UAE: Why the wealthy are building passport portfolios

With constant geopolitical uncertainty and shifting tax regimes, the wealthy are no longer content with simply holding one passport. Instead, they are building ‘passport portfolios’ — carefully curated collections of residencies and citizenships that maximise mobility, protect wealth, and ensure long-term security for their families.

Once the preserve of billionaires and secret agents, the desire for global mobility has expanded rapidly, with ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) from across the Middle East, Asia, and North America adopting what some advisers call a ‘sovereign portfolio’ mindset. For many, it is as essential as having a diversified investment portfolio.

Few people have observed the evolution of passport portfolios as closely as David Lesperance, founder of Lesperance and Associates, who has advised clients for more than three decades. One of the most popular ways to secure residency is by investing in the destination country, buying a property, or starting a business. “The world of citizenship and residency by investment is in constant flux,” he explains. “People ask me, do you think programme X is going to be here in three years? I say, I’ve been doing this for three-and-a-half decades. The only thing I could accurately predict is that tomorrow is going to be different than today.”

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Lesperance points to Portugal’s golden visa reforms; Malta’s on-again, off-again fast-track citizenship; and ballooning Canadian processing times as evidence of a landscape in perpetual motion. That dynamism, he says, requires vigilance. “You have to keep your finger on the pulse. You have to say, ‘Okay, here’s what the situation is. Here are all the rumours I’m picking up. Or, here’s my assessment.’”

From passports to portfolios

This shift in mindset is echoed by Jihad Elabbas, senior private client adviser at Henley & Partners in Dubai, which describes itself as ‘the firm of global citizens’. “Today’s most savvy clients are not just seeking a single passport or residency. They are creating what we call ‘sovereign portfolios’: strategic combinations of citizenships and residence permits that work together to offer wider benefits,” he says.

“The question has shifted from ‘which country has the best passport?’ to ‘which mix of mobility options provides the greatest global flexibility, security, and opportunities?’”

Elabbas explains that wealthy families are engaging in what he describes as “geopolitical arbitrage”, leveraging differences in legal, economic, and political systems across jurisdictions to safeguard their wealth and lifestyle. A Caribbean passport, for example, may offer quick visa-free travel, while a European Union (EU) residency provides access to education, business, and healthcare. Together, they form part of a defensive and offensive wealth strategy.

George Eid is senior vice-president of sales at Arton Capital, which helps UHNWIs and their families become global citizens by investing in a second residence or citizenship. Eid likens the process to designing an investment portfolio. “Just as you would design a financial strategy with short-, mid-, and long-term objectives, a residency and citizenship portfolio should be designed around a client’s immediate and future needs,” he says. “Some programmes deliver quick mobility solutions at a competitive starting level, while others are geared towards long-term stability, EU access, or intergenerational continuity.”

The ‘ideal’ combination

What does the typical passport portfolio look like? For Henley & Partners’ Elabbas, there are clear patterns emerging. “A comprehensive sovereign portfolio often includes European residence permits alongside Caribbean citizenships,” he notes. “Caribbean programmes such as Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, or St. Kitts & Nevis provide visa-free access to 140-plus countries with processing times of under six months, while European residencies in Greece or Malta appeal for their long-term stability and potential citizenship pathways.”

Arton Capital’s Eid adds that “another rising trend is combining a Middle Eastern base, such as the UAE, with either a Caribbean passport or an EU residency. This gives clients tax efficiency, strong connectivity, and optionality between continents.” While a passport portfolio is unique to the person, there is what could be argued an ‘ideal’ one that maximises global mobility.

Lesperance’s ideal package looks like this. “Ireland, because it gives you access not only to the EU under the Treaty of Rome but also to the UK under the Common Travel Agreement. New Zealand, because it also gives you access to New Zealand and Australia. Canada, because it doesn’t have taxation based on citizenship, and it has preferred access to Mexico and the US. If you have those and a Dubai residence, you’ve pretty much got the world covered.”

The motivations for building a portfolio are as varied as the jurisdictions themselves. “Clients seek multiple passports and residencies for the same reason investors seek multiple asset classes: diversification and freedom of choice,” Eid explains. “Mobility, security, tax efficiency, education, legacy planning — these are all overlapping motivations.”

Elabbas highlighted the practical side of owning multiple passports and residencies. “A single location is rarely enough for wealthy families aiming to protect their estate and intergenerational wealth,” he says. “Combining two or three programmes provides not only residency rights but also peace of mind — a form of insurance against global uncertainty.”

Rising barriers

While demand for multiple passports is rising, so too are the barriers to entry. “In Greece, the minimum investment requirement in Athens has more than tripled from €250,000 to €800,000 (Dh1 million to Dh3.4 million) within just two years,” Elabbas points out. “Caribbean programmes have also raised their price tags significantly after a major overhaul.”

Eid sees the change as part of a natural maturation. “The industry is maturing, with governments implementing higher regulation, stronger compliance standards, and increased investment thresholds,” he says. “For clients, this means solutions are becoming more robust and future-proof. Programmes remain accessible, but they now demand more thoughtful planning, higher levels of investment, and experienced advisory.”

Yet new doors are also opening. Elabbas cites Nauru’s recently launched Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Programme and hints at forthcoming offerings Henley and Partners are working on with the Maldives. Lesperance, too, notes that “most countries have somewhere in their legislation… the power to waive naturalisation requirements.” So for the right client, with the right business interests, bespoke negotiations with governments remain possible.

“The mass affluent still have the ability to move to get second residences, but they’re going to be more expensive, they’re going to wait longer for them, and they’re going to have to actually pick up and move,” says Lesperance.

A passport portfolio is also a status of wealth, alongside a string on international properties, super cars, and investments. Eid frames the growing trend as the ultimate hedge. “Clients are now building layered portfolios with multiple jurisdictions, effectively creating a ‘Plan B’ and a ‘Plan C’, so they are never dependent on a single government, tax regime, or travel freedom.”

Citizenship criteria and residency programmes change overnight, while the stakes involve not just wealth but family security. The value of strategic, tailored advice cannot be overstated. You probably won’t find the answers on a catchy social media post.