Author: Niu Ltd

In terms of mainstream media coverage, the pandemic appears to have had a positive impact on the industry; nary a week now goes by without investment migration practitioners making appearances in heavy-weight publications.

Investment migration people in the news this week included:

Jean-Francois Harvey of Harvey Law Group
Alexander Varnavas of Varnavas Law
Georg Chmiel of Juwai
Dominic Volek and Paddy Blewer of Henley & Partners
Armand Arton of Arton Capital
Andreas Politis of Christina Mantas & Associates
Nuri Katz of Apex Capital Partners

Lawyer Jean-Francois Harvey sees a similar pattern from the Hong Kong offices of his immigration law firm Harvey Law. He says cases have tripled in recent months. “I would say about three to four families have been moving out every week for the last two months,” he says, destined for Europe, Canada, and Australia.

“Also, because of Covid-19, people have realised they don’t need to be here to control their business. People who thought they could not spend two to three weeks outside of Hong Kong suddenly realise it’s possible.”

Many clients are selling up in Hong Kong, he adds. But there’s more than physical assets at stake. “Talent-wise, it’s sad,” he notes. “Hong Kong has been my home for 20 years. Really high-quality people are leaving.”

Alexander Varnavas, a lawyer dealing with property cases, said he sees strong interest from buyers despite the global health crisis. “New requests are submitted, but there are still practical problems with travel bans,” Varnavas said.

Greece’s pandemic response was perceived as relatively better than some places in Europe and that has improved the country’s image among Chinese investors.

“Chinese demand for Greek Golden Visas has not slackened, even though the number of approvals dropped this year,” said Georg Chmiel, Executive Chairman of Juwai IQI, one of the top real estate networks in China and Southeast Asia. “We expect Greece to win a Chinese buyer’s market share from countries such as the U.K. and Spain, which have had much less success in the fight against COVID-19.”

Dominic Volek, head of Asia for global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners, says his clients’ wealth has increased significantly during the global lockdowns as the world heads deeper into recession and chaos.

[…]

“A lot of countries these days are looking at ways of raising what we call ‘sovereign equity’. If you go to the bond market you are creating debt and at some point are going to have to pay it back. But if you can create these investment migration programs that effectively bring equity into your country, into an innovative revenue stream for the government and certainly become important on the back of Covid and how these economies recover.”

“The pandemic has been terrible in so many ways,” said Paddy Blewer, the director of Henley & Partners U.K. and the group director of public relations. “For lots of our clients, it has been the tipping point for, ‘I’ve been thinking about doing this, but now I really understand how significant volatility can be around the world and I need options.’”

Mr. Blewer said that Henley & Partners has seen one and a half times as many inquiries from January to April of this year as during the same period last year. Those who secure the services of Henley & Partners pay anywhere from 20,000 euros, or $24,000, to €500,000, depending on the complexity of the case.

Families are considering eligibility costs, speed of application approval, and education and health care policies in the various countries.

Freedom of movement is also important. Arton Capital, an advisory firm specializing in investment-based citizenship or residency, has a tool that ranks passports based on different factors, like the mobility they afford their holders. Look up the U.S. passport on the Passport Index today, and you will see that Americans can travel easily to 87 countries. In 2019, that number was 171.

“The drop of American passports over 50 percent in terms of mobility was a wake-up call for a lot of families,” said Armand Arton, the founder of Arton Capital. “The almighty U.S. passport is not as powerful as it used to be.”

Andreas Politis, who works as a managing associate for Christina Mantas & Associates, which is helping Ms. Periharos with her case, said that the firm has seen about a threefold increase in the number of people who want to apply for a Greek passport.

“The virus has been a major driver of engagement,” says Paddy Blewer, a director at Henley & Partners, a global citizenship advisory firm based in London that has seen a 60% year-over-year increase in Americans interested in citizenship programs.

While the average American may view the pandemic as a temporary crisis, the uber rich see a more troubling, permanent crack in their financial security. “The virus demonstrated that US citizenship is not as strong as it was once assumed it would always be. Yes, at the moment, Americans can’t travel, but they also understand the longer term consequences,” says Blewer. “So they’re making an investment as a hedge against longer-term volatility. It’s about ‘what is the world going to look like in 10 years time?’ Citizenship by investment can be a real hedge against local volatility.”

“The reasons people generally get second citizenship through these investment programs is because they are very restricted by their own citizenship,” says Nuri Katz, president of international investment advisory firm Apex Capital Partners Corporation.

For wealthy travelers used to going where they want, when they want, this new lack of freedom is having a profound psychological impact. “Americans have never felt like what a person from Russia feels — an educated, middle class, wealthy Russian — or a wealthy Chinese person, who is also very restricted,” says Katz. “Suddenly Americans have to think about, ‘wait, I can’t go anywhere,’ and that feeling of restriction when you’re used to feeling freedom is very upsetting and very worrisome. They are expressing themselves in a way that I’m used to foreigners expressing themselves who have been living with these restrictions their whole lives. It’s a really interesting phenomenon.”

