Category: News

Japan has the world’s strongest passport; Afghanistan, at rank 107, the weakest. The Indian passport is closer to the bottom, ranked 84th in the world, according to the latest edition of the Henley Passport Index, widely acknowledged to be the most reliable of such rankings.

According to Henley & Partners, the residence and citizenship planning firm that publishes the ranking, the Index lists the world’s passports “according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa”. The ranking is based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a trade association of some 290 airlines, including all major carriers.

The index includes 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations, the publisher of the rankings said in a press release last week. The data are updated in real time as and when visa policy changes come into effect, the release said.

Japan has been topping the Index for three straight years; according to the 2020 index, its citizens are able to access 191 destinations without having to obtain a visa in advance.

Singapore, in second place (same as in 2019), has a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 190. Germany is No. 3 (same position as in 2019), with access to 189 destinations; it shares this position with South Korea, which dropped from the second place it held a year ago, the release said.

The US and the UK have been falling consistently over successive Indices. Both countries are in eighth place in 2020; a significant decline from the No. 1 spot they jointly held in 2015.

“The Index’s historic success story remains the steady ascent of the UAE, which has climbed a remarkable 47 places over the past 10 years and now sits in 18th place, with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 171,” the release said.

Since the index began in 2006, the Indian passport has ranked in a band of 71st to 88th. (The number of passports ranked has, however, varied from year to year.) The Indian passport’s 2020 ranking of 84th translates into visa-free access to 58 destinations, including 33 which give Indians visas on arrival. The Indian passport ranked higher in both 2019 (82, with visa-free access to 59 destinations) and 2018 (81, with visa-free access to 60 destinations).

Twenty of the 58 visa-free access destinations in the 2020 list are in Africa, and 11 each in Asia and the Caribbean. Serbia is the only European country to which Indian passport holders can travel visa-free. There is no major or developed country to which Indian passport holders have visa-free access.

The top 10 most powerful passports this year are ranked in this order: Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Germany, Italy, Finland, Spain, Luxembourg and Denmark.

 

Source: indianexpress.com
Published: 16 January 2020

When Boris Johnson brought back his Brexit bill to this new majority-Conservative parliament, the debate shifted from whether the UK would leave the European Union to what kind of country we will become when we do.

No longer having to court the votes of moderate MPs, Johnson is now trying to strip away the commitments he made. Gone are the pledges not to water down workers’ rights and environmental standards. Gone is the commitment to reunite unaccompanied refugee children with their families. Gone is Johnson’s promise to automatically guarantee in law the rights of EU citizens living in the UK.

Each of those U-turns by Johnson and his Conservative Party show that their vision for our country is mean and heartless. It couldn’t be more different from the Liberal Democrat vision of a United Kingdom that is open, compassionate and fair.

That’s why Liberal Democrat MPs fought hard to restore those protections in the House of Commons, and Liberal Democrat peers are continuing that fight now the Withdrawal Agreement Bill is passing through the House of Lords. And in the House of Lords we can win.

Take child refugees. They have been forced to flee their homes and separated from their families. They are some of the most vulnerable people in the world, and we must do all we can to protect them. The UK has a proud history of providing sanctuary to those in need, but now the Conservative government is turning its back on child refugees and failing to live up to our obligations to them.

Liberal Democrats have been fighting for these rights for years. Along with the principled and tireless peer Lord Dubs, who came to the UK as a refugee himself in 1939, we have tabled an amendment that would protect the rights of lone refugee children to be reunited with their family members after Brexit.

We have also tabled a separate amendment to guarantee the rights of the 3.6 million EU citizens living in the UK.

These are our friends and our families, our carers and our colleagues, and Johnson made them a promise – both during the 2016 referendum campaign and when he moved into Downing Street last summer. He promised that their rights to continue living and working in the UK after Brexit would be automatically guaranteed in law.

But Johnson has broken that promise. Instead, the Tory government is forcing EU citizens to apply for “settled status” by the end of June 2021. Those who don’t get it by that arbitrary deadline will be left effectively undocumented and exposed to the Conservatives’ “hostile environment”.

