Best cities for giving birth and raising children

To move to a city where favorable conditions for the birth of children are created, a foreigner needs to obtain a residence permit in a new country.

Five countries from the William Russell rating offer foreigners to obtain a residence permit by investment in the economy. Governments of the countries provide several investment options, e.g. buying residential or commercial real estate, investing in a business, or placing a deposit in local banks.

Vienna ranks 5th in terms of spending on preschool education and private kindergartens: costs there are lower than in most cities in the ranking. The average cost of visiting educational institutions is €256.

A residence permit in Austria can be obtained by financially independent foreigners. Residence permits are issued according to a quota: the number of available places is determined annually by the government. The cost of obtaining status is from €100,000.

Lisbon and Porto are ranked 16th and 17th. Cities scored highly on the health care index.

A Portuguese residence permit by investment was issued to over 27,000 people from 2012 to 2021. Foreigners choose one of eight investment options. Most often they purchase real estate worth €350,000+ or shares of investment funds in the amount of €500,000.

The British cities have high prices for early childhood education. The cost of a private kindergarten in London is £1,420 per month, in Birmingham it is £893 per month and in Glasgow — £657 per month. The UK educational system is called the best in the world in terms of the quality of curricula and prospects for students.

A residence permit in the UK is obtained by investment in shares of British companies in excess of £2 million. An investor visa allows its holder to move to the country, open a business and apply for citizenship after five years of residence in the country.

The Greek cities have a high level of safety according to Numbeo users, whose data was used to compile the rating. The locals of Heraklion, Rhodes and Athens consider the crime rate to be low.

Residence permit in Greece: preferred investment options and amounts invested in 2021

A residence permit in Greece is obtained when buying a property in the amount of €250,000. An investor can buy residential or commercial real estate, land or rent a hotel. The term for obtaining a residence permit card is six months.

In Zurich, women are given a short maternity leave of only 14 weeks. Men do not receive parental leave at all.

The highest cost of preschool education is also in Zurich: a month in a private kindergarten costs €2,346.

But there are benefits as well. The authors of the rating note the high level of safety, healthcare development and low level of environmental pollution in the city.

A residence permit in Switzerland is issued to financially independent persons who do not plan to work in the country. The cost of obtaining and maintaining the status is from ₣450,000 per year.

Immigrant Invest is a licensed agent that helps to obtain a residence permit by investment in Europe. If you want to become a resident of a European country, please contact investment program experts for advice.