Author: Niu Ltd

Saudi Arabia granted citizenship to foreigners in fields such as medicine and technology on Thursday, in a bid to diversify the kingdom’s economy.

The changes are part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s economic and social reform plans to steer the economy away from its reliance on oil.

Citizenship is difficult to obtain in the Gulf as it is not traditionally offered to foreigners and expatriates living in the region.

The kingdom aims to attract “scientists, intellectuals and innovators from around the world, to enable the kingdom to become a diverse hub that the Arab world would be proud of”, Saudi Project, a government platform, said on Twitter.

Experts in forensic and medical science, technology, agriculture, nuclear and renewable energy, oil and gas and artificial intelligence will be considered.

People involved in arts, sports and culture are also included to “contribute and support the enhancement of Saudi competencies and knowledge that will benefit the general public”.

Saudi nationals typically receive stipends and economic benefits as their share of the country’s wealth.

The current Saudi citizenship law allows the naturalisation of foreign citizens who have held permanent residency in the kingdom for at least five years.

But the requirement of a Saudi sponsor has restricted foreigners living in the country from gaining permanent residency.

The royal decree stated that “worldwide candidates who applied for the citizenship and meet the criteria will be granted citizenship”.

Yemeni expatriates who are living in the kingdom will also be granted Saudi nationality.

Leila Al Hilali, a family therapist in Jeddah, said King Salman’s decree was a positive move that would empower the kingdom.

“This is a very important step that is much needed in the kingdom to diversify its economy and culture,” Ms Al Hilali told The National.

King Salman presents “the Saudi public with pleasant surprises that will have positive impacts on our country’, she said.

“This is a bold and beautiful step that the King has taken and it will take us further in developing the 2030 vision.

“The country has taken quick and decisive measures that will take our country to great lengths.”

The order also includes members of displaced tribes in the kingdom and residents who are descended from Saudi parents who did not obtain passports when the idea of citizenship was introduced in the last century.

It will also help to resolve the status of children born to mothers who are Saudi nationals but fathers who are not.

The economic and social benefits Saudi Arabia will reap from this initiative will be tremendous in terms of collaboration, openness, competitiveness and entrepreneurship, said Haider Hussain, Partner at immigration consultancy Fragomen UAE.

“These benefits will directly contribute to the advancement of the kingdom’s private and public sector, and will stimulate a stronger sense of community and tolerance between nationals and foreigners,” Mr Hussain told The National.

The move is a “strong testament to the kingdom’s commitment to attracting the best talent from around the world”, he said.

“Through this forward-thinking move, Saudi is illustrating to the world that the kingdom is open to new ideas and is ready to drive the economy further towards its ambitious goals.”

By making a decisive move to offer citizenship for foreign health professionals in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh is seeking a competitive advantage over other Gulf countries, said Samuel Ramani, a doctoral researcher in international relations at the University of Oxford.

“This is a considerable boost to the Vision 2030 plan. One of the challenges in attracting outside talent to the Gulf is the inability to give them citizenship,” Mr Ramani told The National.

“It will bolster investment and increase the likelihood of corporations participating in Saudi investment forums.”

Last month, the kingdom issued its first batch of “premium” residence visas for investors, doctors, engineers or financiers who wish to live in the kingdom.

The programme offers foreign nationals and their families long-term visas and privileges that were previously not available to non-Saudis.

The kingdom also announced the launch of its new tourist visas in September that will grant people more than one entry to the country.

It is expected the announcement will create one million new jobs for the country by 2030.

 

Source: thenational.ae
Published: 5 December 2019

The chief executive of the Investment Migration Council, Mr Bruno L’ecuyer was invited to exchange views with the Council of Europe’s  Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons addressing Investment migration: trends, advantages, standards. The meeting took place in Paris on the 2^nd December 2019.

 

The following is the transcript of Mr L’ecuyer’ s intervention before the exchange of views:

Thank you for inviting me here today.

I would like to emphasize that the trade body I represent completely shares your guiding values: the respect of the rule of law, equality, protection of minorities, democracy, and the fight against corruption and terrorism.

As I have ten minutes, I have prepared a short overview of what this industry is, the drivers, the impact, the trends and the key areas that need to be addressed.

Investment Migration is a complex legal and technical phenomenon, and, as national governments are quick to assert, it is an absolute clear principle of EU law with regard to the acquisition of citizenship and immigration that this is the exclusive competence of member states.

This notwithstanding, I submit that it is important to consider the views of industry experts as these could prove extremely valuable to policymakers, especially when they wish to base their political recommendations on fact-based evidence of the trends, advantages, and standards that define this legal form of migration today.

We also prepared a briefing document entitled understanding Citizenship by Investment and this will be distributed today or tomorrow by the committee secretariat.

