The UAE moves up in the Global Residence Program Index for the third consecutive year
Henley & Partners, the leading global residence and citizenship advisory firm, recently announced that the UAE has ranked as MENA’s top residence-by-investment program for the third consecutive year. This is according to the firm’s annual Global Residence and Citizenship Programs (GRCP) 2017–2018 report, which provides a systematic analysis and comprehensive benchmarking of the world’s leading investment migration programs.
According to the report, the UAE continues to lead the region in residence attractiveness. It ranked 11 out of 20 in this year’s GRCP with a score of 59 out of 100. This represents an increase of two positions from last year and four positions from 2015, up from positions 13 and 15 respectively. The UAE offers a high quality of life and a high level of security for its residents. It is an excellent place to do business and provides easy access to the Middle East region. Additionally, citizens and residents of the UAE are not subject to personal income tax, capital gains taxes, or net worth taxes; however, VAT will apply from 2018 onwards.
Commenting on the UAE’s ranking, Marco Gantenbein, Managing Partner of Henley & Partners in the Middle East, says, “The UAE continues to be an attractive residence destination and consistently ranks highly in our annual indexes. For the third consecutive year, the UAE has increased in ranking, which can be attributed to its high scores across some of the key residence benchmark indicators. Since the launch of the Global Residence and Citizenship Programs report in 2015, the UAE has moved up in ranking significantly, by nearly 20%. It will be interesting to see if the upcoming implementation of VAT will impact the UAE’s residence program and how it will perform in next year’s index.”
Out of the 20 residence programs reviewed, Portugal’s Golden Residence Permit Program has again emerged as the world’s best residence-by-investment program, with a score of 79 out of 100. It is followed by Austria (78) and Belgium (77) in 2nd and 3rd place respectively. Similar to the UAE, the tax burden on residents of Portugal is one of the lowest of the residence programs ranked in the report, both on corporate and personal levels. A Portuguese residence permit offers visa-free access to Europe’s Schengen area. This year’s edition of the GRCP also saw the addition of Thailand’s exclusive residence program, which ranked 5th out of the 20 programs.
The GRCP ranks the 20 most relevant residence-by-investment programs as well as the top eight citizenship-by-investment programs available today in two indexes; the Global Residence Programs Index and the Global Citizenship Programs Index. These programs are evaluated by a distinguished panel of independent experts — including immigration and citizenship lawyers, economists, country risk experts, academic researchers, and other specialists — who take into account a broad range of factors pertaining to each program.
“Interest in the industry has steadily increased over the past decade and we anticipate that it will continue to do so,” adds Gantenbein. “As political instability around the world furthers, we see an increase in demand for alternative residence. Key factors such as the need for global mobility, security and better quality of life are also significantly contributing to the growing interest in alternative residence and citizenship programs.”
The 3rd edition of the GRCP was launched at Henley & Partners’ 11th Global Residence and Citizenship Conference in Hong Kong. The annual event has become the world’s most significant conference on investment migration, bringing together presidents, prime ministers, senior government officials, leading academics, and industry professionals, as well as top-tier financial and business media. In 2018, the event is set to return to the UAE and will be hosted in Dubai for the second time.
“Following the unprecedented success of the Global Residence and Citizenship Conference year after year, we again expect the conference in Dubai next year to be larger and more impactful than the one in Hong Kong,” concludes Gantenbein.
About the Global Citizenship and Residence Programs 2017–2018 Report
The Global Residence and Citizenship Programs report provides the most comprehensive, systematic analysis and benchmarking of the world’s leading residence- and citizenship-by-investment options.
Henley & Partners, together with a distinguished panel of independent experts, including immigration and citizenship lawyers, economists, country risk experts, and academic researchers, has created the Global Residence Program Index (GRPI) and the Global Citizenship Program Index (GCPI) as part of the report. These two indexes analyze a broad range of factors to produce an overall global view and ranking of the different residence and citizenship programs on offer.
The indexes are highly relevant not only to all those interested in alternative residence or citizenship options, but also industry professionals, private client advisors and others with an interest in the subject, as well as governments.
Under the GRPI, residence programs are ranked according to 10 indicators, which have an equal weighting of 10 to give a total score out of 100 for each country. The indicators relevant to the GRPI are: Reputation, Quality of Life, Tax, Visa-free Access, Processing Time and Quality of Processing, Compliance, Financial Requirements, Total Costs, Time to Citizenship, and Citizenship Requirements.
In ranking order, the 20 countries featured on the GRPI are:
1. Portugal
2. Austria
3. Belgium
4. Malta
5. Thailand
6. UK
7. Australia
8. US
9. Switzerland
10. Canada
11. Dubai/UAE
12. Spain
13. Jersey
14. Latvia
15. Greece
16. Monaco
17. Singapore
18. Cyprus
19. Hong Kong
20. Bulgaria
The eight countries included in the GCPI are also ranked according to 10 similar, but slightly different indicators from the GRPI: Reputation, Quality of Life, Visa-free Access, Processing Time and Quality of Processing, Compliance, Financial Requirements, Residence Requirements, Relocation Flexibility, Physical Visit Requirements, and Transparency.
In ranking order, the eight countries featured in the GCPI are:
1. Malta
2. Cyprus
3. Austria
4. Antigua and Barbuda
5. Grenada
6. St. Kitts and Nevis
7. St. Lucia
8. Dominica
The Global Residence and Citizenship Programs 2017–2018 report is available in print format from all major online book retailers including amazon.com and Barnes & Noble, and also in e-book format from all major online e-book retailers including amazon.com and iTunes.
ISBN (Paperback): 978-0-9935866-8-2
ISBN (E-book): 978-0-9935866-9-9
USD 115 / EUR 99 / GBP 75
148 Pages
About Henley & Partners
Henley & Partners is the global leader in residence and citizenship planning. Each year, hundreds of wealthy individuals, families and their advisors rely on its expertise and experience in this area. The firm’s highly qualified professionals work together as one team in over 25 offices worldwide.
The concept of residence and citizenship planning was created by Henley & Partners in the 1990s. As globalization has expanded, residence and citizenship have become topics of significant interest among the increasing number of internationally mobile entrepreneurs and investors whom we proudly serve every day.
The firm also runs a leading government advisory practice which has raised more than USD 6 billion in foreign direct investment. The firm has been involved in strategic consulting and the design, set-up and operation of the world’s most successful residence and citizenship programs.
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