Source: imidaily.com
Published: 22 August 2020

The unique nature of the COVID-19 crisis poses new opportunities for Grenada’s Citizenship by Investment (CBI)/E-2 visa programme, to continue real estate investments, job creation, infrastructure development or investments in government bonds towards economic viability of the Caribbean. Considering coronavirus (pandemic responses) crisis management, Grenada’s reassurance in times of crisis offers unique flexibility, once a preserve enjoyed by American passports holders.

Grenada’s (CBI)/E-2 visa programme increases access, overcome travel bans and mobility most travels and investors depend on to sustain lifestyles.

Travels, investors and US citizens face many demands and expectations for health and safety, work-life balance, and the continuance of business more demanding during COVID-19. Others worry about the impact of US politics on the global stage, wealth planning, mixed-nationality relationships, and family cohesion even more relevant that Grenadian passport holders enjoy with ease of comfort.

Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique , recently received the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) approval to use its WTTC Safe Travels Stamp. This is in recognition of enhanced health and safety measures and safe, gradual plan in restarting the tourism industry.

Patricia Maher, chief executive officer of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) said: ‘We are delighted to be recognized internationally by the WTTC. The ministry of health, tourism and civil aviation and the Grenada Tourism Authority have worked closely together to develop protocols for a new way of doing business in the Tourism industry and train and certify more than 1800 personnel. Our partnership has brought us this recognition.’

Economic recovery will take time to return to pre-COVID-19 levels depend on both economic vulnerabilities to the COVID-19 response and the prevailing macroeconomic outlook in their respective industries. The path of the economy many economist forecasts — will depend significantly on the course of the virus.

The coronavirus pandemic has limit American passport holders the privilege of hassle-free travel around much of the world. Metropolitan governments have restricted people to limit non-essential travel to Europe, Asia while some Caribbean islands have restricted US citizens travel; others aim to boost internal tourism and regional business.

Grenada offers travels US citizens and investors the mobility of second citizenships with access to 140 countries and major cities. Further, the CBI/ E-2 visa programme, the only of its kind, to offer the mobility not associated with restricted access and travel to major marketplace for American passport holders.

While the virus is moving faster than policymakers, Grenada’s CBI / E-2 visa programme offers a full range of tools to support socio-economic, second citizenship and mobility for real-time work-life activity. Thus, providing the alternative that placed many travels and business operations in a dilemma over – who can travel when and where, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In the era of COVID-19, and the need for crisis management, the concept of remote-working, residency and citizenship, Grenada’s CBI/ E-2 visa programme is seeing a surge in interest. Grenada affords global mobility, investment returns, the opportunity to facilitate domestic economic development with the unique opportunity to live in the US, CARICOM/OECS countries, among others.

While many acquire a second citizenship for visa free travel to major markets, and to diversify their investments, applicants are also mindful of a possible second wave of COVID-19 this winter. Grenada’s has shown its ability to quarantine efficiency, healthcare readiness and government efficiency to protect is citizens, recognised as a preferred, if not, the safest countries in the world.

Grenada’s CBI program is considered one of the best globally in terms of affordability and the opportunities of visa-free access to more than 140 jurisdictions around the world, including to Europe’s Schengen Area, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Russia, and China. Grenada is accessible from major international cities including Miami, New York, Atlanta, Toronto, London, Frankfurt, and the Caribbean.

CBI investors have two investment options: (a) donation of USD$ 150,000 to the National Transformation Fund (NTF) established by the government or (b) investment of USD$ 220,000 in the real estate development approved by the government. Grenada allows dual citizenship. There is no inheritance, income, or wealth taxes. Investors can include dependents in the CBI application , including spouse, children, single siblings (without children and above the age of 18) and parents no matter of their age.

As the Spice of the Caribbean, Grenada’s economic citizen’s application process takes 60 working days. Successful applicants are eligible to apply for the United States’ E-2 visa. Grenada has the Investor Visa Treaty with the USA. Child dependents over the age of 18 will not be required to be enrolled in college or university.

Grenada’s CBI and governance reputation management are best in class, as successful applicant echo the best Grenada has to offer its people, investment culture, global mobility, genuine Caribbean life, and a stable business atmosphere.

Pure Grenada , the Spice island of the Caribbean, provides visitors with limitless opportunities to explore, relax and unwind. Grenadian economic citizens enjoy the same, with no restrictions on dual citizenship.

Source: menafn.com
Published: 25 August 2020

At the budget address for the 2020/2021 fiscal year, prime minister Roosevelt Skerrit announced that progress has been made towards the construction of the international airport.