This means tens or even hundreds of thousands of EU citizens will be at risk of eviction, detention or even deportation – despite recent government denials. It runs the risk of another Windrush scandal waiting to happen, but on an even bigger scale.

That is why Liberal Democrats have tabled an amendment to stand up for EU citizens and hold Johnson to account to what he promised: to guarantee their rights automatically in law. Again, with cross-party support we can win.

Liberal Democrats have always taken our role of scrutinising government legislation very seriously, working hard to protect individual rights and freedoms and standing firm for the values we believe in. Even with the limited time available, our approach to the Withdrawal Agreement Bill is no different.

 

Source: independent.co.uk
Publication: 20 January 2020

 

The world’s population is on the move, and not necessarily by choice.

There are more than 35.9 million refugees worldwide, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Cornell’s Einaudi Center for International Studies has responded to this global trend by launching a migration studies minor.

“Bringing this issue [of migration] to the forefront of how the Einaudi Center helps to lead global research and engagement on campus has been one of our primary goals over the past few years,” said Dr. Jason Hecht Ph.D. ’14, the center’s associate director for academic programming.

Prof. Debra Castillo, comparative literature, called the migration studies minor — which aims to create a structure in which undergraduates can study migration — “very timely.” However, few universities offer such a program, despite the current global context.

“We are proud to be on the cutting edge in this area, and look forward to growing the minor in partnership with the first cohorts of students who elect to take it as a course of study,” Hecht said.

To complete the minor, a student must register during or before their sixth semester, attend five migration-related campus events, take the introductory course — ILR 2810: Migration: Histories, Controversies, and Perspectives —  and four elective courses. Over 50 classes are offered for minor credit, from three of Cornell’s colleges and from over 15 departments.

Unlike many humanities and social science minors, the migration studies minor does not require students to focus on any particular region, ethnic group, country or religion — a feature that is intentional. Instead, the minor aims to “draw students outside of their major fields and to extend their knowledge beyond a single country,” according to the program website.

The minor is structured to encourage engagement beyond the classroom, including community-based research and collaboration with local partner organizations. Some of the classes that count for minor credit, for example, teach research methods and collaborate with the Cornell Farmworker Program.

 

Source: cornellsun.com
Published: 21 January 2020

“I have put migration data at the centre of my vision for IOM, and have committed to strengthening the Organization’s engagement in this area over the next years,” IOM Director General António Vitorino told the second International Forum on Migration Statistics (IFMS) during opening ceremonies here this past weekend.

Organized jointly by the International Organization for Migration, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) brought over 700 delegates from more than 90 countries to its unique space for dialogue, information-sharing and networking for a broad range of actors hosted by the Egyptian Government, which currently chairs the African Union (AU).

Added DG Vitorino: “We as experts, practitioners and decision-makers have a collective responsibility to ensure that reliable facts and robust evidence are not only produced but also used appropriately and intelligently to steer policy and programmes and to combat an often-pervasive misinformation about migration.”

Delegates representing national and regional authorities, NGOs, international agencies and the private sector have gathered in Cairo with the aim of building and strengthening migration data capacities around the world. The three-day event at the InterContinental Citystars Hotel in Cairo concludes Tuesday (21/01).

Mr. Sameh Shoukry, Egyptian Foreign Minister, stated: “Owning and relying on data in policy making is a key guarantee of proper international cooperation in the management and governance of human migration, and to enhance the contribution of migrants to development on a basis that respects their rights, legal frameworks and meets the needs of the international labour market, in addition to supporting the efforts of the international community to address some of the root causes of migration such as conflict, economic and social crises and environmental change.”

The Forum is organized around six thematic areas including measuring progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other global commitments as well as data innovation. Several sessions will explore the potential of using “big data” to compliment the analysis of human mobility and migration flows as well as ways to address internal displacement through innovative monitoring tools.

