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WhereNext Open Data
Top 30 of 95 destinations ranked for mainland Chinese and Hong Kong emigrants — weighted by cost, safety, healthcare, education, career, lifestyle, and infrastructure, overlaid with 2025–2026 visa and property-market policy flags that materially affect the Chinese-applicant decision. Full 95-country dataset available via the API with ?limit=95.
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The WhereNext Chinese Outbound Index weights education (90), safety (85), and healthcare (80) ahead of cost — priorities invisible in generic ranking tables — across 30 top destinations from a 95-country dataset
Copy with attribution: “The WhereNext Chinese Outbound Index weights education (90), safety (85), and healthcare (80) ahead of cost — priorities invisible in generic ranking tables — across 30 top destinations from a 95-country dataset” — WhereNext, as of 2026-04-15
Quick answer
The Chinese Outbound Relocation Index 2026 ranks 30 top destinations for mainland Chinese and Hong Kong emigrants, weighted across 7 dimensions and overlaid with 2025–2026 visa and property-market policy flags. The top destinations in 2026 are Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan. Henley Private Wealth Migration 2025 forecasts UAE overtaking the US as the #1 HNWI destination (+9,800 net inflow). Mainland Chinese now make up 52% of Malaysia MM2H applicants since the June 2024 relaunch; ~230,000 BN(O) visas have been granted to Hongkongers since 2021.
Key facts
This index applies WhereNext’s standard 7-dimension scoring engine (cost, safety, healthcare, education, career, lifestyle, infrastructure) with weights tuned for Chinese-origin emigrant priorities. Weights are derived from:
Weight profile tuned for Chinese-origin priorities:
Education and safety receive the highest weights, reflecting the consistent primary motivations reported in Chinese-emigrant destination research: children’s school placement and family-protection concerns.
Ranked by composite score on the weight profile above. Green policy flags indicate recent favourable 2024–2026 changes. Amber flags indicate material tightening against Chinese buyers or applicants.
| Rank | Country | Score | Est. Cost/mo | Primary visa route | 2025–2026 policy flag |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Singapore Great for kidsCareer strength | 72.84 | $2,250 | Employment Pass -> PR | GIP raised to S$50MFebruary 21, 2025. Family-office track S$50M listed equities. Mid-market shifts to EP->PR. |
| 2 | Hong Kong Great for kidsCareer strength | 69.22 | $2,350 | — | — |
| 3 | Japan Strong healthcareGreat for kids | 67.26 | $2,700 | HSP (points-based) or Business Manager (¥30M) | HSP route preferredBusiness Manager capital raised to ¥30M Oct 16, 2025. HSP offers PR in 1 year at 80 points. |
| 4 | Netherlands Career strengthStrong infrastructure | 67.05 | $2,750 | Highly Skilled Migrant | — |
| 5 | Taiwan Great for kidsStrong healthcare | 66.47 | $1,550 | Gold Card (12 fields) | Gold Card — HK-friendly14,907 cards approved Feb 2018-Oct 2025. HK/Macau fee NT$3,100. APRC in 1 year at NTD 6M+. |
| 6 | Austria Very safeStrong healthcare | 66.38 | $2,650 | — | — |
| 7 | South Korea Great for kidsStrong infrastructure | 66.35 | $2,250 | — | — |
| 8 | Switzerland Very safeStrong healthcare | 65.91 | $4,000 | L / B permit via employment | — |
| 9 | Belgium Great for kidsStrong healthcare | 65.31 | $2,650 | — | — |
| 10 | Germany Career strengthStrong healthcare | 65.12 | $2,500 | EU Blue Card / Skilled Worker | — |
| 11 | Denmark Strong healthcareVery safe | 65.05 | $3,200 | — | — |
| 12 | Canada Great for kidsCareer strength | 65.04 | $2,850 | Express Entry / PNP / HK Pathway (HK only) | Foreign buyer banExtended to January 1, 2027. Excludes CMAs. Bloomberg (Dec 2025) reports possible easing 2027. |