‘We have completed the necessary property surveys, and Cabinet has approved for the acquisition of 213 properties required for the airport construction, of which 47 are farms. The total market value of these properties is estimated at $50.7 million. Negotiations have been completed with 25 property owners. The government will begin to make payments to the property owners and farmers in August 2020. Geotechnical surveys will be undertaken by September 2020,’ prime minister Skerrit explained. Meantime, offering appreciation to the commitment of the People’s Republic of China towards the construction of this important transformational project for Dominica, said: “We are grateful for their solidarity and support.”

Last year, prime minister Skerrit announced that there were multiple proposals and firms from China, India, Dubai , including two multilateral agencies and independent developers in Europe and the Americas, ready to construct the international airport, and a decision was expected [this year] 2020. […] ‘The international airport will be located in the Wesley constituency, a product that we can be proud of and an airport that we can afford to maintain in pristine condition, and which would benefit frequent regular international airline use,’ he said.

Dominica is one of the top 20 destinations of the future – the Nature Isle of the Caribbean with a thriving ecotourism industry. The Nature Isle of the Caribbean has modernised its infrastructure into a 5-star destination funding from by CBI programme. With qualifying investments of at least US$200,000 applicants can also make a one-off contribution of at least US$100,000 to the Economic Diversification Fund .

In addition, the government has been saving US$5 million every month over the past few years from the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme specifically for the construction of the new airport.

On June 24, the government of the Commonwealth of Dominica expanded the definition of ‘dependant’ under its Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme . The changes allow main applicants to add previously unqualifying adult children, parents, grandparents, and siblings. All dependants aged 16 or over must still pass due diligence checks to qualify.

“We have placed the international airport as priority number one for the government,” prime minister Skerrit said earlier this month. “I am redirecting a lot of state resources in terms of human resources, engineers and surveyors, to the project,” he added.

Prime minister Skerrit explained previously, his long-term vision for Dominica: “The only missing link for the country now is the international airport, with the hotels under construction and opening, with a resurgence in agriculture, agriculture expansion, with our programme to construct a new cruise village and a new port, improvement in our infrastructure [and] health facilities.”

Source: menafn.com
Published: 25 August 2020

Even before the pandemic, the American passport had been in decline, sliding in the past five years from first place to being tied for seventh on the latest Henley Passport Index, a ranking of the world’s most powerful passports.

Since March, the United States’ inability to control the spread of COVID-19 has led to an even more spectacular fall from grace. Holders of what was once a no-visa-required pass into nearly 200 countries are now barred from traveling to most of Europe, Asia and even Canada.

Of course, if you’ve got enough money, there is always a workaround. For anywhere from $100,000 to several million dollars, you can buy a second — or a third — passport through a Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP), which allows you to invest in a country in exchange for citizenship. While these programs have been around for decades, firms that facilitate the buy-in process are seeing a noticeable increase in interest from Americans.

“The virus has been a major driver of engagement,” says Paddy Blewer, a director at Henley & Partners, a global citizenship advisory firm based in London that has seen a 60% year-over-year increase in Americans interested in citizenship programs.

While the average American may view the pandemic as a temporary crisis, the uber rich see a more troubling, permanent crack in their financial security. “The virus demonstrated that US citizenship is not as strong as it was once assumed it would always be. Yes, at the moment, Americans can’t travel, but they also understand the longer term consequences,” says Blewer. “So they’re making an investment as a hedge against longer-term volatility. It’s about ‘what is the world going to look like in 10 years time?’ Citizenship by investment can be a real hedge against local volatility.”

“The reasons people generally get second citizenship through these investment programs is because they are very restricted by their own citizenship,” says Nuri Katz, president of international investment advisory firm Apex Capital Partners Corporation.

For wealthy travelers used to going where they want, when they want, this new lack of freedom is having a profound psychological impact. “Americans have never felt like what a person from Russia feels — an educated, middle class, wealthy Russian — or a wealthy Chinese person, who is also very restricted,” says Katz. “Suddenly Americans have to think about, ‘wait, I can’t go anywhere,’ and that feeling of restriction when you’re used to feeling freedom is very upsetting and very worrisome. They are expressing themselves in a way that I’m used to foreigners expressing themselves who have been living with these restrictions their whole lives. It’s a really interesting phenomenon.”

For wealthy Americans who want to play in a global sandbox, investment migration provides a competitive advantage. “Three separate investment bankers have told me that their clients are looking at building multi-million dollar international portfolios and that it would be an awful lot easier to do it if they weren’t going in under an American passport,” says Blewer.

“It has simply become harder for Americans to be global,” he continues. “People of high net worth are used to being able to live the life they want to and build the businesses they want to — and at the moment they can’t. So this is not about emigration. It’s about optionality.”

So where does a wealthy American globalist start shopping for a second citizenship?

