Growing Number of Americans Seek Residency and Citizenship Abroad, New Report Finds
UNITED STATES – A growing number of American citizens are turning the dream of living abroad into a reality, with demand for foreign residency, citizenship, and investment opportunities reaching unprecedented levels, according to a new report from residence and citizenship planning firm Henley & Partners.
Travelers are increasingly building what the firm calls “sovereign portfolios,” collections of residency rights, citizenships, investments, and business interests spread across multiple countries. According to AlphaGeo founder and CEO Dr. Parag Khanna, who helped Henley & Partners analyze the trend, wealthy individuals are no longer choosing a single country to call home, but instead constructing an entire portfolio of jurisdictions.
US Applications for “Golden Visas” Doubled in 2025
Applications from US nationals for residency and citizenship by investment programs, commonly known as golden visas or golden passports, doubled in 2025 and have remained elevated into 2026. Notably, only 7% of those applications came from Americans already living abroad, indicating the surge is being driven largely by US residents rather than expatriates already overseas.
Europe Remains the Top Destination
Nearly half of all applications from US nationals are directed toward Europe, with Portugal and Italy ranking as the two most popular choices. Latin America and the Caribbean follow as the next most sought-after region, accounting for more than a quarter of American applications.
The trend extends well beyond US citizens. In the first half of 2026 alone, Henley & Partners received applications from 86 different nationalities across 47 investment migration programs worldwide. Basil Mohr-Elzeki, the firm’s managing partner and head of private clients for the Americas, said the underlying goal is ensuring no single government holds complete control over a family’s life and capital.
A Search for Stability in Uncertain Times
Mohr-Elzeki said acquiring residence or citizenship abroad increasingly offers Americans a sense of stability in a world that has grown harder to predict, pointing to a mix of domestic political tension and global conflict as key drivers behind the shift. What was once a simple backup plan, a single spare passport kept aside for emergencies, he said, has now become a deliberate strategy for many.
Singapore Tops the List of Best Destinations
To rank the best destinations for this kind of planning, Henley & Partners introduced a new Wealth Mobility score out of 100, built from 38 indicators across 12 categories including tax treatment, rule of law, quality of life, investor migration pathways, and geopolitical stability, cross-referenced with data from the World Bank, IMF, OECD, and Global Peace Index.
Singapore claimed the top spot for 2026 with a score of 79.5, credited to its political stability, strong institutions, and deep capital markets. New Zealand followed in second at 75.8, boosted by a 2025 overhaul of its Active Investor Plus Visa Program that lowered investment thresholds and eased residency requirements.
Rounding out the top of the list were the Cayman Islands at 74.3, Cyprus at 73.5, the Netherlands at 72.8, Portugal at 72.5, Italy at 72.3, and Bermuda at 72.0, followed by Uruguay, Latvia, Panama, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Greece, Costa Rica, and Monaco rounding out the top sixteen.
Stay updated for the latest travel and lifestyle news as this story develops.
