The Henley Ultimate Portfolio

Key parameters

The framework specifically includes parameters of key importance to international investors who are considering investment migration programs as a mechanism to improve their quality of life and access to premium education and private healthcare, enhance their travel freedom and global mobility, expand their business opportunities, grow their wealth, and protect their legacies for future generations.

The seven key, top-level parameters are as follows:

Business Opportunity – evaluates the business-friendliness of countries based on gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita and GDP growth, openness for business, competitiveness, and entrepreneurship (innovativeness)

Climate Resilience – assesses a country’s’ resilience to climate change using the scores in the Henley & Partners’ Investment Migration Climate Resilience Index Ranking which takes into account key factors of vulnerability, readiness to leverage climate investments, and the economic ability to adapt thereto, according to the University of Notre Dame’s ND-GAIN Index

Economic Freedom – measures the degree of economic freedom in countries based on the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom, which covers 12 quantitative and qualitative factors, grouped into four broad categories of economic freedom: Rule of Law (property rights, government integrity, judicial effectiveness), Government Size (government spending, tax burden, fiscal health), Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom), and Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom)

Premium Education – appraises countries based on the efficacy of their private education systems, taking into account their innovativeness, private education capacity (number of top universities and top-tier international schools, private primary and secondary school enrolments), and the quality of education and opportunities for studying they provide

Quality of Life – assesses countries according to the happiness and wellbeing of their citizens, the standard of living and quality of life they offer, human development, cost of living, and demographic pressures

Private Healthcare – evaluates countries’ private healthcare systems by assessing domestic private health expenditure and the number of private hospitals and insurance companies in each, health security, and healthcare access and quality 

Safety and Security – measures each country’s peacefulness based on the Institute for Economics and Peace’s Global Peace Index, the world’s leading measure of national peacefulness

Please refer to the Data sources section below for links. 

Two additional factors are considered separately as unlike the above factors, they are not converted into scores out of 100:

Visa-Free Destinations – evaluates the travel freedom enjoyed by citizens of a country (or permanent residence holders, in the case of residence by investment programs), based on Q3 2022 Henley Passport Index data which compares the number of visa-free destinations (out of a possible 227) that can be accessed by passport holders (or investment migration resident permit holders if residence by investment program host countries are selected for comparison. NB: Visa-free access to Albania for UAE residence permit holders is restricted to those with a 10-year permit.)

Approximate Minimum Investment – the approximate minimum investment amounts for each investment migration program are presented in US dollars and euros. These are the upfront investment amounts for the most cost effective option and do not include additional costs and fees. The amounts were all converted on 22 March 2023 using GoogleFinance, hence they are approximate and may vary owing to exchange rate fluctuations. Accurate up-to-date amounts are provided on the relevant program pages for residence and citizenship by investment programs. The minimum investment amounts for Austria, Canada, Hong Kong  (SAR China), Monaco, and UAE are indicated as zero as there is no minimum investment per se, however there are other requirements that require financial input, such as financial independence, or starting up a business.

Gathering and computing the data

The dataset for 199 countries was collected between June and September 2022 from publicly available open databases for the most recent year available.

Any missing values were imputed using the k-Nearest Neighbors (kNN) method. kNN is an algorithm that identifies 'k' samples in the dataset that are similar or in close proximity to each other. The 'k' samples are then used to estimate the values of missing data points. Each sample's missing values are imputed using the mean value of the 'k'-nearest neighbors found in the dataset.

The 33 indicators were then normalized. For each indicator, the minimum value was transformed into a 0, the maximum value into a 1, and every other value into a decimal between 0 and 1: 

x = (x – Min(x))/(Max(x) – Min(x))

Next, the indicators were grouped into sub-parameters according to theme. The scores for sub-parameters were calculated by summing up the weighted values of their indicators. 

The scores for the seven key parameters were calculated by summing up the values of their sub-parameters, with each given equal weighting. These scores were multiplied by 100 so that the maximum value for each parameter is 100.

Sub-parameter = ∑ weighted individual indicators

Parameter = (∑ equally weighted sub-parameters) x 100 

The total score in the Ultimate Portfolio is calculated by summing the scores for the seven key parameters (Visa-Free Access is considered separately), with a maximum possible value of 700:

Overall Score (out of 700) = Business Opportunity + Climate Resilience + Economic Freedom + Premium Education + Private Healthcare + Quality of Life + Safety and Security

Creating your Ultimate Portfolio 

Step 1 - Add up to two passports that are already held from the 199 countries listed in the dropdown menu. 

