Dubai has been named among the world’s ten most welcoming cities, placing seventh in a new global ranking by international insurance provider William Russell that assessed urban centres on how easily newcomers can settle in and feel at home.
The emirate scored 7.61 out of 10, putting it ahead of Warsaw, Seoul and Hong Kong, but behind Zurich, Singapore, Tokyo, Copenhagen, Munich and Prague.
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Dubai’s placement in the William Russell top 10 reinforces the emirate’s positioning as a global destination for professionals and expatriates, a status underscored by its large foreign resident population and long-standing visa and business-friendly policies aimed at attracting international talent and investment.
The study evaluated the world’s most welcoming countries and cities for expats in 2026 by assessing six factors: real expat experiences, migrant population size, foreign-born employment rates, local attitudes towards immigrants, and safety and visa openness.
Switzerland’s largest city claimed the top spot in the William Russell rankings with a score of 9.06 out of 10, edging out Singapore and Tokyo, which tied for second place at 8.97 each.
The tie between Singapore and Tokyo was notable given Japan finished at the bottom of the study’s corresponding country-level ranking, suggesting that even where national integration proves difficult, individual cities can still roll out the welcome mat on their own.
Copenhagen rounded out the top four, a result consistent with the Danish capital’s reputation for actively courting newcomers, including professionals seeking a change of pace. Munich (8.63) and Prague (7.86) completed the top six ahead of Dubai.
Warsaw (7.52), Seoul (7.44) and Hong Kong (7.26) filled out the remaining places in William Russell’s top 10.
William Russell’s city-level findings also highlighted a stark contrast between global economic powerhouses and their welcoming scores. London scored just 3.08 out of 10, weighed down by higher-than-average social friction and weaker safety scores, while Paris managed only 3.16 and New York fell further still to 1.88. The findings suggest that some of the world’s largest and busiest cities excel in most respects except making newcomers feel at home.