More than 60 nations, the U.S. included, allow legal residents the opportunity to apply for citizenship after meeting certain criteria. But only about a dozen countries allow non-residents to purchase citizenship outright, typically through a payment in the form of a direct investment in the local economy, often through a real estate development or other business venture.

In the Caribbean, popular options include Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Kitts and Nevis. In Europe, there are programs in Austria, Cyprus, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Turkey and Portugal.

One big consideration is cost. On the low end, citizenship in the Caribbean island Dominica (not to be confused with the Dominican Republic) can be purchased for $100,000 for an individual or $200,000 for a family of four. Among the benefits, there is no income tax on non-resident citizens and all citizens are granted visa-free travel to the 26 European countries in the Schengen zone.

Meanwhile, Montenegro is Europe’s cheapest citizenship program, which costs roughly €450,000, or the equivalent of $532,000. Montenegro is on the path to European Union membership and its citizens have visa-free access to Schengen-zone countries. The other European programs typically require more substantial investments, ranging from $1.4 million for Malta to $9.5 million for Austria.

“So, obviously, a lot fewer people can afford half a million dollars than can afford $100,000,” says Katz. “Also, Americans understand the Caribbean because it’s close and it’s easily accessible.”

Another consideration is time. For an applicant going through a Caribbean CIP, it typically takes several months to obtain citizenship. “All the countries do their very, very serious due diligence and background checks on applicants,” says Katz. “You can’t get around that.”

But the European CIPs tend to have considerably higher barriers to entry, and the application process takes longer to wrap up. “I think it’s fair to say that an awful lot of Americans are doing a Caribbean citizenship as a bridge to a traditional European citizenship,” says Blewer. “They’re actually looking at European citizenship — whether that is Montenegro, Cyprus, Malta, or Austria, depending on their needs, depending on their investment level, depending on where they want to build their businesses and have alternative centers of gravity — but all of those programs take over a year.” Citizenship through Portugal’s CIP typically takes six years.

It’s reasonable to expect more Citizenship-by-Investment Programs to pop up in the near future. “A lot of small countries have been looking at citizenship programs for quite a while now. I’ve personally been approached by three countries who want to start doing them,” says Katz. “The South American countries are trying to create them, and some of the small, developing islands in the Pacific are looking at doing this.”

Source: forbes.com
Published: 15 August 2020

The chair of Vanuatu’s Citizenship Commission says revenue collected over the past three months as part of its citizenship programme has skyrocketed to about $US84 million.

However Ronald Warsal told the Vanuatu Daily Post the government had tightened security and due diligence measures to ensure that all applicants had clean criminal records.

The programme has 80 ni-Vanuatu agents with another person based in Hong Kong.

“The Government intends to support locals by expanding the opportunity for more locals to become agents,” Warsal said.

“We have been devastated by the Covid-19 pandemic as well as Tropical Cyclone Harold. This opportunity does not only support our people but also boosts our economy.”

The chair said while the government was generating much needed revenue, it was also aware of concerns from the public concerning the programme.

He said the government had given the commission the mandate to diversify by introducing two additional programmes under citizenship sales but he did elaborate on the new initiatives.

In 2017, Vanuatu’s passport law was amended to enable the citizenship sale program.

It has not been without controversy. Earlier this month the Director of Passport and Immigration Services denied reports the government was selling passports to foreigners who wanted to escape Covid-19.

He also clarified Vanuatu was selling citizenship but not passports.

Source: rnz.co.nz
Published: 19 August 2020

For the first time in history, the 21st century will see a decline in global population not because of wars or pandemics. The number of people is expected to peak at 9.7 billion in 2064, then shrink to 8.8 billion by 2100, because the fertility rate (the average number of children a woman delivers over her lifetime) is expected to fall below the number needed to maintain population levels.

Because fewer children will be born, there will be a narrower base of working-age adults ages 20 to 65 years old, and a much larger retirement-age population. One of the economic consequences of this inverted population pyramid is that major industrialized nations will struggle to sustain the necessary workforces to maintain GDP. Without strong economies, those nations will find it challenging to provide health and social systems that expanding elderly populations require. The way to address this problem is for nations to adopt two strategies: supporting women who wish or need to combine parenting and paid employment, and having more open immigration policies.

These are among the findings of a study published recently in The Lancet by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, part of the University of Washington’s School of Medicine.

Two countries facing this demographic dilemma, the United States and China, are competing to be the world’s leading economic superpower. Both face declining fertility rates. While the U.S. has historically welcomed immigrants and has built a strong sector of the economy on their labor, China has no such tradition, relying instead on internal rural-to-urban migration to power its economic growth.

For this reason, although China is predicted to surpass the U.S. as the world’s largest economy in 2035, the United States will regain the top spot toward the end of the century — but only if immigration continues to sustain its economy.

