Just how many millionaires have left the UK due to changes in tax policy and concerns about the overall business environment is disputed. Henley & Partners puts the 2025 figure at 16,500; however, the Tax Justice Network has argued that in recent years the figures have represented less than 1 per cent of the UK’s overall millionaire population.
What’s less disputed, though, is that UHNWs are moving as the result of increasingly hostile tax measures and general geopolitical instability. But where they are moving to is shifting, with smaller nations – from the Caribbean to the Gulf – competing harder to attract them.
Citizenship by investment sits at the centre of that shift. As governments seek foreign capital to boost their economies and develop infrastructure, some are increasingly willing to offer residency or citizenship in exchange.
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Henley & Partners counts around 100 countries that are now running some form of investment migration scheme, with the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and EU states such as Portugal among the most popular.
Italy has become a particular draw, too, helped by a favourable tax regime that has pulled in property buyers and, in turn, broader ecosystems of advisers to UHNWs set up to serve the influx.
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[See also: Inside Milan’s rise as a haven for the world’s wealthiest]
Global mobility in 2026
This year, our research found that requirements from clients are changing. Denise Ng of Henley & Partners explains that popular destinations switch constantly as governments revise policy; though she notes that the Caribbean, Portugal, Malta, Greece, Cyprus, Hong Kong, Singapore and the US remain popular choices.
Our research also found that while the US remains a desirable destination, interest from Americans looking to leave is also growing; Daniel Twomey of La Vida Golden Visas reports that it has hit its highest point in over a decade. He adds that he thinks a well-designed UK residency-by-investment scheme could capture some of that appetite.
The advisers featured in this year’s index fall into two broad categories. The first includes consultants at citizenship firms who help clients assess programme options and guide them through the application process.
[See also: The tax trap waiting for rich expats leaving Dubai]
The second group comprises advisers who represent jurisdictions offering citizenship or residency routes. Jo Stoddart of Locate Guernsey, for example, promotes the Crown Dependency to entrepreneurs and business owners considering relocation. ‘We typically deal with clients who seek guidance on every aspect of their life,’ she tells Spear’s. ‘They want an independent, unbiased adviser who will help them to understand what life in Guernsey is all about.’
Most clients pursue alternative citizenship or residency as part of a broader investment strategy. Some come from emerging markets such as Brazil and India, seeking stronger passports, while others hail from established economies such as the US and Germany and are aiming to diversify their residency options. In both cases, many are effectively preparing for a ‘Plan B’.
For those relocating, lifestyle factors also play a significant role. Considerations such as schooling, climate and real estate must be addressed early on in conversations, the advisers in our rankings suggest, as most of them often provide more holistic advice including guidance on tax arrangements, banking, insurance, property and business setup.
Click the links below to jump to a section of this article:
- Methodology
- The best global mobility, residence and citizenship by investment advisers: some names to know
- The best global mobility, residence and citizenship by investment advisers: the complete list
- Contact us
Methodology
Each year, the Spear’s Research Unit reassesses and refreshes its rankings of the leading providers in each sector by gathering data from and about the advisers and firms themselves, assessing submission forms, collating nominations, carrying out peer reviews, reviewing data from third-party sources, gathering references and recommendations, canvassing experts and conducting hundreds of interviews.
Advisers are evaluated using a proprietary scoring system that assigns different weightings to certain attributes. These scores feed directly into each new set of rankings in the Spear’s Indices. Each of these indices are published first online (according to the research calendar) and then in print. Print publication takes the form of the annual Spear’s 500 directory, which includes the top advisers in every index.
[See also: A guide to The Spear’s 500: Everything you need to know]
Each featured adviser is profiled on spears500.com. The site allows users to search the Spear’s database of more than 4,000 entities to find one (or more) to meet their specific requirements by filtering for specific attributes such as an adviser’s location, their specialist expertise and information about their client base.
The best global mobility, residence and citizenship by investment advisers: some names to know
Patricia Casaburi
- Focus: Europe and the Caribbean
- Firm: Global Citizens Solutions
Global Citizen Solutions is a full-service company providing citizenship, immigration and relocation services to people wishing to explore their legal options in different jurisdictions, including several European countries, the United States and the Caribbean.
Its founder, Patricia Casaburi, acts as CEO and managing director at the firm. Splitting her time between Lisbon and London, she assists her clients in relocating to a broad range of international destinations. Portugal is a particularly popular programme for her HNW clients, as it also allows them to travel freely across Europe.
