Malta and Greece, two European countries, have emerged as popular destinations for foreigners seeking to move and reside in a foreign country. Henley & Partners’ annual rankings of the world’s most important investment migration programmes rank Malta as the top nation for citizenship programs and Greece as the top country for Residence Program.

Malta retains first place in the 2025 Global Citizenship Program Index for the tenth consecutive year, while Greece rises to the top of the 2025 Global Residence Program Index for the first time, highlighting the dominance of European residence and citizenship by investment programs.

“Malta’s is a strong European passport, enabling visa free travel to the EU and UK. Typically before 18 month all the family members get passports”, says Andri Boike, Global CEO and Founder of Garant IN.

Citizenship programs

Citizenship by investment programs enable families to acquire alternative citizenship, allowing them to travel freely and settle in over 100 countries.

Malta’s Granting of Citizenship for Exceptional Services by Direct Investment Regulations provide for the issuance of a certificate of naturalization to foreign persons and their families who contribute to the country’s economic development. This is achievable after a 36-month residency period (or 12 months as an exception).

Austria’s premium citizenship by investment program, which requires applicants to contribute significantly to the country’s economy, remains in second position with a score of 75. Grenada ranks third with a score of 69, followed by Antigua and Barbuda in fourth place with 67.

Nauru, along with St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Lucia share the 5th spot. Dominica, another Caribbean island nation, ranks 6th and Türkiye sits in 7th place. Egypt, Africa’s only citizenship program option, ranks 8th, a position it shares with Jordan and North Macedonia. The last two ranks are occupied by 9th-placed Vanuatu and Cambodia 10th with 53.

Residence programs

Residence by investment, also known as Golden visa programs, allows high-net-worth individuals to relocate, live, work, study, and receive healthcare in their new countries of residence.

In the 2025 Global Residence Program Index, which ranks 26 programs, Greece’s increasingly popular golden visa program secures top spot, toppling Portugal, which has held or shared first place for the past nine years.

Portugal now ranks joint 3rd with Italy and the UK, while Switzerland, which has an option developed by Henley & Partners that combines private residence with Swiss forfait tax provisions, ranks 2nd.

Australia, which recently launched its National Innovation Visa (NIV) Program to attract high-level tech skills, Canada, which introduced changes to its Start-Up Visa Program to enhance its appeal and flexibility for entrepreneurs, and Spain (due to close in early 2025) are all joint 4th. The UAE, which strategically expanded its golden visa program last year to attract top talent and drive growth and innovation, rounds up the Top 5.

In the 2025 Global Citizenship Program Index, the highest scorer for Investment Requirements, which considers the upfront investment amounts required, is newbie Nauru, which scores 8 out of 10, while Australia, Hong Kong, and Switzerland all enjoy top marks with 10 out of 10 on the Global Residence Program Index due to no upfront investment being required to secure residence rights.

Monaco and the UAE both score perfect 10s for Tax in the Global Residence Program Index, and all the European Union countries score 10 for Visa-Free/Visa-on-Arrival Access

Citizenship program index and Residence program index have a specific methodology in place. The two indexes each analyze 10 key factors, with slight variations between them. The following aspects are evaluated in both indexes: Reputation, Quality of Life, Visa-Free or Visa-on-Arrival Access, Processing Time and Quality of Processing, Compliance, and Investment Requirements.

The Global Citizenship Program Index also assesses Residence Requirements, Relocation Flexibility, Physical Visit Requirements, and Transparency, and the Global Residence Program Index additionally evaluates Tax, Total Costs, Time to Citizenship, and Citizenship Requirements.