What is the widely accepted description of Investment Migration?

Investment migration is a form of legal migration used by over 80 sovereign states globally. It comprises various citizenship and residence by investment programmes which allow individuals to gain citizenship or residence rights in return for investments in their host countries and, in some occasions, but also meeting other residence requirements.

This should not be confused with Tax Residency which implies the determination of one’s personal tax jurisdiction. This distinction is of the utmost importance since residency and citizenship in such programmes is different from the determination of Tax Residency.

Investment migration programmes are also often structured around entrepreneurship potential — already a well-established practice in general immigration policy used in many OECD countries.

When managed effectively, this creates benefits to the individual, the host country, and wider society, facilitating peaceful integration in an increasingly interconnected world.

Drivers

Investment migration involves mainly 3 groups of actors:

1. Individuals

Investor migrants come from across the globe. They may be celebrities, sportspersons, world-class doctors, businesspersons, or others generally looking to relocate and build a better life for themselves and their families. Security, better education, career opportunities, and greater mobility are the main reasons why individuals apply to citizenship or residence by investment programmes.

2. Sovereign States

Countries ranging from the largest and most powerful to smaller peripheral economies run investment migration programmes to attract talent, experience, and investment. It is increasingly argued that investment migration positively contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), although more research is clearly needed here to verify this argument.

3. Professional Service Providers

The investment migration industry is serviced by law firms, due diligence providers, banks and professional consultants who assist governments and individuals, who are expected to ensure that appropriate checks are conducted on applicants and their sources of funds.

The Benefits

Broadly go into two categories:

1-          Benefits to Host Countries and Wider Society

Investment migration generates billions of euros in direct and indirect revenues. In smaller countries on the global periphery this revenue is often a lifeline to foreign investment and development finance.

The investments provide direct capital injections of non-debt liquidity to national balance sheets and thus also helps reduce the debt burden in many countries. For many host countries, such as those in the Caribbean, investment migration is critical in funding key government activities such as disaster relief and social programmes.

Programmes draw entrepreneurs who create business activity, which provides local employment and tax revenue for the State. The skills and talent they bring help to modernise and diversify local economies, providing a more sustainable basis for a country’s future.

For example, in Ireland, the investment migration programme has raised over half a billion euros since its launch in 2012.

There are also other aspects of successful investment migration programmes.

Often, the benefits to the receiving country are very local and directly enriching the community. There are many examples around the world, but the media often ignores those positives as they are not newsworthy.

Take, for example, the late Thai entrepreneur Mr Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. He was predominantly famous for investing in Leicester Football club – at least that is what media focused on. However, Vichai was a lot more than that. He was an investment migrant in the UK who, throughout his stay in Leicester city, gave away £2m in donations towards a new children’s hospital, and a £1m gift to the city’s university medical department.

These human stories show us that when investment migration programmes are well regulated, and all the necessary due diligence procedures are carried out, they are benefitting the society, they represent success stories for the locals and the migrants.

2-          Benefits to Individuals

Individuals often use investment migration to start a new business in their chosen jurisdiction, to benefit from greater mobility, better education and job opportunities for their children, or simply

to live in a country with greater political stability and rule of law. They see themselves as part of a global community in which migration is sustainable and mutually beneficial.

Trends

There is a trend towards greater maturity in the market, with an emphasis on attracting talent and not simply wealth as well as professionalising the industry.

5 years ago, most of the programmes were real estate based with the intended consequence of propping up the construction industry while that strategy has given results, governments now realise that in order to sustain this inflow of capital they must diversify the product. (cite Portugal, Malta).

There is a trend towards entrenching sustainable programmes, which require long-term credibility and trust rather than seeking short-term capital with little regard for its source.

An important trend also evidenced is the increasing options for potential migrants that are being considered and also proposed by sovereign states these include financing options for residence and citizenship programmes not previously available

Key Areas to Address

The investment migration sector faces concerns around issues such as transparency, due diligence, and the potential for illegal activities such as money-laundering or tax evasion that can occur when investment migration is abused.

There are currently a lack of common standards and regulation governing investment migration as well as many small firms that often lack  a professional approach  across the world. Each state administers its own programme.

This is a challenge for both industry and governments – one which is broadly acknowledged and understood by states and companies across the entire investment migration sector.

The IMC was founded with the intention of raising standards by bringing the stakeholders together through our non-profit forum.

We wholeheartedly support enhanced ethics, transparency and information-sharing mechanisms for governments that operate programmes. Implementing adequate data reporting obligations and ensuring that funds invested through investment migration are put to good use for the benefit of society are of paramount importance.

One of the first things we did was launch a code of ethics and professional standards for the industry back in 2015, we have subsequently launched an anti-bribery and corruption code – both specifically targeting stakeholders.

