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.
Dubai-based RIF Trust, part of global residency and citizenship by investment advisory firm, the Latitude Group, has expanded its operations to China, with two new offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong, providing Chinese HNWIs with on-the-ground support from December 2020.
Launched on June 10 with a news story titled 'Chinese citizens turn to CBI for Plan B', the CBI Guide has just passed the significant milestone of 1 million page views.
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.
As international travel resumes following the pandemic, but with Covid restrictions still in place, a new global mobility hierarchy has emerged, according to the just-released Passport Index 2020 Q4 edition. While some of the world's most powerful passports like the US have lost their shine, others have gained global mobility ground.
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.