The newest programme on the citizenship by investment block, unveiled just as the pandemic kicked off, Egypt joins Jordan and Turkey in providing an attractive economic immigration option especially to HNWIs in the Middle East.
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.
Mauritius unveils more favourable visa options including lowering the cost for residency by investment and is seeing a flurry of new developments positioning the island in the spotlight as borders reopen.
As google co-founder Larry Page acquires New Zealand residency, we find out why increasing numbers of billionaires are investing in the country and what residency and citizenship options the country offers to ultra high net worth individuals.
Widely considered the pioneer and one of the world’s foremost experts in investment migration, Henley & Partners Chairman Dr. Christian H. Kaelin says the significant worldwide expansion of investment migration is simply unstoppable.
Speaking at The World Ahead Gala Dinner hosted by The Economist in Athens in July, Dr. Kaelin stated that all over the world countries have realised the importance of residence and citizenship to attract much-needed foreign direct investment, debt-free capital, talented entrepreneurs, and experienced investors.
Further accelerated by the need to alleviate the financial distress following the Covid-19 pandemic across the world, Dr. Kaelin pointed out that more and more countries are offering investment migration programmes or introducing new options, like digital nomad visas or tech visa, in order to attract highly sought-after talent and capital to support their economies and strengthen their ‘sovereign equity’.
This year, Singapore announced the launch a Tech.Pass visa programme offering tech entrepreneurs from across the world the chance to set up and operate companies in the southeast Asia trading hub. While the UAE, which has a high expatriate population, recently announced it was enhancing its Golden Visa program to grant citizenship to select individuals, such as "investors, doctors, specialists, inventors, scientists, talents, intellectuals, artists and their families”.
Dr. Kaelin coined the term ‘sovereign equity’ in 2019 in Davos to describe how investment migration has the ability to endow nations with sustainable investments in a relatively short time frame without them having to increase debt and thereby burden future generations – while gaining highly qualified and experienced entrepreneurs and investors as new residents or even citizens.
Dr. Kaelin stressed that, particularly in Europe, there is also a pressing need to introduce much more positive migration policies to manage the global refugee crisis constructively while also attracting international investors and talent. He acknowledged that although politically challenging, it also presents a tremendous opportunity for the EU.
“We need more, not less immigration of people who contribute positively to society,” he told the audience.
There are just six months left for families to take advantage of the limited time offer for families under Saint Kitts citizenship by programme, which allows families of four citizenship for a reduced fee of US$150,000.
With its strategic location, abundance of natural beauty, rising tourism, surge in property development and the lowest tax rate in Europe, not to mention its potential membership of the EU in 2025, the tiny Balkan country of Montenegro is ripe for investment. Here are CBI Guide’s top 10 reasons to secure citizenship by investment of Montenegro.
Located on one of the world’s best beaches, five-star luxury resort Kimpton Kawana Bay on the Caribbean island of Grenada offers citizenship investors the chance to not only secure Grenada’s powerful passport, but also hassle-free ownership of a title deeded studio or suite with the potential for a very attractive return on investment.
The Federation of St Kitts and Nevis, a dual-island Caribbean nation that pioneered Citizenship by Investment with its programme unveiled nearly 40 years ago, has been encompassed in the Caribbean Journal's ranking of the region's best islands to visit in 2021. Good news for investors wishing to acquire citizenship of the country via investment in a government-approved tourist property.
According to the Caribbean Journal, Saint Kitts & Nevis was included due to its "uncrowded, calm and beautiful" nature – elements enticing for seasoned travellers. St Kitts and Nevis also boasts the lowest coronavirus rate in the Caribbean, reporting only 34 total cases and zero deaths. This makes it the perfect off-the-grid destination for American holidaymakers.
Before the pandemic, St Kitts and Nevis enjoyed a thriving tourism sector with a popular cruise season. The nation soon welcomed one million cruise passengers for two years consecutively, and it was recognised as a marquee destination by the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association. In recent years, St Kitts and Nevis have quickly become a popular destination for travellers and those seeking second citizenship.
With the coronavirus pandemic still imposing global lockdowns and triggering uncertainty amongst investors, many Americans are looking to acquire alternative citizenship as a 'Plan B' to protect their families from future unpredictability.
"COVID-19 has unveiled the weaknesses of Governments and their ability to deal with a crisis. Having a Plan B for one's family is worth a lot than the actual cost of investing in a safe, happy country," says Micha Emmett, CEO of CS Global Partners, London-headquartered legal advisory and marketing firm.
Under its Citizenship by Investment programme, St Kitts and Nevis welcomes high net-worth individuals and their families to become citizens after investing in its economy. Established in 1984, it is the longest-running CBI Programme in operation and is acknowledged within the industry as a 'Platinum Standard' brand.
Once successfully passing the multi-tiered vetting checks, applicants can invest in the Sustainable Growth Fund – the fastest and most straightforward route to a second citizenship. After gaining citizenship, investors gain access to a wide range of benefits including visa-free travel to 156 destinations across the world, the right to live and work in the country, and the ability to pass citizenship down for generations to come. A single applicant must only make an investment of US$150,000 to unlock a range of life-transforming benefits which also include a second home in a safe paradise.
Find out more about Saint Kitts' citizenship by investment programme by clicking here
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.