Following the UAE’s recent unveiling of residency by investment, the Sultanate of Oman has announced a move to also offering foreigners renewable 5 or 10-year residency visas.
Following the launch earlier this year of 5-10-year visas for entrepreneurs, investors and specialised talents, the UAE has further announced the introduction of a new class of visas, marking the latest in a series of steps to liberalise its stringent residency rules with the aim of attracting talent, boosting economic growth and diversifying its oil-focused economy.
Following the announcement last year that Portugal’s highly successful residency by investment programme was removing Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve as property investment options, with the aim of increasing investment in low-density areas, the Portuguese authorities have further announced this will become effective on July 1, 2021.
In a bid to combat the economic impact of the pandemic, Slovenia announces it is considering a proposal to launch a citizenship or residence by investment programme for 2021, making it the latest Balkan country to do so.
Earlier this year, Malta’s citizenship by investment programme, the Malta Individual Investor Programme (MIIP) came to an end after six years. Despite the programme’s tough stance on due diligence (Malta outranks most other CIPs for its stringent vetting procedures), the Maltese Government decided to scrap the MIIP prematurely and replace it with a new programme which was launched last month.
In a bid to lure foreigners to invest in property in Thailand, and until December 2022 only, Thai-based property developers are giving investors who acquire a condo worth US$333,000 or more a Thai Elite visa, allowing them residency in Thailand for five years.