China’s shrinking workforce is a central concern for the communist party and the state council. The one-child policy was eliminated, but fertility rates after a two-year bump are back to extremely low levels. Migration remains an unlikely solution for China; despite reports that low-skilled labor immigration is also rising, there is no evidence of it happening on the scale needed to maintain China’s economic growth.

China is likely to pursue increasingly aggressive policies to encourage increases in fertility rates, including ideas such as taxing women who do not have two children. When social pressure and even fiscal instruments become intensified, they may become a real threat to women’s rights. In the U.S., where fertility rates are still much higher than in China, there is room to improve the support of women who wish to pursue careers and have children through maternity and paternity leave, subsidized childcare and protection of job status when taking time off to care for children.

In terms of immigration, the challenge for the United States is to return to a more open immigration system, one that will allow it to compete with the most open immigration regimes such as those pursued by Canada, New Zealand and Australia. As more and more high-income countries suffer the economic and fiscal consequences of inverted population pyramids, there is likely to be increasing competition to attract migrants.

If the U.S. wants to maintain its number-one GDP ranking, it must restore historical migration policies. And if China wants to continue challenging American economic power, it must allow more open immigration, a strategy for which it has shown no inclination. As economic power goes, so goes geopolitical power and diplomacy. Should China’s labor force decline, as it is projected to do compared to that of the U.S., the potential for tension, even conflict, in an already fractious relationship, will increase.

Source: thehill.com
Published: 12 August 2020

The implication of the report’s recommendations for regulation and common standards is that investment migration is a legitimate business.

A recent report from the Council of Europe (CoE) endeavors to shed an objective light on issues surrounding investment migration in EU states.

Adopted by the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons, the report delves into details of legalities, CoE conventions, and past recommendations of MONEYVAL and FATF. It offers recommendations on elevating the mechanisms and probity of investment migration within the union, highlighting that investment migration should be contemplated on a supranational level.

The report included recommendations to the Committee of Ministers (CoM), such as enhancing communication between member states while simultaneously increasing cooperation in regards to investment migration issues. The assembly also advised the CoM to work on improving transparency in vital matters such as the source of funds of foreign investments coming into each state.

The assembly emphasized the need for proactive risk mitigation as a crucial factor and highlighted cryptocurrencies as a potential red flag in investment migration, as they lack the traceability and transparency required for a low-risk process.

The report’s recommendations to the CoM included:

advise member States on effective mutual legal assistance and common policies for the prevention, detection and prosecution of typical cases of money laundering;

emphasise the specific obligations of public authorities requesting or receiving private investments from abroad, in order to avoid money laundering by public authorities and to ensure that proceeds from crime can be attached and seized from public authorities through mutual legal assistance with other member States;

support establishing public transparency registers in member States for investments in real estate, companies and incorporated trusts or associations as well as other preventive measures against money laundering;

analyse the risks inherent in cryptocurrencies regarding money laundering and tax evasion;

establish, possibly in cooperation with the OECD and the EU, common standards for member States on tax evasion through investment migration;

The assembly also addressed issues on a state level, with recommendations set out for all states of the union; focusing on better communication, setting plans for citizenship withdrawal in extreme cases, compliance with the EU financial watchdog’s recommendations, and tightening AML and tax fraud measures.

The recommendations to EU states listed in the report included the following:

The Assembly calls on member States to pay greater attention to unlawful investment migration and take concerted action against it. Member States should in particular:

comply with the respective recommendations contained in country reports by GRECO and MONEYVAL as well as the recommendations by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and inform their national parliaments thereof;

inform relevant member States, where citizenship or a residence permit is awarded to their nationals, with due regard to the protection of personal data; cases of multiple citizenship and residence permits should be known to the countries where these persons hold citizenship;

ensure that any investment, especially if it comes from abroad and occurs in the context of investment migration, is made with the highest levels of transparency and traceability, including identification of the natural or legal persons on whose behalf or in whose name such investment is made, as well as identification of the origin or source of the investment;

refrain from awarding citizenship or residence permits to foreign investors, where such investment is effectuated in objects or funds with little or no transparency, such as anonymous funds, beneficial ownership schemes, investments held by trustees or third parties, crypto-currency funds, art or other movable property; investment in real estate should achieve higher transparency through mandatory public land registers, which allow such real estate to be seized by the competent authorities if the illegality of an investment is established;

cooperate closely with other member States where it is established that proceeds from crime have been used for investment migration, and ensure that any unlawful investment is returned to the legitimate owner or state;

pursue concerted action with other member States against tax evasion through investment migration which delocalises assets and revenue from where they have been generated;

set up domestic rules and procedures for the withdrawal of citizenship, where it has been awarded through corruption or the investment of proceeds from crime, or where it is used as an unlawful shield against law enforcement action by another member State, unless such withdrawal would lead to statelessness.

