Wealthy migrants are turning away from Europe’s old favourites, the UK, France and Germany.
A fresh study of high-net-worth migration conducted by Henley & Partners, a global investment migration consultancy that specialises in residence and citizenship planning, points to a widening divide across Europe.
A handful of countries are cementing their appeal to globally mobile wealth, while some of the continent’s largest economies face mounting pressure in retaining their affluent residents.
The Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2026, published this week, breaks with its previous format. Rather than counting how many millionaires move, it ranks countries using a Wealth Mobility Competitiveness Score out of 100.
The higher the score, the more attractive a country is judged to be for wealth mobility, with the figure built from factors such as tax treatment, rule of law, quality of life and political stability.
The findings should, however, be treated with some caution. Dan Neidle, founder of the non-profit Tax Policy Associates and formerly UK head of tax at law firm Clifford Chance, has publicly questioned the reliability of migration data produced by Henley and its research partner New World Wealth, arguing that the methods used to collect it are not robust enough to track millionaire movements with the precision often reported.
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Henley has said its figures are intended to indicate broad trends rather than serve as exact counts.
It is also worth noting that the firm, which advises clients on residence and citizenship, has a commercial interest in global wealth mobility, a context readers may wish to bear in mind when weighing its findings.
Europe’s top destinations for wealthy migrants
Cyprus topped the European rankings with a score of 73.5, followed by the Netherlands (72.8), Portugal (72.5) and Italy (72.3). Switzerland scored 70.8 and Greece 70.5.
But the rankings tell only part of the story. While Cyprus, the Netherlands and Portugal scored higher, the report highlights Italy, Greece and Switzerland as some of the most attractive destinations for wealthy migrants.
Europe’s third-largest economy, Italy, scored 72.3. According to the report, interest is being driven by its flat-tax regime for new residents, a favourable inheritance tax framework and access to the EU market, with Milan increasingly emerging as a financial and family office hub.
Greece, on 70.5, is described by the report as one of the clearest beneficiaries of recent upheaval in Europe’s investment migration landscape, following Spain’s closure of its golden visa scheme and Portugal’s withdrawal of its property-linked route.
