UAE Enters World’s Top Three Places to Live for the First Time
Greece took first on 73 points; the UAE tied with Italy and Switzerland, scoring strongly for tax efficiency, quality of life and clear residence pathways.
The UAE has moved into the top tier of global residence destinations, rising from fifth last year to joint second in Henley & Partners’ 2026 Global Residence Program Index — its first appearance in the top three since the index was introduced. Greece ranked first with 73 points, while the UAE scored 72 alongside Italy and Switzerland, placing it ahead of Portugal, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore and the United States. The index is part of Henley & Partners’ annual Residence and Citizenship Programs report. It compares 40 leading residence programmes selected from more than 100 worldwide. Independent assessors — including immigration specialists, academics, economists and country-risk experts — score programmes across reputation, quality of life, compliance standards, investment requirements, tax efficiency, processing quality and mobility outcomes. Henley & Partners attributed the UAE’s rise to its status as a global wealth hub supported by investor-focused policies; strong tax competitiveness alongside Monaco and Saudi Arabia; a top-tier quality of life comparable with Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Switzerland; and regulatory flexibility with clear residence pathways and consistent policy signals. The firm noted a broader shift in global preferences, with European destinations remaining attractive but facing stronger competition from jurisdictions such as the UAE and Singapore. Henley & Partners also reported that residence and citizenship programmes are playing a more central role in national planning, and said it onboarded clients from 95 countries over the past 12 months.
