MAYS IBRAHIM (ABU DHABI)
The UAE has been ranked the world's second-best destination for residency programmes, according to the latest index of advisory firm Global Citizen Solutions (GCS).
The country's Golden Visa scored 91.49 out of 100, narrowly behind Switzerland's lump-sum taxation residency route at 91.9.
The index assessed 48 residency programmes across 46 jurisdictions using five pillars: quality of life, procedure, mobility, investment, and compliance and credibility.
The UAE recorded two perfect scores in the index: 100 for tax optimisation, where it ranks first, and 100 for compliance and credibility, alongside Switzerland, Portugal, Italy, Canada, Australia and two US visa routes.
For the compliance and credibility pillar, the UAE and the other top scorers were assessed on FATF status, track record, industry recognition and perceived-corruption performance.
"The UAE is the fiscal standout of the index, with zero personal income tax and a comparatively low entry threshold, available through routes including property investment," the report said.
"It pairs that with strong mobility and one of the lowest-crime environments anywhere, plus a large, international expat community and family-friendly infrastructure."
The index gave the UAE an investment score of 99.28, while its mobility score stood at 99.4.
The ranking places the country ahead of several established residency destinations in Europe and elsewhere. Portugal ranked third for its Golden Visa with a 91.28 score, followed by Italy's Investor Visa (90.33) in fourth and Greece's Golden Visa (89.52) fifth.
The country also leads the five Middle Eastern programmes assessed, followed by Qatar (30th), Saudi Arabia (33rd), Bahrain (37th), and Oman (40th).
The top 10 on the index were completed by New Zealand's Active Investor Plus (89.4), Portugal's D2 entrepreneur route (89.3), Singapore's Global Investor Programme (89.2), Luxembourg's Golden Visa (88.9), and Canada's Quebec Investor and Provincial routes (88.6).
The US EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program (83.9) and E-2 Treaty Investor visa (82.6) came in 27th and 32nd place, respectively. Meanwhile, Panama, Costa Rica, Brazil, Mexico, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic were cited for offering accessible, lower-cost residency, combining fast processing and strong lifestyle appeal.