Which are the best countries offering citizenship by investment? 40 nations – from Thailand to the UAE – offer ‘golden visas’ to high net worth individuals splurging millions on property

After a lull during the pandemic, interest in foreign residency through property investment is rising again.

There are plenty of options to choose from – according to Liam Bailey, partner and global head of research, Knight Frank, the number of countries offering some form of “golden visa” scheme has grown to more than 40 in recent years.

However, not all schemes are created equally. While some offer permanent citizenship and/or a second passport to successful applicants, others only allow finite residency – sometimes for as little as 12 months.

“The key trend we noted in this year’s [Knight Frank] Wealth Report was a strong recovery in interest in relocation and citizenship, with the desire for property purchase to facilitate this movement rising,” Bailey said. “To evidence this, we recorded an intention from 21 per cent of global ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHWNIs) to purchase new property somewhere in the world in 2022, up from the 19 per cent who did so in 2021.”

Denise Ng, director of Henley & Partners Hong Kong, a global residence and citizenship-by-investment firm, agrees there has been “a marked rebound” in interest in investment migration from residents of Hong Kong and mainland China this year.

“Henley & Partners saw an 18 per cent increase in the number of web enquiries received in Q1 compared with the same period in 2021,” Ng said. “Last year, enquiries were subdued due to the pandemic, but based on what we have seen in the first months of this year, we expect the number of enquiries in 2022 to be similar to in 2019, our peak year for enquiries.”

Even if relocation is not the main motivation, having multiple citizenships opens up the possibility of travelling to a wider range of destinations more easily, Ng continued.