The clearest lesson from the Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2026 is simple: arrange a second residency before you need it. Programmes now close, thresholds rise and rules change within months rather than years. Henley says applications from individuals with a UK address rose 15% between 2024 and 2025, while its 2026 report introduces a Global Wealth Mobility Framework rather than relying only on raw millionaire departure figures.

The practical takeaway is not to panic. It is to treat a second residency as optionality you set up calmly, while you still qualify and while the route is still open. If you are weighing residency by investment against citizenship by investment, that distinction shapes the whole plan.

Here is the pattern worth noticing. A family in London spends 2 or 3 years half considering a move, waiting for a clear reason to act. Then a programme closes, a property threshold doubles, or a fast citizenship route loses legal certainty. When Spain scrapped its golden visa, applicants who assumed they had more time were left rerouting. The same logic sits behind comparing the best golden visa in Europe now rather than later.

The map keeps getting redrawn

The last few years have reshaped the options available to a UK applicant. A route that feels permanent can disappear, and demand simply moves elsewhere. Greece has been one of the clearest beneficiaries of that shift, which is why it is worth reading up on Greek residency by investment before assuming the field still looks the way it did in 2023.

Programme	Recent change	What it means for your timing
Spain golden visa	Closed to new applications from 3 April 2025	A route that ran for more than a decade is now gone
Portugal golden visa	Property investment route removed in October 2023	Non-property routes remain, but property no longer qualifies
Malta citizenship by investment	EU Court of Justice ruled the investor citizenship scheme contrary to EU law on 29 April 2025	The fastest EU passport route lost its footing
Greece golden visa	Real estate thresholds raised under Law 5100/2024	Entry costs more in many areas than it did a few years ago

Spain’s closing date is tied to Organic Law 1/2025, which entered into force on 3 April 2025. Portugal removed real estate investment from its golden visa framework in 2023. In Greece, the revised structure now includes higher €400,000 and €800,000 real estate thresholds in many cases, with limited €250,000 exceptions for specific conversions or restorations.

Why “before you need it” beats “when you need it”

A second residency works best as insurance, not as a reaction. If you wait until you actually need to move, your choices narrow to whatever is open, affordable and quick at that moment. Set it up earlier and you keep the pick of stronger routes.

This is the thinking behind the wider shift Henley describes, where globally mobile families increasingly look for residence rights, tax optionality and access across more than 1 jurisdiction. You can see how the routes differ by comparing Greece vs Portugal golden visa options side by side, and by checking where the Portugal golden visa rules stand for 2026.

It also helps to be honest about the data. The headline millionaire migration numbers that circulated in recent years have been questioned by independent analysts, and Henley’s 2026 report says its classifications are directional indicators, not actual millionaire inflow or outflow forecasts. Treat the numbers as direction, not gospel. The direction is clear enough: several European options have been tightened, reshaped or closed.

Build the plan around your actual goals

Start with what you want the residency to do. Family relocation, a tax base, an EU foothold or a passport for your children all point to different routes. If education is the driver, second citizenship for children is a separate conversation from a pure investor move.

If you want EU residency, an Italy golden visa may sit in the conversation. If you want a faster passport route outside the EU, Turkey citizenship by investment may be a different type of option. The practicalities of holding a second passport are worth understanding early, and the wider residency and citizenship advisory picture helps you compare like for like.

None of this needs to be rushed. It needs to be started. The families who feel calm about their options are usually the ones who arranged them 1 or 2 years before anything forced their hand.

If you want to map out which second residency fits your goals and your timeline, speak to the Coates Global team while the routes you are considering are still open. Book a consultation to plan ahead.