“This conference comes at an important and significant time,” noted Egyptian General Khairat Barakat, Head of the Central Authority for Public Mobilization and Statistics. “Migration data constitutes a key segment of human resources, manpower information and cross-border groups. It also establishes controls for coordination between migration data producers to enable them to make the most of the data.”

IOM’s Global Migration Data Analysis Centre (GMDAC) Director Frank Laczko, will speak at the closing plenary session on the next steps after the Forum. Other IOM representatives speaking at the Forum include Michele Klein Solomon, IOM Director of the Policy Hub and Marina Manke, IOM Head of Labour Mobility and Human Development Division.

The inaugural IFMS took place in January 2018 at the OECD Headquarters in Paris. IFMS aims to foster continuous discussion on global processes and enhance exchange between producers and users of migration data. The event is supported by partner organizations including ILO, UNHCR, UNODC, European Commission, UNFPA, and UNECE.

 

Source: reliefweb.int
Published: 20 January 2020

Ron Klasko, Managing Partner of the eponymous internationally recognized immigration law firm, believes we have still only seen the contours of the fallout from recent rule changes to the EB-5 program.

In a blog-post on his firm’s website, he lists 16 specific ramifications – some favorable, others decidedly unwelcome – that we can expect following what he calls “the most significant changes in over 10 years – maybe ever”.

1. Fewer investors/fewer applications
2. Increased difficulties with Source of Funds
3. Currency export problems
4. Higher percentage of direct EB-5s
5. Greater returns on regional center investments
6. Fewer regional centers
7. Litigation arising out of regional center terminations
8. Restructuring EB-5 projects
9. Increased use of E-2 visas
10. More rural investments
11. More projects will have problems
12. More Mandamus complaints
13. More redeployment (and concomitant litigation)
14. Growing need for revisions of Private Placement Memoranda
15. The rise of new investor markets
16. Legislative changes to the program

Below, we’ve distilled some of Klasko’s key points. To see the detailed description of all 16 predictions, please see the original post.

Implications for investors and investments
Because of a persistent struggle with retrogression and a redefining of Targeted Employment Areas (TEAS), Klasko writes “it is hard to foresee anything other than a precipitous decline in the number of EB-5 investors.” Higher investment amounts, in turn, he indicates, will make proving the origin of the money – not to mention moving it out of countries like China – a much greater challenge than previously.

Source: imidaily.com
Published: 11 January 2020

 

The UK’s Upper Tribunal has put an end to a business model that lent money to Tier 1 applicants on the condition they invest in a company controlled by the same individuals.

When the UK Home Office denied the applications for extension and Indefinite Leave to Remain for two investors in the UK’s Tier 1 Investor Visa program over the applicants’ failures to meet the program’s investment requirements, the investors took the Home Office to court.

The case, which dates back to the pre-2015 period, when the required investment amount was half of what it is today and financing of the same was permissible, sets a precedent that effectively puts an end to a practice that had raised more than GBP100 million.

The applicants, said the Home Office, had not complied with the program rules because they had invested the one million pounds in Eclectic Capital, a company owned by the wife of the owner of the firm from which they had borrowed the money, Maxwell Holding, on the condition that the money be invested in Eclectic Capital. This violated rules stipulating that the investment must be under the applicant’s control.

“The money that was lent to you is not under your control because it is evident that you are not able to invest the money anywhere other than in Eclectic,” said the Home Office about its decision to deny the applications.

The applicants, meanwhile, filed for a judicial review, arguing that the Home Office could not reasonably expect investors to have complete and unfettered control of the funds at all times and that, in any case, they had “effective and ultimate control” of the money. The investors added that they had the legal right to channel the Maxwell loan into any company they saw fit, as well as the right to redeem their shares in Eclectic after six years.

In December, however, the Upper Tribunal ruled in favor of the Home Office and determined that the word “control” should be interpreted to mean that the investor had the ability to “manage and/or direct the use of the money, asset or investment” in real life, including an element of “choice and use”.

On the applicants’ counterargument claiming the decision to invest with Eclectic was a business decision, the Upper Tribunal retorted that the returns were so poor (upfront interest payments were greater than the promised return six years hence) that it “cannot possibly have been for good commercial reasons”.