Step 2 - Select up to four additional investment migration programs from the list of 31 residence and citizenship by investment/naturalization program options in the 30 countries available in the tool.

As passports and residence permits are added, scores are presented for existing passports and chosen investment migration options across the seven key parameters, and the number of visa-free destinations and approximate minimum investment amounts are also shown. 

Step 3 - The Ultimate Portfolio is displayed, indicating the total number of passports and/or residence permits included and summarizing the maximum number of visa-free destinations and the ultimate score possible in each of the seven parameters, depending on the existing passports held and the investment migration programs selected. The approximate total minimum investment is provided in both US dollars and euros.

The total scores for each of the seven key parameters in the Ultimate Portfolio are computed using the same approach as described above, namely, the weighted sum of the sub-parameters, which are calculated by taking the maximum value for each of the 33 indicators from the range of passports and/or residence permits selected. 

The total scores for each parameter are therefore unique and do not necessarily reflect the highest score of a particular parameter for any passport or residence permit. The scores rather represent the ultimate possible value for each parameter, taking all options into account, and the increased benefit of the potential investment for the client, which is also shown as a percentage.

For Visa-Free Destinations, the score represents the maximum number of destinations out of a possible 227 that passport holders (in the case of citizenship programs) or residence permit holders (in the case of residence programs) can access without requiring a prior visa by comparing the list of destinations each passport or permit provides visa-free access to. Selecting the Global Access view displays a list of all the destinations that can be accessed without having to acquire a visa in advance, also indicated in dark blue on a map. 

For Approximate Total Minimum Investment, the US dollar equivalents of minimum investment amounts for each investment migration program selected are summed up, and investors can also choose to see the total in euros. 

Data sources

Among the data sources Deep Knowledge Analytics consulted are CEOWORLD magazine: Countries With The Best Health Care Systems, 2021: ceoworld.biz/2021/04/27/revealed-countries-with-the-best-health-care-systems-2021/; World’s Best Countries For Education System: ceoworld.biz/2020/05/10/ranked-worlds-best-countries-for-education-system-2020/; Expatistan.com; Gallup, Inc.: Global Happiness Center: gallup.com/analytics/349487/gallup-global-happiness-center.aspx; Global Health Security Index: ghsindex.org; Google: Google Finance: google.com/finance/; Henley & Partners: Henley Passport Index: henleyglobal.com/passport-index; Investment Migration Climate Resilience Index: henleyglobal.com/publications/investment-migration-climate-resilience-index; Institute for Economics & Peace: Global Peace Index: visionofhumanity.org/maps/#/; International Baccalaureate Organization: The IB by country/territory: ibo.org/about-the-ib/the-ib-by-country-and-territory; International Institute for Management Development: World Competitiveness Ranking: imd.org/centers/world-competitiveness-center/rankings/world-competitiveness/; Livingcost.org; Numbeo: Cost of Living: numbeo.com/cost-of-living/; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development: OECD Insurance Statistics: oecd.org/finance/insurance/oecdinsurancestatistics.htm; OECD.Stat: stats.oecd.org; Our World in Data: Healthcare Access and Quality Index, 2015: ourworldindata.org/grapher/healthcare-access-and-quality-index; Statista: statista.com; The Fund for Peace: Fragile States Index: fragilestatesindex.org; The Heritage Foundation: 2022 Index of Economic Freedom: heritage.org/index/; THE - Times Higher Education: World University Rankings: timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings; The World Bank: Domestic private health expenditure (% of current health expenditure): data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.PVTD.CH.ZS?locations=BG; Domestic private health expenditure per capita (current US$): data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.PVTD.PC.CD; GDP (current US$): data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD; GDP growth (annual %): data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG; GDP per capita (current US$): data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD; School enrollment, primary, private (% of total primary): data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.PRM.PRIV.ZS; The World Bank: School enrollment, secondary, private (% of total secondary): /data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.SEC.PRIV.ZS; United Nations Development Programme: Human Development Index: hdr.undp.org/data-center/human-development-index#/indicies/HDI; U.S. News & World Report L.P.: Best Countries: usnews.com/news/best-countries; WIPO: Global Innovation Index: globalinnovationindex.org/analysis-indicator; World Health Organization: who.int; and World Population Review: Standard of Living by Country | Quality of Life by Country: worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/standard-of-living-by-country

All the data available in the Henley Ultimate Portfolio other than the visa-free data and the minimum investment amount data is licensed by our licensor, Deep Knowledge Analytics Limited. Henley & Partners Group Holdings Ltd is not responsible for its correctness. The data posted in the Henley Ultimate Portfolio is freely accessible for private non-commercial use only.