We strongly support the development of enhanced common due diligence standards to ensure only bona fide applicants are approved across all investment migration programmes. Further, investment migration programmes should not compete on their levels of due diligence.

This year we have commissioned independent research into DD with a view of creating a common framework of guidelines for governments and agents to adopt which meet the concerns that I have highlighted already.

The IMC seeks to ensure that all experts working on the field of investment migration are equipped with the required skills and knowledge to advise clients and follow the industry standards. That is why, in line with other recognised professions, we have initiated an education programme which provides professionals with the possibility to become certified in investment migration.

Legally, the acquisition citizenship remains a national competence, including for EU member states. However, that is not to say that multinational institutions cannot have an impact. On the contrary, we believe that it could be possible to agree on common due diligence standards for investment migration without affecting the conditions for attributing nationality. Those standards will work only if agreed on a supranational level.

Ideally, in the long run, such certification will become mandatory for all the professionals working in the industry.

Evidence

Research by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows that investment migration is critical to foreign direct investment and government revenues in smaller states – in some Caribbean states it can account for 10-20% of GDP.

European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) research estimates that investment migration contributed 0.58% to Malta’s GDP and 2.5% of Cyprus’ GDP. (More than Cyprus’ entire agricultural sector.)

The EPRS also estimated that at least €9 billion has been invested through IM programmes across eight EU Member States in 10 years. The Irish programme alone has raised over half a billion euros since its launch in 2012.

Furthermore, the IMC publishes peer-reviewed multidisciplinary working papers dedicated to the analysis of investment migration around the world.

The series aims to advance understanding of the law, politics, sociology, economics, and history of the topic. The papers analyse the processes and long-term implications of investment migration and examine how investment migration programmes function in different countries.

The Role of the Industry

The IMC and its members are working proactively to develop:

Regulations

Effective best practice guidelines and regulation of investment migration should ensure the full benefits of programmes are realised while mitigating the risks of abuse. We believe the IMC has a crucial role to play in developing new rules and standards.

Mandatory Qualifications

A programme of mandatory specific qualifications is essential for all investment migration professionals to ensure standards are raised across the board – in line with other recognised professions.

Ongoing Gathering

Gathering better data and information will lead to a well-informed policy debate on this important and fast-growing sector. The IMC is proactively working with industry stakeholders to provide independent research into key areas that we have identified as priorities including: Due Diligence in Investment Migration, Setting Global Standards, National Security and Investment Migration, and Societal Benefits of Investment Migration.

Closing remarks:

To fairly assess the merits of Investment Migration, one should consider and address its benefits as well as its risks, both to the individual and to the wider society of a country offering citizenship or residency to investors.

Hopefully I’ve shown a balanced view of the industry, and I’m keen to address any questions you might have.

END<<<

On 2 December, Bruno L’ecuyer, Chief Executive, participated at the council of Europe’s committee meeting on the subject of Migration, Refugees and Displaced persons.

Bruno was invited to present the views of the industry based on the points by the committee as attached.

The meeting was held in the presence of the Parliamentary Assembly for the Council of Europe (PACE) President.

 

The Qatar-based Arabic news and current affairs satellite TV channel, Al Jazeera, in a one-hour programme aired across the region earlier this week, alleged that Caribbean countries with CBI programmes were also selling diplomatic passports to individuals who make significant financial contribution to political parties.

The television station named Dominica, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, and Grenada among the countries that had benefited from the sale of foreign diplomatic passports.

Under the CBI, Caribbean countries provide citizenship to foreign investors who make a significant contribution to the socio-economic development of these islands.

In the television programme, a man identified as Leo Ford is seen and heard saying that the prime minister requested funds for the 2018 general election campaign.

But Mitchell told reporters that the Al Jazeera television programme alleging that his NNP, which won all the seats in the 2018 general elections here, “is totally false.

“The NNP did not receive a single cent from these people. I have asked my fund-raising people and they did not even know these people”, said Mitchell.

Last year, the Grenada Citizenship by Investment Committee announced it had “suspended the acceptance of applications in respect of the approved project, Grenada Sustainable Aquaculture, until further notice”.

 

Source: jamaicaobserver.com
Published: 28 November 2019

The proposed “Citizenship (Amendment) Bill” is yet another blatant anti-Muslim legislation by the BJP government in India. The bill proposes to amend the Citizenship Act 1955 so as to enable Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist, Jain, and Parsi illegal migrants from three neighbouring countries (Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan) to become eligible for citizenship of India. In other words, the bill intends to provide citizenship of India to all illegal migrants from the three mentioned countries except Muslims.