The Upper Tribunal listed a further violation to definitely fell the applicants’ case: Shares in Eclectic, it said, were not qualifying investments to begin with because of paragraph 65(b) of Appendix A of the Immigration Rules. That clause holds that investments in companies that simply pool the money and invest it in other firms, rather than using it to run their own business, do not qualify. More than a hundred investors have reportedly used the service.

In a separate case against wealth management firm Dolfin, the Financial Conduct Authority has ordered the Mayfair-based company not to sell “restricted bonds” to its UK Tier 1 investor clients after it was discovered to have channeled client funds toward businesses related to Dolfin directors.

A company statement indicated it would “‘cease to be involved in structuring, promoting, issuing or distributing bonds and loan notes issued by companies in which Dolfin or its directors have an interest.’

Source: imidaily.com
Published: 8 January 2020

This programme grants successful applicants the right to reside in the Bahamas for a period of up to three years and gives them a certificate of tax residence.

To maintain access to these benefits, however, investors must make the Bahamas their home (or main) residence, living in the country for at least 90 days and declaring they will spend less than 183 days in any other single country.

If they fail to abide by these rules, a ‘substantial presence test’ will be conducted to ascertain whether their benefits should be withdrawn.

“The ministry also recognises that the issue of residency is hugely important given global developments in tax transparency. With this in mind, the concept of residency – and, specifically, tax residency – in the Bahamas has been carefully defined,” Elsworth Johnson, Minister of Financial Services, Trade, Industry and Immigration, Bahamas Financial Services Board said in an article published by World Finance.

“This has helped the country’s financial services sector remain progressive, while also keeping up to date with a changing global landscape,” he added.

Most house buyers in the Bahamas come from Britain, western Europe, Canada, the United States and, more recently, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa and Mexico, agents said.

“The Bahamas is no longer just a vacation destination,” said Gavin G. Christie, the managing partner of C.A. Christie Real Estate. “Many international high-net-worth individuals are now choosing to make the Bahamas their primary residence,” Christie told the New York Times.

“We have a lot of foreign investors coming in,” Paul Carey, the founder and a broker at Realty Team Bahamas, added. “They are buying the high-end stuff.”

Many buyers, he said, block off weeks or weekends to use the house and then rent it in between for a “minimum $2,000 a night.”

 

Source: internationalinvestment.net
Published: 7 January 2020

The latest passport power rankings have come out and Asian countries have emerged as the winners. European passports, on the other hand, have shuffled down in the ranking.

Japan and Singapore have firmly established their lead on the passport power ranking, overtaking countries such as Germany and Finland.

The Henley Passport Index measures which passports are the most powerful out there based on the countries its holders can enter without prior visa approval.

For the third consecutive year, Japan hung on to its lead. Japanese citizens can enter 191 countries either without a visa or a visa on arrival. Singapore dropped down to second place with a score of 190.

Meanwhile, South Korea and Germany lost one rank, moving down to third place. Passport holders from those countries don’t need to bother with visas in 189 destinations.

 

Top five passports of 2020

 

1. Japan (191)

2. Singapore (190)

3. South Korea (189)

3. Germany (189)

4. Italy (188)

4. Finland (188)

5. Spain (187)

5. Luxembourg (187)

5. Denmark (187)

 

Which factors determine the power of a passport?

 

The Henley Passport index collects data on how many sovereign states and destinations within those states an individual can go and visit without applying for a visa beforehand.

 

With the rise of Asian passports, are other passports worth less now?

 

One of the main outcomes of the 2020 passport power ranking is the growth in power of Asian passports, particularly Japan, Singapore and South Korea.

Paddy Blewer, Group PR Director at Henley & Partners told Euronews that “passports and regional travel are a representation of positive or negative diplomatic trade and economic relationships and the status of a sovereign state. Therefore the index demonstrates a rising relative influence of Japanese, Singaporean and South Korean importance to global trade, global politics, global economics.”

