The President of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, has said that the EU country will not be replacing its citizenship by investment programme – but other incentives would be offered for investment.
Following the overhaul and suspension of the citizenship by investment programmes of Malta and Cyprus, respectively, Greece is reviewing its popular residency by investment programme, which has seen a surge of interest in the last few months, with proposed changes including a fee structure aimed at attracting investment to less touristy parts of the country.
According to fDi’s Tourism locations of the future ranking for 2019/2020, the top 20 nations considered to be ripe for investment include eight countries that currently offer Citizenship or Residency by Investment programmes. Another reason to invest via citizenship or residency, perhaps?
Following media criticism of Cyprus' Citizenship by Investment programme and a subsequent investigation exposing political abuse, the Cypriot government has today announced that it will suspend its highly successful Citizenship by Investment programme, taking effect from November 1.
With the UK set to leave the EU on December 31, and with no deal looking likely, citizenship firms have witnessed a spike in British HNWIs looking to obtain second passports or residency permits via economic residency or citizenship in order to secure easier access to the EU come 2021, with Malta, Portugal and even the Caribbean in demand.
Driven by the rapidly increased demand in the Middle East region for citizenship by investment due to the pandemic, leading Dubai-based CBI advisory group RIF Trust has unveiled the CART Programme, which is aimed at empowering its partners to succeed.
When it comes to securing economic citizenship, high-net-worth individuals are looking increasingly for Citizenship by Investment programmes that allow them to include their families, both immediate and extended. And the CBI Programmes are responding, with many adjusting their dependent criteria to cater to client demand. So which CBI countries are family friendliest?
For the first time, Malta has emerged as the best Citizenship by Programme in Europe, according to the CBI Index 2020. However, with the country’s programme having reached its cap of 1,800 and with its re-launch following new rules and guidelines from October 1, will the new iteration continue its upward trajectory?
If well executed, a Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP) can, and does, bring countries much-needed investment to help boost economic growth, create jobs and fund development. And with the negative effects of the pandemic taking hold, such programmes could become even more of an economic lifeline.
With ePassports proven to strengthen the security of Citizenship by Investment (CBI) passports, Dominica announces a move into biometric passports, while Saint Kitts is introducing biometric-shared background checks as part of its CBI programme due diligence.