Read Patricia Casaburi’s full profile on Spears500.com
Sue Myrie
- Focus: UK citizenship and residency
- Firm: Citrus Relocation
Sue Myrie, the founding director of global mobility firm Citrus Relocation, specialises in supporting individuals, families and corporates who are planning a move to the UK. In addition to immigration and visa planning, the firm provides concierge and lifestyle services – including sourcing homes to buy or rent, arranging shipping and locating appropriate schools – to help new arrivals settle in.
While Myrie notes that her clients come from a variety of countries across the world, she has been seeing a higher number of Americans seeking advice. ‘People are really fed up and they just don’t want to be there anymore,’ she tells Spear’s.
And while the UK’s scrapping of the non-dom regime has made it less appealing to some international HNWs, Myrie notes that the UK still benefits from financial security – in the capital and elsewhere.
Read Sue Myrie’s full profile on Spears500.com
Luke Frendo
- Focus: Malta citizenship
- Firm: Frendo Advisory
Luke Frendo leads the private client offering at Frendo Advisory, where he provides ‘personalised, creative’ immigration solutions for (U)HNWs.
His clients tend to be individuals from the US and Asia who are seeking alternative citizenship. Malta attracts a great deal of attention because of its security, the fact that families can be included in applications, and because it provides access to visa-free travel in Europe. However, Frendo admits the process can be ‘cumbersome’ and emphasises the need for an adviser who can be the ‘first port of call for a person moving to the country’.
‘Our ethos is founded on a can-do attitude and a belief that each client should feel as though he or she were our only one,’ he tells Spear’s. ‘If there is something directly outside of what I can advise on, we find the right person to speak to.’
Read Luke Frendo’s full profile on Spears500.com
Denise Ng
- Focus: Clients based in North Asia
- Firm: Henley & Partners
A managing partner and head of North Asia at Henley & Partners, Denise Ng advises a range of clients from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan on residency and citizenship schemes.
Based in Hong Kong, and with colleagues in 70 offices across the world, Ng is well equipped to advise her clients on moving to, or gaining residency in locations including the Caribbean, Italy and the US. Clients’ reasons for moving are often linked to both their business and personal lives, Ng says, with considerations for wealth planning, tax planning and children’s education.
She notes that for South Korean and Japanese clients in particular, residency schemes have become more popular, as neither of these countries permits dual citizenship: ‘I advise clients to help them to see whether they need residency or citizenship, depending on their circumstances.’
Read Denise Ng’s full profile on Spears500.com
Daniel Twomey
- Focus: Residency as diversification
- Firm: La Vida Golden Visas
Daniel Twomey, chief operating officer at La Vida Golden Visas, advises on citizenship and residency by investment schemes across the world, all from the company’s London office. Noting that the industry he works in is relatively new, Twomey emphasises how much he values professionalism and maintaining a good relationship with clients.
While citizens of countries with ‘weaker’ passports have historically been the company’s most regular clients, Twomey noted that La Vida Golden Visas is seeing more business from UK clients, as well as those from the US.
‘It’s been a huge market for inbound traffic – those wanting to go to the US; but, historically, there hasn’t been outbound demand,’ he tells Spear’s. Now, over the last decade or so, the ‘demand for outbound [travel] has been growing year on year’.
Read Daniel Twomey’s full profile on Spears500.com
Kate Le Blond
- Focus: Jersey relocation
- Firm: Locate Jersey
Responsible for growing Jersey’s inward investment, Kate Le Blond has a diverse clientele that includes entrepreneurs from the UK, Guernsey, Hong Kong, the Isle of Man and South Africa.
As the sector lead for growth and trade at Locate Jersey, Le Blond provides private individuals and corporate clients with guidance on relocating to and establishing their business in Jersey. With over 15 years’ experience in inward investment and business relocation, she focuses on providing business owners and HNWs with ample, ongoing support, including aftercare services to help them ‘settle into island life’.
‘I continue to be delighted by the commitment of new businesses and entrepreneurs to our island,’ she says. ‘They create local job opportunities, support local charities and become positive contributors.’
Read Kate Le Blond’s full profile on Spears500.com
The best global mobility, residence and citizenship by investment advisers: the complete list
Click on the individual names to be directed to more detailed profiles of each adviser on The Spear’s 500 website. The table is ordered by ranking and then alphabetically by surname.
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