The lacunae in the proposed bill is evident: The first major lacuna in the proposed bill is that it makes religion the ground for providing or denying citizenship, which is a violation of the Constitution.

Second, it suggests that only six mentioned communities faced persecution in three neighbouring countries, a claim which cannot be established empirically. The question arises as to what will happen to Ahmadiyyas in India who have certainly faced persecution in Pakistan and other Muslim countries and many of them might be settled here in India.

Thirdly, it assumes that many people did not face persecution in three neighbouring countries because they were Muslims. It suggests as if the ground for discrimination and persecution is only religion. It ignores the empirically established fact that besides religion — caste, race, language, culture, etc can also be grounds for persecution. The persecution of Bengali-speaking Muslims and the subsequent creation of Bangladesh with the active support of India is a pointer to the fact.

Moreover, the sexual minorities (LGBTQs) can also face persecution due to their sexual inclinations and there may be people (migrants) belonging to these inclinations who felt/feel suffocated under the religious traditions they were brought up with. Eventually, they refuse/refused to identify themselves with any religion whatsoever and thus they may prefer not to be affiliated to any religion or faith. Besides, for instance, there may be agnostics, atheists, and people from tribal cultures and not professing any mentioned religion.

As the proposed bill does not address these problematic issues satisfactorily, it is bound to fall flat, if not in Parliament where the ruling side has a huge majority, then of course in the Supreme Court of India.

Will lead to social tensions and increased inter-communal violence: The Bill, if passed, will create spaces for “citizenship vigilantism” like “cow vigilantism” and will certainly lead to the mushrooming of “citizenship vigilante groups”. It will increase the incidence of lynching as many potential suspects (read: Muslims) will face the wrath of organised gangs of citizenship vigilante groups.

India is a country of continental size, with 1.37 billion people. In a country like India, this kind of exercise is very difficult. The bill, if it becomes law, will be followed by the preparation of a National Register of Citizens (NRC), which is quite a cumbersome process. The experience of Assam should be an eye-opener for policymakers. Under the proposed bill, citizenship is reduced to pieces of paper. Millions of landless people in India might not have any document required for the registration of names in the NRC. Marginalised people who are under tremendous stress and anxiety due to loss of jobs and problems related to marginalisation may go for extreme actions like suicide (as is happening in Assam), making India a country of mass suicides.

International Implications: The three mentioned countries, first of all, will deny the charge that people of the six mentioned religions were persecuted and it will be difficult to prove otherwise. It will definitely make the lives of 1.7 million Hindus in Bangladesh difficult as there may be a Muslim backlash over there. Moreover, people from the six religious communities who are living in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will face problems.

It can also create problems for a robust Indian diaspora living in several other Muslim majority countries.

The matter of the “politically created non-citizens” will become an international issue. If the number of such non-citizens or infiltrators or illegal migrants reaches 20 million or more, as the government claims, it will become a major international issue. The countries of their perceived origin shall be asked to take them back, which will not be accepted by those countries at all. From the OIC to the UN to the EU and at all international fora, the matter of these so-called non-citizens will be discussed. It is a fact that India cannot send them back and the countries of their perceived origin will not take them back. Under such circumstances, what will be the fate of those people? Either they will be kept in detention centres, which will be impossible, or they will be stripped of their citizenship and thereby also of their voting rights, which is perhaps the main objective of this otherwise futile exercise. In any case, the bill has the potential to create more problems than it aims to resolve.

The proposed bill is not in the national interest of India. Besides creating a fertile breeding ground for terrorism and extremism, it will tarnish the reputation of India as a secular and democratic republic.

 

Source: asianage.com
Published: 28 November 2019

 

Cyprus has stripped Kremlin-friendly Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska and two other Russian nationals of Cypriot passports after admitting flaws in its citizenship-for-investment program, Cyprus’ Politis newspaper reported Wednesday.

Cyprus said this month it had started a process to strip 26 individuals of citizenship they received under a secretive passports-for-investment scheme. Sources on the Mediterranean island had told Reuters its list of individuals to lose passports included nine Russians.

Politis named Deripaska, his son and his daughter among those whose Cypriot passports were rescinded.

Vladimir Stolyarenko and Alexander Bondarenko, former executives whom Russian authorities placed on an international wanted list on fraud charges, were also listed in the Politis report.

Deripaska’s spokesperson said that Cyprus has not officially informed him that it rescinded his citizenship, the state-run TASS news agency reported.

Cyprus introduced a citizenship-for-investment plan in 2013. Under the program, foreigners who invest at least $2.2 million into the Cypriot economy can buy a passport and visa-free travel throughout the European Union.

In the five years from the beginning of the citizenship scheme to 2018, the Cypriot government approved 1,864 citizenship applications. Including family members, the number was more than 3,200, and is close to 4,000 today.