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French Nationality Comes Top In Global Index

Tom Burroughes

23 April 2018

France’s quality of nationality is the highest in the world, while the UK’s has fallen, according to an index that may add to debate on freedom of movement and Brexit. China, meanwhile, is down at 59th out of a total of 168 jurisdictions.

The findings come from the 3rd edition of the Henley & Partners – Kochenov Quality of Nationality Index (QNI). The French nationality earned a score of 81.7 per cent out of a possible 100 per cent, fractionally ahead of Germany, which was knocked off the top spot for the first time in seven years, with a score of 81.6 per cent. The QNI measures the internal value of nationality in terms of a place to develop talents and business, and external value, measuring how nationality status opens doors for holders around the world. For example, a country inside a large free movement bloc could have a higher ranking than a more "closed" country, even if the latter is richer in some ways. The Channel Islands, for example, are well-known offshore centres, but rank at the bottom of the index, at 168. In Asia, Singapore is 35 and Hong Kong is 47, even though both places are often cited at the top of indices of economic liberty, if not for political freedom. Canada, often a destination for certain expats, is at 33. Switzerland, the world's largest offshore financial jurisdiction, is at ninth spot.

Iceland and Denmark take 3rd and 4th place, respectively, on this year’s Index. The QNI measures and ranks all the world’s nationalities as legal statuses through which to develop your talents and business. 
The UK drops down a position to 13th place while the US increases its position by two ranks, claiming 27th place, with the country’s relatively poor standing on the Index primarily due to its low Settlement Freedom compared to EU member states, said in a statement accompanying the report.  

China climbs two places to rank 59th, and Russia maintains its position at 63rd place on the Index. This year, the UAE has for the first time ever overtaken Israel on the QNI, now ranking 46th, with Israel in 48th position. The Emirati nationality has climbed 13 positions over the past five years, making a significant leap forward when its holders received visa-free travel access to the Schengen Area in 2016.

“In today’s globalized world, the legal status of millions of nationals extends their opportunities and desires far beyond their countries of origin: the confines of the state are simply not the limit of their ambitions and expectations, Prof Dr Dimitry Kochenov, a constitutional and citizenship law professor and co-creator of the Index, said.

The index combines quantifiable data derived from international institutions and experts, including the United Nations, the World Bank, and the International Air Transport Association. The barometer tracks the internal value of nationality, which refers to the quality of life and opportunities for personal growth within our country of origin, as well as the external value of nationality, which identifies the diversity and quality of opportunities that our nationality allows us to pursue outside our country of origin.

“Secondly, the QNI proves that it is not true that the most prosperous and economically important countries endow their citizens with the best nationalities: while China is an economic giant, its nationality has a very modest objective value, and while Liechtenstein has a micro-economy compared to that of China, its nationality is world-leading. Some nationalities are great, while others are quite simply terrible. Now, we can see which is which,” Prof. Kochenov said.

Brexit implications
The report said that if the UK leaves the European Union without an agreement on terms – leaving the customs union – this “hard Brexit” will see the UK losing its settlement and work rights in 30 of 

“The latest results from the QNI seem to anticipate this lose - lose scenario,” says Kochenov. “Both the value of European nationality overall and the value of UK nationality in particular are in gradual decline, especially in relation to faster-growing economies such as China, the UAE, and the US, whose nationalities continue to increase in value each year. Having said that, however, Europe remains the undisputed global leader in terms of nationality quality, and emerging economies would need an entire century of unchecked success to unseat it from this position. Accordingly, any loss will be felt much more acutely by an increasingly isolated Britain in the case of a hard Brexit,” the academic said. 

Up and down
The largest year-on-year index rises are Georgia and Ukraine, rising 20 and 19 positions, respectively. The ascent of both nations can largely be attributed to the visa-waivers they signed with the Schengen Area in 2017, boosting travel freedom scores. 

Over five years, Colombia has been the highest climber since 2013, rising 50 positions and improving its value by 14.6 per cent. By contrast, the Qatari nationality has dropped massively as a result of regional diplomatic conflicts. In fact, despite a relatively strong starting point (56th place in 2013), the Qatari nationality has dropped more significantly over time than war-torn and unstable Libya, Syria, and Iraq. Its free-fall to 87th place in 2017 represents a 31-position decrease in total since 2013.
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The report said 26 nationalities fall in the "extremely high quality tier (75.00 per cent and above); 23 nationalities fall in the "very high quality" tier (between 50.00 per cent and 74.99 per cent); 50 nationalities fall in the "high quality" tier (between 35.00 per cent and 49.99 per cent); 96 nationalities fall in the "medium quality" tier (between 20.00 per cent and 34.99 per cent); and 14 nationalities fall in the "low quality" tier (below 19.99 per cent). Malta and Latvia moved down from EHQ to VHQ.