Citing a plethora of legal foundations on which to drive its reasoning, the report recommended regulating and standardizing decisive processes such as due diligence, a view mirrored by the Investment Migration Council (IMC).

Mr. Bruno L’ecuyer, IMC Chief Executive and Member of the Governing Board, has, on several occasions in the past, lamented that European institutions, when formulating reports and policy papers on EU investment migration, had left industry stakeholders and specialists out of consultations, a modus operandi that at times resulted in flawed and one-sided conclusions.

On this occasion, however, the CoE did bring industry specialists in on the consultative process, and L’ecuyer indicates he’s pleased with the resulting work.

“The Report clarifies the legal provisions and international agreements relevant to investment migration, thus making apparent that investment migration needs to be effectively regulated and minimum common standards across the continent are required,” said L’ecuyer in his official response to the report.

“Overall, this Report is aligned with the IMC’s work on improving investment migration standards, and I would like to thank the Council of Europe for consulting us in the process.”

L’ecuyer went on to highlight the IMC’s continuous endeavors in enhancing investment migration standards.

“As a responsible organisation, we are eager to continue to communicate openly with all policy stakeholders who address investment migration and to share related data, trends, and best practices. Last but not least, the IMC supports and expects rigorous, yet objective, legal analysis of all aspects of investment migration by international and supranational organisations. Politicisation of the subject matter does not only undermine the value of the legal acts of such institutions but is also counterproductive, undermining our efforts towards strengthening the investment migration standards.”

Strengthening industry-wide standards of due diligence has long been a cornerstone of the IMC’s mission to better the investment migration industry, a position the Council’s response to the CoE report reflected:

“Considering the integral role due diligence plays within investment migration, the IMC, in close collaboration with its members, also proposes a framework based on best practices. […] The majority of professionals working in the investment migration field agree that investment migration programs should be adequately regulated and high standards of due diligence imposed. Such standards will be most effective when discussed and agreed on a supranational level, such as the one Council of Europe provides, while fully taking into account the competence of states in citizenship matters.”

Source: imidaily.com
Published: 12 August 2020

As travel restrictions between countries start to relax and coronaivurs exposes some countries’ healthcare inadequacies, families and individuals are rushing to become citizens of the safest countries in the world.

Switzerland is the world’s safest country, according to a new ranking by Deep Knowledge Analytics, a research company. Already there has been a run on residency in the country: According to the Swiss statistics office, 11,901 applied for residency in June, up from 8,798 in May.

New Zealand, South Korea, Germany and Japan make up the top five safest countries in the world, says Deep Knowledge Analytics, which monitored things like quarantine efficiency, healthcare readiness and government efficiency in compiling the ranking.

These countries are also seeing a surge in interest for citizenship and residency. Immigration New Zealand’s website has had a flood of enquiries: On average, somebody in the U.S. clicked on the website every 30 seconds in the last month and interest in migrating to the country is up by 160% according to officials.

New Zealand has the world’s most successful quarantine efficiency which has virtually wiped out local transmission of Covid-19. Any new cases have been linked to travellers coming into the country, who must isolate for 14 days on arrival.

Knight Frank, a real estate consultancy, says 34% of clients surveyed are looking to relocate to a different country. Of those 2% said they were looking at New Zealand. Another 2% mentioned Portugal.

In May, Portugal saw a record number of applicants for its Golden Visa, which offers residency in return for investment. A total of 270 applicants sent €146.2 million ($175 million) into the Portuguese economy in return for a passport.

“The lockdown period for us was abnormally busy,” says Patricia Casaburi, CEO of Global Citizen Solutions, which advises on investor visa programs around the world. She cites the Portuguese government’s quick response to the crises and a relatively low number of cases as reasons for its popularity.

Families are also looking at what might happen if there is a second wave of Covid-19 this winter. “It is perhaps no coincidence that good healthcare is another common denominator of those countries listed as preferred destinations,” says Knight Frank.

While many acquire a second citizenship for visa free travel or to diversify their investments, an increasing number are looking at residency as well. It gives people the “option to relocate if they need too,” says Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners, a citizenship and residency advisory firm.

But the biggest factor that will determine which country’s passport somebody might hold in their hands is price.

The world’s safest country, comes at a price: Only residency (not citizenship) is available in Switzerland and applicants are subject to tax liabilities starting at CHF 150,000 ($161,850) to over CHF 1 million ($1.08 million) per year for new residents. Investment visas for New Zealand start at NZ$3 million ($2 million).

Portugal is cheaper: Its golden visa starts at €350,000 ($421,000) for those willing to invest in real estate renovation.

However, one of the most popular destinations that Casaburi has dealt with this year is the Caribbean. Knight Frank says 4% of its respondents are looking at the region, where five island nations offer citizenship for a price, which has just got cheaper.

