UK facing ‘growing pressures’ as a global wealth hub amid surge in HNWI migration

The UK is facing growing pressures as an international wealth hub, with tax reforms and policy shifts prompting high net worth individuals (HNWI) and their families to reassess their options, according to Henley & Partners’ Private Wealth Migration Report 2026.

The investment migration consultancy identified the UK as one of the ‘competitive jurisdictions under pressure’, with a ‘wealth mobility competitiveness score’ of 68.3 out of 100.

This put it ahead of South Korea (66.2) and France (65.7), but way below Singapore (79.5) and New Zealand (75.8) in first and second place respectively.

Applications for investment migration programmes from HNWIs with a UK address rose by 15 per cent between 2024 and 2025.

So far in 2026, foreign nationals have accounted for 53 per cent of all UK-based applications, meaning that almost half of the UK-based applicants processed by the firm were British citizens, up from 8 per cent in 2018.

The UK has risen from Henley & Partners’ 20th largest source market for new clients in 2018 to consistently ranking among its five largest markets in recent years.

Henley & Partners said this trend highlighted a broader policy lesson, with the abolition of the non-dom regime, changes to inheritance tax, the closure of the Tier 1 Investor Visa, and a broader climate of fiscal and policy uncertainty reshaping the UK’s value proposition for globally mobile wealth.

In making these changes, the consultancy argued that the country had simultaneously weakened both its attraction and retention abilities.

“For much of the past century, governments could largely treat their wealthiest residents as a relatively fixed asset — rooted by businesses, family ties, and limited international mobility,” said Henley & Partners CEO, Dr. Juerg Steffen.

“That assumption is becoming increasingly outdated. As a result, jurisdictions are competing not only for capital, but also for the entrepreneurs, investors, business owners, and skilled individuals who drive economic growth, innovation, employment, and prosperity.”

Centre for Economics and Behaviour Research founder, Douglas McWilliams, added: “HNW migration is the canary in the coal mine for economic policy.

“If wealthy people are leaving a country en masse, you can be reasonably sure that the country’s economic policy isn’t working.”

---