A research note covered by Business Standard on 18 June reveals that global millionaire migration will hit an all-time high of 165,000 this year, with India again among the top five source countries. The analysis by investment-migration firm Henley & Partners shows a pivotal shift: affluent families are no longer relocating solely for lower taxes but are building multi-country ‘sovereign portfolios’ that blend residency, citizenship, banking and business interests. For India’s high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), the favoured destinations remain the UAE, Singapore and the UK, but newer markets—Greece, Portugal, Italy and the US EB-5 rural set-asides—are gaining traction. Drivers include geopolitical diversification, better healthcare and education, and climate resilience, not just fiscal perks.
Navigating the complex visa and residency requirements that underpin these sovereign-portfolio strategies can be daunting. VisaHQ’s India desk (https://www.visahq.com/india/) offers end-to-end assistance—from document preparation to appointment scheduling—across more than 200 jurisdictions, enabling HNIs, family offices and their advisers to streamline paperwork while focusing on asset planning and destination selection.
The report scores India at 56.5 on a new Wealth-Mobility Competitiveness Index, below leading hubs such as Singapore (80) and New Zealand (78). Mobility implications: Private banks and Big Four tax teams in Mumbai and Bengaluru report a 40 % rise in outbound residency-by-investment enquiries this quarter. Corporate HR should anticipate senior executives requesting “location-agnostic” contracts, split pay, and remote-work carve-outs as family offices diversify globally. Governments are responding. Italy recently extended its flat-tax regime, Greece trimmed minimum property-investment thresholds outside Athens, and the UAE introduced a 10-year “golden visa” track for family-office principals. Meanwhile, India is tightening outbound remittance reporting and considering a tax-surcharge on ultra-rich emigrants—policy details expected in the Union Budget next month. The study warns that countries losing wealth may see an erosion of capital and entrepreneurship. For India, balancing capital controls with an attractive domestic environment will be crucial to stemming talent and wealth leakage.
Navigating the complex visa and residency requirements that underpin these sovereign-portfolio strategies can be daunting. VisaHQ’s India desk (https://www.visahq.com/india/) offers end-to-end assistance—from document preparation to appointment scheduling—across more than 200 jurisdictions, enabling HNIs, family offices and their advisers to streamline paperwork while focusing on asset planning and destination selection.
The report scores India at 56.5 on a new Wealth-Mobility Competitiveness Index, below leading hubs such as Singapore (80) and New Zealand (78). Mobility implications: Private banks and Big Four tax teams in Mumbai and Bengaluru report a 40 % rise in outbound residency-by-investment enquiries this quarter. Corporate HR should anticipate senior executives requesting “location-agnostic” contracts, split pay, and remote-work carve-outs as family offices diversify globally. Governments are responding. Italy recently extended its flat-tax regime, Greece trimmed minimum property-investment thresholds outside Athens, and the UAE introduced a 10-year “golden visa” track for family-office principals. Meanwhile, India is tightening outbound remittance reporting and considering a tax-surcharge on ultra-rich emigrants—policy details expected in the Union Budget next month. The study warns that countries losing wealth may see an erosion of capital and entrepreneurship. For India, balancing capital controls with an attractive domestic environment will be crucial to stemming talent and wealth leakage.