Saint Kitts and Nevis, which was the first country in the world to offer a citizenship-by-investment program, has dropped the price by 23% to $150,000 for a family of four according to Bloomberg. St. Lucia and Antigua and Barbuda also offered discounts in May.

This has changed the make-up of a formally niche industry. Once a preserve of the jet-set, coronavirus has fuelled the global citizenship market, making it both more available and desirable to more people.

But there is another factor at play, says Casaburi. Companies now expect fewer people to come to the office which has completely changed the rules of remote working: “So it is about freedom of movement and increased mobility, it is about viewing second citizenship as a viable option in starting anew.”

Source: forbes.com
Published: 6 August 2020

As the Covid-19 virus spreads throughout the world, governments across the globe shut their borders or restricted travel to try and quell the spread. With various supply chain issues also emerging in key areas, such as with personal protective equipment, ventilators, and other medical equipment, there has been growing concern that the golden era of globalization might be coming to an end, as countries resort to a more insular, nationalist approach to post-covid life.

In a recent article, I argued that this would worsen the economic challenges faced in the wake of the pandemic, due to the strong and lasting contribution migrants make to the wealth and vitality of their host communities. Indeed so strong is the connection, that even undocumented migrants contribute far more to the local economy than they consume in public services.

As with so much at the moment, the pandemic is extenuating many of the trends seen before the crisis, and a paper from Harvard Business School at the start of 2020 made the case for easier migration policies to help rejuvenate an economy that many thought was sliding towards a recession. As that recession is now all but inevitable, those feelings apply even more.

Reduced travel

Are the fears around the long-term reduction in international mobility justified, however? New research from the University of Sydney suggests our worries might be unwarranted.

The researchers trawled back through history to observe the impact of a wide range of major events, from wars to civil unrest, pandemics to recessions, to try and determine whether these “black swan” type events resulted in long-term reductions in movement, or instead whether these events prompted an increase in mobility.

The trigger for the research was the Second World War, which resulted in the largest movement of people in Europe’s history, some of which was obviously forced, but much of which was not. Indeed, the authors note that millions of Europeans settled in Australia in the decades after 1945.

They also cite the Syrian conflict in 2015-16, which resulted in the displacement of over four million people, who fled to numerous countries around the world in the search for safe haven. Similarly, they highlight how the Ebola outbreak saw widespread relocation, on both a temporary and permanent basis.

“While many countries’ borders are now closed, making migration virtually impossible, a post-pandemic world might look very different,” the researchers explain. “Epidemics are examples of wider contagion phenomena which also include social segregation, “infodemics”—waves of misinformation, and social unrest.”

Risk avoidance

The research suggests that when we’re faced with either a threat or an opportunity, we tend to try and either seek an advantage, avoid risks, or indeed try and do both. In the post-Covid world, this might precipitate a movement of people towards countries regarded as somewhat safe havens from the disease, or that have at least appeared to manage things well, such as Germany and South Korea.

The authors accept that their work has been undertaken against a backdrop that has seen many governments call for restrictions on migration, at least during the immediate aftermath of the pandemic when countries will attempt to recover from the economic and health turmoil caused by the pandemic. Despite that, they believe that those affected by either of these, may nonetheless consider relocation as a viable, and even logical, step.

“We showed that large-scale collective behaviors, such as migration, can result from very small changes in human decision-making,” the researchers explain. “In other words, even if individuals re-assess their risks only slightly, their combined actions can bring a tipping point in terms of population resettlement.”

It’s perhaps fair to say that the Ebola outbreak, and the changes to migration that resulted from it, will pale in comparison to that from Covid-19, not least because there has scarcely been a country that has remained unaffected by the virus this year. As such, the researchers believe that both global and regional migration may actually be boosted by the virus.

Cross border cooperation

This promises to be significant in the support it can offer to international cooperation. It’s well known in the startup world, for instance, that migrants tend to cooperate, invest, and recruit more from their homeland, thus fostering greater collaboration between nations.

The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report at the start of the year reaffirmed their concern that global cooperation on the biggest issues facing mankind may be under threat, so maintaining migration will be crucial to ensuring that happens.

A sign of the potential that remains on the table comes via a recent study from the University of Eastern Finland, which explored cooperation in regions that span international borders.

The research used a combination of survey and statistical data to gauge the success of cross-border cooperation around the world. A particular focus was given to forms of innovation-related cooperation, such as in science and R&D. This was measured using metrics such as the number of co-patents and co-publications.

In the cross-border region of Cascadia, such cooperation is remarkably rare, with few scientific outputs emerging from collaboration between the U.S. and Canada. It’s a finding that somewhat surprised the researchers.

“The economic profiles of Seattle and Vancouver are very similar, and increasingly close collaboration between the two is encouraged. This should foster cross-border cooperation, but it is still very seldom that partners are sought from across the border,” they say.

