Author: Michael

St Kitts – Nevis will allow siblings as dependants in CIP applications

On November 6, St Kitts and Nevis announced the implementation of new measures for citizenship applications submitted to its Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU), stating ‘effective immediately, St Kitts and Nevis’ CIU would accept siblings onto all new applications.’ ‘To qualify, a sibling can be either a brother or sister of the main applicant or of the spouse of […]

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A Biden Immigration Policy: New Hope For Immigrants And Businesses

Joe Biden is the next president of the United States. Unless Democrats win two runoff elections in Georgia, Biden may not have a Democratic majority in the Senate, making ambitious immigration legislation more challenging. Despite that, Joe Biden will have an opportunity to enact significant changes to U.S. immigration policy. Legal Immigration: By 2021, Donald Trump will […]

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Explainer: The European Commission takes action against golden passports

On October 20, the European Commission launched an infringement procedure against Cyprus and Malta over so-called “golden passport” schemes, in which individuals can get a fast track to citizenship after investing between € 1 and 2.5 million in the countries’ economies. This practice has been lucrative for both governments. Since 2013, Cyprus raised € 4.8 […]

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Investment Migration Under Threat in EU”: A Q&A on Infringement Procedures With Bruno L’ecuyer

In an IMI-exclusive interview, IMC-boss Bruno L’ecuyer explains how infringement procedures work, how common they are, and what they will mean for Malta and Cyprus. Many are asking about the precise nature of so-called infringement procedures. What are they really, and what is their purpose? L’ecuyer: The European Union (EU) is based on treaties and […]

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Commission’s Letter “More Political Than Legal,” Says Malta Citizenship Secretary Muscat

Malta’s Parliamentary Secretary for Citizenship, Alex Muscat, today echoed the conclusions drawn last week by both the Investment Migration Council and leading scholar on EU constitutional and citizenship law, Prof. Dimitry Kochenov: The European Commission’s demand that Malta and Cyprus terminate their citizenship by investment programs are ultra vires and politically motivated. “We have been […]

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IMC Response to the infringement procedures initiated by the European Commission against Malta and Cyprus

Media Release Geneva, 23rd October 2020 In response to the infringement procedures initiated by the European Commission against Malta and Cyprus regarding their citizenship by investment programme, the Investment Migration Council (IMC) underlines that, in the European Union (EU or the Union), citizenship of EU Member States remains a national competence. The division of competence […]

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E.U. Tells Cyprus and Malta to Abandon ‘Golden Passports’

The two countries have raised billions of euros by selling thousands of coveted travel documents, even in some cases granting citizenship to foreigners fleeing arrest warrants. Cyprus and Malta will face European Union penalties if they do not abandon lucrative programs that sell “golden passports” to foreigners, the bloc says, a long-anticipated crackdown on a […]

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