The controversial practice beloved of smaller EU nations and Caribbean islands, of conferring citizenships on investors from wealthy families, is increasingly coming under the spotlight.
Citizenship by investment (CBI) programmes — offered mainly by smaller European and Caribbean nations — have seldom been out of the news during the last 10 years.
But latest developments are making decisions for wealthy families around migration even more challenging. One of these, and potentially the most important, is the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling against Malta’s CBI programme, which has triggered a strategic shift in investor migration.
In March 2023, the European Commission filed a case, asserting Malta’s Individual Investor Programme (IIP), which grants citizenship in exchange for substantial investment, contravened the principle of sincere co-operation enshrined in EU law. In its recent ruling, the ECJ has sided with the commission, characterising the programme as an infringement, intensifying pressure on other EU member states offering similar models.
Leading firms which promote these projects to wealthy families are now starting to react. Henley & Partners argues that the ECJ’s decision will do little to slow the rapidly growing market for alternative citizenship and residency options.
In its role as the advisory firm instrumental in developing Malta’s now-contested framework, Henley & Partners has criticised the ruling as “highly politicised” and indicative of a broader EU retreat from global investment engagement.
“The trajectory of investor migration remains firmly upward, and the ECJ ruling will not change that,” says Dominic Volek, group head of private clients at Henley & Partners. “Demand among high net worth (HNW) individuals for alternative residence and citizenship solutions is growing rapidly, driven by persistent geopolitical uncertainty, rising fiscal pressures in key markets, and a sharpened focus on legacy planning and family security.”
Portfolio-based strategies
Mr Volek anticipates a pivot away from standalone EU citizenship offerings towards “portfolio-based strategies”, with clients combining EU residence rights with non-EU citizenship options to diversify access and mitigate regulatory or reputational risk. Programmes in Austria, Greece and the UAE, alongside longstanding Caribbean citizenship schemes, are cited as viable alternatives. Nauru, a newcomer with a “climate-supporting” citizenship model, is also highlighted.
More than 100 countries worldwide have investment migration legislation in place, and there are over 60 active programmes globally, with about 30 attracting the majority of applicants, according to Henley & Partners.
While Malta’s IIP may now face significant restructuring or closure, Mr Volek insists the ruling does not delegitimise the broader sector. “Maintaining investor confidence depends on transparency, rigorous due diligence and government-backed legitimacy, all of which have been cornerstones of Malta’s approach,” he says.
He also pointed to the Maltese government’s insistence that existing citizenship grants remain valid and lawful, calling the ECJ decision a setback to EU-level pragmatism. “The EU, by contrast, appears to be pulling up the drawbridge when they can least afford to do so.”
According to Henley & Partners, demand is already trending toward “combinational” approaches, often pairing EU golden visas, notably those in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Latvia, with citizenships from the Caribbean, Turkey or Nauru. “The growing sophistication of clients means the future lies in combinational solutions, not single programmes,” Mr Volek says. “We’re seeing a marked increase in demand for multi-jurisdictional portfolios.”
The ECJ’s ruling underscores a deepening policy divide between EU integrationists and national governments seeking economic competitiveness through migration tools, according to Henley & Partners. But even as Brussels signals greater oversight, the firm believes sovereignty in citizenship decisions remains legally intact for now.
National competence
“Citizenship remains a national competence, as reaffirmed in Malta’s official response, and the current regulatory landscape still gives member states discretion in determining their own pathways,” Mr Volek says. However, he acknowledges the possibility of increasing pressure for harmonisation across the bloc, particularly on due diligence and data sharing.
For smaller EU nations, this evolving policy landscape may demand more innovation and clarity in residency schemes and foreign investment structures. “Investment migration remains a powerful tool for attracting capital, talent and long-term engagement, and the demand from global investors has never been stronger,” he adds.
As the EU debates the line between national sovereignty and collective identity, Mr Volek argues the market is already moving on. “Golden visas are not going away. They are evolving and are in fact expanding,” he says. “Unless EU countries choose to further modernise and lead, they may risk losing their influence in a space they once helped shape.”
“Golden visas are not going away. They are evolving and are in fact expanding” — Dominic Volek, Henley & Partners
London calling
Despite mounting political scrutiny and a broader trend of capital outflows away from the UK and parts of Europe, a reverse movement is taking shape among a different class of globally mobile individuals. There are three profiles of people who are finding the UK attractive once more, according to Iain Tait, a partner and head of the private investment office at London & Capital.
“We’re seeing a focus from a certain profile of HNW Americans, they’re likely to be a little bit more liberal,” he says. These families are of a HNW and more complex profile, but this is not anecdotal, he stresses. American families have requested the opening of accounts offshore from his firm, to achieve some country and banking diversification away from the US.
The second profile is a younger, but still HNW, American. “These are families that actually have the opportunity. They're not, perhaps, so entrenched in the US. We've seen sort of a pickup in inquiries, and this comes through the intermediaries that we work with,” explains Mr Tait.
The third is a global profile: those moving away from populist regimes in Europe and increasingly less democratic parts of the East, like Hong Kong, from where the UK doesn't look “too bad”, says Mr Tait.
Clients with such profiles see the UK as a relatively stable, globally connected base. “We’re selling ourselves short a little bit,” he says.
While planned reforms to the UK’s non-dom regime have unsettled older wealth structures, Mr Tait argues that new arrivals, unburdened by legacy planning, see clear advantages. “If you land here with your family, you’ve got around four years where all of that offshore income and gains are outside of the UK tax net,” he notes. “I’d love that four years to be a bit longer, but regardless, that’s a relatively attractive proposition.”
Compared to regimes in Italy, the Middle East, or Switzerland, all of which come with their own set of challenges and cultural hurdles, the UK, he argues, remains a “bastion of safe havens” in an increasingly volatile global landscape.
Mr Tait also points to the UK’s enduring strengths in softer services, biotech, and financial innovation, particularly across the so-called ‘Golden Triangle’ of London, Oxford and Cambridge. “We’re second only to the US in early-stage tech,” he says, noting that international founders disillusioned by rising hostility in the US are now looking more closely at the UK. “This is a real opportunity,” he stresses. “Why wouldn’t we now, of all times, be banging the drum?”
As rival jurisdictions recalibrate their investor migration regimes, the UK’s muted posture stands in contrast to a more overt courtship emerging elsewhere. In the US, president Donald Trump announced a plan to sell US permanent residence and a path to citizenship with a $5m “gold card”.
“I think it sends the message that we want wealthy individuals to enter the US, to help spend money inside the US,” says Jordan Mimoun, business development director at ARI Financial Group, a company which specialises in succession planning and life insurance services for wealthy multinational citizens.
The programme is going to increase the competitiveness for millionaire migration, he believes. “It’s like an express pass,” he adds. “The gold card is going to appeal to the very ultra-high net worth individual who says: I have my business. I make my money, and I have my investments. I don't want any type of requirements or obligations, so I'll give you the $5m and you give me the gold card right away.”