Sadly, such a scenario is not confined to the border regions of North America, with similar findings emerging from European border areas.

“Although cross-border cooperation in the European Union and in its adjacent areas is supported by, e.g., the Interreg and ENI programmes, the outcomes have remained modest in terms of cooperation in science, research and product development,” the researchers continue. “For instance, patents filed as a result of cross-border cooperation are rare.”

For instance, the Öresund region connects Sweden and Denmark, and is often cited as a perfect example of international cooperation, but even this region produces relatively few innovation-based results, bar a few notable exceptions, such as in medicine.

The authors believe their work highlights the often yawning chasm between the rhetoric of cross-border cooperation spouted by policy makers, and the reality in terms of clear and concrete outcomes.

We’re in an era where the rhetoric of cooperation is beginning to wane. Hopefully the evidence from the past will hold true, and the movement of people that has so enriched the world over the last century will continue, even as the temptation grows to shut down borders and cut off the engines of growth.

Source: forbes.com
Published: 4 August 2020

Last June, the Housing Revolution funded entirely by contributions from the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme handing over 254 keys to families in La Plaine, Grand Fond, San Sauveur; and 66 resilient housing for families in Delices .

The healthcare system in the Commonwealth of Dominica was also cared for – building 14 new polyclinics and a State-of-the-art hospital .

After hurricane Maria in 2017, CBI funded the rehabilitation of three hospitals and six health centres. The following year, 16 children benefitted from critical medical healthcare abroad, sponsored by the CBI programme.

The government of Dominica remains dedicated to the development of the housing revolution and infrastructure development with a positive outlook.

Prime minister Roosevelt Skerrit budget for the fiscal year 2020-2021, themed – The Road To Dynamic Dominica – Fostering Economic Resilience – extended government commitment to housing the nation, ‘unparalled anywhere in the world,’ through existing grants to first time home builders, meantime ‘the government has set aside an amount of $1.5 million, to support persons under the age of 40 years, whose annual income is less than $100,000, who have never owned a home before and are interested in acquiring a home of their own. This support will be provided in the form of grant vouchers to a maximum of $10,000 per home for the purchase of building materials or to be put towards the transfer fees for the purchase of a new home,’ Dominica: Housing the Nation .

The Housing Revolution aims to build 5,000 new homes for affected families is one of many CBI-sponsored projects along with community facilities, health centres and modern infrastructure , changing the lives of people, creating economic viability.

Dominica’s estimates of revenue and expenditure for the 2020/21 fiscal year, themed “The Road to Dynamic Dominica – Fostering Economic Resilience’, at EC$967.9 million is expected to invest EC$427.2 million in the public sector. This includes five priority areas: housing (27.5%); digital economy (16.5%); environment, rural modernisation and indigenous Kalinago upliftment (14.5%); healthcare (10.1%); and blue and green economy, agriculture, and food security (8.7%).

Beginning October 2020, Dominica will set aside half a million EC$ every month for weather emergencies, from the CBI programme and its development partners.

Dominica is one of the top 20 destinations of the future – the Nature Isle of the Caribbean with a thriving ecotourism industry and takes pride in being transparent in line with modern democracy showing where and what investors’ contributions are used for.

Under the CBI programme, foreign investors are rewarded with the country’s valuable citizenship. Qualifying investments of at least US$200,000 is available. Alternatively, applicants can make a one-off contribution of at least US$100,000 to the Economic Diversification Fund .

On June 24, the government of the Commonwealth of Dominica expanded the definition of ‘ dependant ‘ under its Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme. The changes allow main applicants to add previously unqualifying adult children, parents, grandparents, and siblings. All dependants aged 16 or over must still pass due diligence checks to qualify.

The following dependants may now be added to an application:

A spouse of the main applicant; A child of the main applicant or of the spouse of the main applicant who is below the age of 18; A child of the main applicant or of the spouse of the main applicant aged 18 to 30 who is substantially supported by the main applicant or the spouse of the main applicant.

A spouse of a person who qualifies as a dependant parent or grandparent, who is substantially supported by the main applicant or the spouse of the main applicant;

A biological or legally adopted sibling of the main applicant or of the spouse of the main applicant who is aged 18 to 25, single, childless, and who is substantially supported by the main applicant or the spouse of the main applicant;

A biological or legally adopted sibling of the main applicant or of the spouse of the main applicant who is below the age of 18, single, childless, substantially supported by the main applicant or the spouse of the main applicant, and in receipt of consent to make an application under the Programme from all individuals with parental responsibility for that sibling.

Dominica has the world’s best CBI programme, established in 1993, and according to the past three consecutive issues of the CBI Index , released annually by Professional Wealth Management (PWM) – a publication from the Financial Times. Dominica excels at transparency, integrity, and transformative impact on the native population.

Source: menafn.com
Published: 4 August 2020