| 13 | United Kingdom Great for kidsCareer strength | 64.97 | $2,900 | Skilled Worker / BN(O) (HK only) | BN(O) open~230K visas granted since 2021; ~170K relocated. Applications -47% in 2025. Not available to mainland Chinese without BN(O) status. |
| 14 | Ireland Very safeCareer strength | 64.89 | $3,350 | Critical Skills / STEP | — |
| 15 | Finland Strong healthcareVery safe | 64.81 | $2,950 | — | — |
| 16 | Portugal Very safeGreat for kids | 64.33 | $2,000 | D7 / D8 / Golden Visa (fund route) | Citizenship 10 yearsOctober 28, 2025 — residency requirement increased from 5 to 10 years. Real estate removed from Golden Visa in 2023. |
| 17 | Estonia Great for kidsCareer strength | 63.45 | $1,950 | — | — |
| 18 | Australia Great for kidsCareer strength | 63.32 | $3,350 | Subclass 189/190/491 | Established-home banApril 1, 2025 - March 31, 2027. Chinese = 67% of foreign-owned Australian homes. New-builds still permitted. |
| 19 | Luxembourg Strong healthcareCareer strength | 63.08 | $3,500 | — | — |
| 20 | Spain Strong healthcareGreat for kids | 62.88 | $2,200 | NLV / Non-Lucrative Visa | Golden Visa closedClosed April 2025. Non-Lucrative Visa remains for passive-income residents. |
| 21 | New Zealand Very safeGreat for kids | 62.18 | $2,950 | Skilled Migrant / Investor | — |
| 22 | Sweden Strong healthcareCareer strength | 62.13 | $3,050 | — | — |
| 23 | Czechia Very safeStrong healthcare | 62.05 | $1,600 | — | — |
| 24 | Slovenia Very safeGreat for kids | 61.99 | $2,000 | — | — |
| 25 | United Arab Emirates Strong infrastructureVery safe | 61.54 | $2,150 | 10-year Golden Visa | UAE Golden Visa+9,800 net millionaire inflow 2025 (Henley #1). AED 2M property = US$550K, 10 years, 0% income tax. |
| 26 | Lithuania Great for kidsVery safe | 61.23 | $1,550 | — | — |
| 27 | Norway Strong healthcareCareer strength | 60.88 | $3,500 | — | — |
| 28 | Malta High lifestyleVery safe | 60.6 | $2,050 | — | — |
| 29 | Poland Great for kidsAffordable | 59.45 | $1,300 | — | — |
| 30 | Iceland Very safeStrong healthcare | 59.41 | $3,600 | — | — |
Different Chinese-origin segments look at different slices of this ranking. The segment cuts below call out the most consequential 2026 recommendations for each group — each deeplinks to a dedicated guide.
Top recommendations: UAE (10-year Golden Visa, 0% tax), Hungary (€250K EU entry), Japan Business Manager (post-reform ¥30M — selective).
UAE Golden Visa for Chinese HNWI →Top recommendations: Malaysia MM2H (52% applicant share), Thailand LTR (eased Jan 13, 2025), Portugal D7/D8.
Malaysia MM2H for Chinese families →Top recommendations: Japan HSP (PR in 1 year at 80 points), Singapore EP→PR, UK Skilled Worker.
Singapore EP→PR for Chinese professionals →Top school markets for Chinese families: Tokyo, Osaka, Singapore, KL, Bangkok, Dubai. Tuition spread ~3x between Singapore top-tier and KL mid-tier.
International schools for Chinese families in Asia →Primary options: BN(O) UK, Canada HK Pathway, Australia 191, Taiwan Gold Card. Canada lifeboat WP ended Feb 7, 2025.
HK diaspora decision guide →Every Chinese-origin relocation plan must work with the US$50K annual FX quota and the January 1, 2026 KYC tightening. Prefer destinations that unlock local financing over lump-sum markets.
China capital-controls relocation guide →This dataset is released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). You are free to share, remix, and build on this data with attribution.
Suggested citation:
Machine-readable endpoints (no API key required):
Mainland segmentation: HNWI, family, professional, student parent, retiree, capital-out.
BN(O) / Canada Stream / Australia 191 / Taiwan Gold Card / stay-or-return.
Segmented ranking with exact dates and policy context.
Neutral cultural primer; high citation potential.
Last updated 2026-04-15. For methodology questions or data corrections, contact WhereNext.