigation strategy. “The publication is also important for governments and policy makers looking to attract and retain wealth to achieve greater fiscal autonomy and economic growth. In this era of heightened global volatility, nation states are using residence and citizenship by investment programs as an innovative financing tool to fund development initiatives that mitigate sustainability and climate-related risks, and that directly benefit their citizens. For investors, alternative residence and citizenship is a unique investment that enables them to be as globally diversified as their wealth portfolios.”

Citizenship programs: Malta remains the gold standard

The Global Citizenship Program Index ranks 14 programs, with the strategically located European nation of Malta scoring 76 out of 100 and taking top honors for the 10th consecutive year. Malta’s Granting of Citizenship for Exceptional Services by Direct Investment Regulations allow for the granting of citizenship by a certificate of naturalization to foreign individuals and their families who contribute to the country’s economic development. This is possible following a 36-month residence period (or 12 months by exception). Malta’s original citizenship program was designed by Henley & Partners in 2013 and went on to become one of the most successful programs in the world.

Retaining 2nd place with a score of 75 is Austria’s premium citizenship by investment offering, which requires applicants to make a substantial contribution to the country’s economy. The next two ranks are occupied by Caribbean island nations: Grenada 3rd with a score of 69, and Antigua and Barbuda 4th with 67.

Three other Small Island Developing States (SIDS) share the 5th spot, each scoring 66: newcomer to the index, Nauru, along with St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Lucia. Nauru’s citizenship program offers significant advantages in global mobility, granting an alternative and safe passport to travel on, with visa-free access to some of the world’s key wealth hubs. Successful applicants will also be contributing to climate crisis solutions in the South Pacific, where SIDS face rising sea levels and biodiversity loss, with the funds channeled into development projects, including climate resilience initiatives, infrastructure improvements, renewable energy projects, and sustainable economic diversification.

Dominica, another Caribbean island nation, ranks 6th with a score of 65, and Türkiye sits in 7th place, providing investors with easy access to Asian, European, and Middle Eastern markets and offering multiple routes to citizenship, including a real estate option. Across the Mediterranean, Egypt, Africa’s only citizenship program option, ranks 8th, a position it shares with Jordan and North Macedonia, all scoring 63. The last two ranks are occupied by 9th-placed Vanuatu with a score of 60, and Cambodia 10th with 53.