India Leads Surge in Investment Migration: Henley Global Citizens Report India ranks 4th in terms of privately-held wealth countries in the world
By S Shanthi
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The Henley Global Citizens Report, released today, has revealed that the nationalities showing the greatest appetite for investment migration — whereby wealthy investors acquire alternative residence or additional citizenship in exchange for making a substantial contribution to the host country — are India, the US, and the UK. The past two years have seen three Cs driving wealth and investment migration: Covid, climate change, and cryptocurrency. In 2022, a fourth C has abruptly emerged: conflict in Europe.
The report, which features exclusive data from New World Wealth, also said that India ranks 4th in terms of privately-held wealth countries in the world after the US, China, and Japan. Further, Indian nationals topped the charts for enquiries received by the firm in 2021 by a significant margin, with a growth of 54 per cent compared to 2020 — a year which itself saw a 63 per cent rise in the interest shown by Indian investors. US citizens were next in line, with Henley & Partners receiving 26 per cent more enquiries in 2021 after astonishing growth of 208 per cent in 2020. Enquiries by Brits and South Africans shot up by 110 per cent and 38 per cent, respectively, in 2021.
"India's 4th-place ranking and total wealth of $ 8.9 trillion is also notable as it places the country ahead of major economies such as Germany and the UK. India has been steadily moving up the W10 over the past decade and it is expected to overtake Japan before 2040. In 2022, we are seeing very similar trends, with early signs of exceeding last year's stellar overall growth. The combination of W10 countries and developing economies that make up our Top 10 reflects the universal appeal of investment migration for affluent families," said Dominic Volek, Group Head of Private Clients at Henley & Partners.
He also added that it's no coincidence that each of the W10 countries has legislation in place granting residence rights to foreign investors — and five host formal investment migration programs. "These countries are important investment migration markets in terms of both supply, thanks to their attractive and successful programs, and demand, due to their significant and growing populations of affluent investors," he said.
Nirbhay Handa, Group Head of Business Development at Henley & Partners and Head of the firm's Global South Asia team added, "Investment migration continues to surge in South Asia, with the concept rapidly gaining greater public acceptance. A growing number of ultra‐high- and high‐net‐worth investors focused on futureproofing themselves and their families are increasingly seeking out alternative residence and citizenship options. Henley & Partners saw a 52% increase in client enquiries in 2021 compared to 2020 across South Asia, and 2022 looks to be another year of significant growth."
