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Leading international wealth advisory firm Henley & Partners has published the 2025 edition of its pioneering Henley Opportunity Index, further cementing its reputation as a premier benchmarking tool for assessing how top-tier education, combined with enhanced global access, shapes future success. Now in its second year, the index evaluates how combining premium education with additional investment-based residence and citizenship rights creates significant opportunity for the next generation, growing their global networks, maximizing their career prospects, earning potential, and economic mobility for greater success and prosperity across their lifetimes.
As Tess Wilkinson, Director of Henley & Partners Education, points out, a first-class education alone is no longer a guaranteed pathway to success in an increasingly competitive global job market. “While studies confirm that tertiary graduates earn around 50% more than those with only secondary education, research also reveals that over two-thirds of income disparity worldwide is dictated by the country in which an individual lives and works. With barriers to opportunity often dictated by the limitations of our citizenship, the index makes a compelling case for investment migration as a game-changing strategy for families looking to transcend the constraints of their ‘birthright lottery’. By securing strategic residence or citizenship rights, individuals gain access to dynamic economies, high-growth industries, and unparalleled career prospects — proving that in today’s world, where you live matters just as much as what you learn.”
Enhancing the probability of success
The Henley Opportunity Index is the first study of its kind to quantify the benefits of combining premium education with expanded residence or citizenship rights. It scores the top residence and citizenship by investment programs available worldwide across six key factors — premium education, employment prospects, earning potential, career advancement, economic mobility, and livability — serving as a benchmark for investors, entrepreneurs, and affluent families looking to identify locations offering the best environments for future generations to thrive and maximize their career and income potential.
Switzerland, which offers an investment option developed by Henley & Partners that combines private residence with Swiss forfait tax provisions, leads the ranking of top investment migration programs for accessing opportunities, with a total score of 84%. Asia’s wealth hub Singapore follows with an opportunity score of 79%. The Singapore Global Investor Program is popular among ultra-high-net-worth families, and the city-state is well-established as a world-class education destination. The US, with its EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program offering an efficient route to permanent resident status and new “gold card” visa proposed, which would offer wealthy investors the right to live and work in the US and a pathway to citizenship in exchange for a USD 5 million investment, is not far behind on 78%. Australia, which recently launched a new National Innovation Visa, comes in next with 76%, ahead of Canada, which offers a popular Start-Up Visa Program for entrepreneurs and scores 73%, rounding up the Top 5. The UK, which has an Innovator Founder Visa requiring individuals to set up a new, scaling business in the country, secures an opportunity score of 70% when it comes to providing strategic advantage to its citizens and residents, and the UAE, which has numerous categories of beneficiaries for its Golden Residence visa, earns 67%. Austria, which requires a substantial contribution to its economy to secure citizenship, and New Zealand, which recently eased the rules for its Active Investor Plus Visa Program to incentivize investors, each achieve 65%, closely followed by Italy, which also offers an Investor Visa and scores 64% on the Henley Opportunity Index.
Further down the list evaluating the possibility of future success is the cosmopolitan wealth hub of Hong Kong, which reintroduced its Capital Investment Entrant Scheme in 2024 and scores 61%, just ahead of rising star Latvia, whose residence by investment offering is one of the fastest and most competitive programs in Europe and scores 60%. Next is Malta, which offers an attractive pathway that allows for the granting of citizenship by a certificate of naturalization to foreign individuals and their families who contribute to the country’s economic development, scoring 59%. Hungary, which offers a Guest Investor Residence Permit, follows with an opportunity score of 58%. Greece and Portugal, both scoring 56%, round out the rankings, with Greece’s Golden Visa Program shooting up in popularity in the past 12 months, while Portugal’s Golden Residence Permit Program has long been favored by investors from across the globe.
Unlocking the cumulative advantage
The comparative function within the Henley Opportunity Index highlights the profound impact of strategic investment migration on improving future opportunities for families worldwide. As Wilkinson points out, “By investing in these residence and citizenship programs, families can permanently relocate to regions that offer exceptional educational opportunities, professional development, and high-quality living standards. This significantly enhances earning potential and facilitates wealth creation across generations, allowing children to grow up in economically advanced environments that can transform their life trajectory and foster long-term success.”
For instance, a Vietnamese family with an opportunity score of just 29% in their home country could elevate their next generation’s potential success to 78% by securing US residence through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. Similarly, an Indian family with a 37% score could boost their advantage to 84% by relocating to Switzerland via the Swiss Residence Program. In another example, a Nigerian family with a mere 21% opportunity score could dramatically increase their life chances to 79% by obtaining residence through Singapore’s Global Investor Program, securing a remarkable advantage. Additionally, investment migration routes such as the UAE’s Golden Visa and New Zealand’s Active Investor Plus Visa offer next-generation opportunity advantages of 67% and 65%, respectively.
Future-proofing the next generation
Taking a deeper dive and comparing variations in opportunity scores across the six different parameters that make up the index, Filipino investors leveraging Canada’s Start-Up Visa Program would experience significant improvements in multiple aspects of their lives. Access to premium education would see a rise from a score of 32 out of 100 in the Philippines to 73 in Canada. Earning potential would also grow substantially, improving from 34 to 66. Career advancement opportunities would witness an even greater jump, surging from 35 to 74. Economic mobility would skyrocket from just 10 in the Philippines to 75 in Canada, and the family’s total opportunity score would increase from 31% to 73%.
Similarly, South African families considering Europe can unlock substantial intergenerational benefits through Malta’s Citizenship by Naturalisation for Exceptional Services by Direct Investment process and significantly enhance their economic mobility from 16 out of 100 to 92 — an impressive increase. Malta provides access to top-tier employment opportunities and overall improvements in quality of life, making it an attractive choice for families seeking stability and prosperity in Europe.
Dominic Volek, Group Head of Private Clients at Henley & Partners, says both investment migration and education serve as powerful intergenerational enablers, equipping families with the tools to secure a future of global opportunity. “By strategically leveraging alternative residence and citizenship options, parents can provide their children with the freedom to study, live, work, and build their careers in the world’s most lucrative job markets, unlocking dynamic business networks, innovation hubs, and investment ecosystems. A second passport and multiple residence rights are more than just privileges — they are essential assets that empower young entrepreneurs and professionals to thrive on the international stage, future-proofing their success for generations to come."
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Notes to Editors
About Henley & Partners
Henley & Partners is the global leader in residence and citizenship by investment. Each year, hundreds of wealthy individuals and their advisors rely on our expertise and experience in this area. The firm’s highly qualified professionals work together as one team in over 60 offices worldwide.
The concept of residence and citizenship by investment 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.
Henley & Partners also runs the world’s leading government advisory practice for investment migration, which has raised more than USD 15 billion in foreign direct investment. Trusted by governments, the firm has been involved in strategic consulting and in the design, set-up, and operation of the world’s most successful residence and citizenship programs.
Media Contact
For further information, please contact:
Sarah Nicklin
Group Head of Public Relations & Communications
Henley & Partners
sarah.nicklin@henleyglobal.com
Mobile +27 72 464 8965
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