According to Blewer the Japan, Singapore and South Korea have truly caught up with nations, such as Germany and Finland. However, “if you look at the numbers, over the last 10 years, for instance, some of the G7 members, Germany, US, the UK haven’t actually changed the number of destinations with visa-free travel significantly.”

“This is less a story about one group going down and more a story about one group going up,” he adds. In fact, the Western countries which seem to have fallen in the ranking, don’t usually have less visa-free options. It is just that Japan and Singapore have more.

The UAE has made the biggest journey up in the rankings in the last 10 year because of its economic growth, its growing global importance in the sense of trade and geopolitics. Therefore other countries, are keen to offer its citizens’ visa-free travel. That would be even more so true of the top Asian nations, such as Japan, Singapore and South Korea.

 

Source: euronews.com
Published: 7 January 2020

A Concluding Statement describes the preliminary findings of IMF staff at the end of an official staff visit (or ‘mission’), in most cases to a member country. Missions are undertaken as part of regular (usually annual) consultations under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, in the context of a request to use IMF resources (borrow from the IMF), as part of discussions of staff monitored programs, or as part of other staff monitoring of economic developments.

The authorities have consented to the publication of this statement. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF Executive Board for discussion and decision.

 

Growth has recovered strongly in 2018-19 but is set to moderate, with the outlook clouded by downside risks. The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) and individual Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) countries have continued to advance their reform agendas, but progress needs to be accelerated. While robust national fiscal frameworks remain key to the region’s policy priorities, well-sequenced steps to regional integration can catalyze capacity and resources. This would include (i) increasing fiscal integration, (ii) enhancing financial integration, and (iii) solidifying the monetary union by raising payment’s efficiency through—but not limited to—cautiously piloting a digital currency.

1.  Growth rebounded in 2018 and has remained robust so far in 2019. ECCU’s GDP growth accelerated to 3¾ percent in 2018, reflecting buoyant tourism and sizable Citizenship-by-Investment (CBI) inflows, which helped support Dominica’s reconstruction-led recovery from the 2017 hurricane. Growth momentum has remained strong in 2019, while inflation has been muted. The region’s fiscal deficits have been edging upwards in 2018-19 despite continued strength in CBI inflows, but with the deficits remaining moderate, the public debt ratio declined in 2018 and is set to fall further in 2019. While the region’s external deficits are high, they are amply financed by FDI flows. Bank credit to the private sector remains weak despite substantial excess liquidity.

2.  Going forward, growth is set to moderate, and risks remain mostly on the downside. GDP growth is expected to gradually ease to 2¼ percent, a long-term historical average for the region. CBI inflows are also projected to moderate. In the near term, economic activity would be supported by further post-hurricane reconstruction, tourism investment, and some agribusiness projects. Achieving the 60 percent of GDP debt target would remain challenging for most countries. Global risks, such as adverse confidence effects from rising protectionism and weaker US growth, could weigh on the outlook. Region-specific risks include natural disasters, increasing banks’ foreign exposures, continuing exit of global banks, and continued pressures on corresponding banking relationships (CBRs) against the backdrop of elevated non-performing assets. Positive surprises in CBI inflows, if well-managed, constitute potential upside risks.

3.  Greater regional integration can substantially complement robust national policies in improving the outlook and mitigating risks. ECCU’s challenges are compounded by large shocks and lack of economies of scale. Robust national fiscal responsibility frameworks that ensure public debt sustainability and buffers are crucial for improving the ECCU growth potential. ECCB’s advocacy for achieving the 60 percent of GDP debt target by 2030 through national fiscal responsibility frameworks and its efforts to improve debt management have supported this process. In addition, IMF staff analysis suggests that well-sequenced steps toward regional integration can catalyze resources for better policy responses, as elaborated below.

A. Increasing Fiscal Integration

4.  Regional coordination of selected revenue policies could create fiscal space for ECCU’s public investment. The ongoing “race to the bottom” in competing for tax incentives and CBI program conditions limits the potential to raise revenue that could be channeled to productive spending, including resilience building. This highlights scope for the ECCU countries to coordinate tax incentives and CBI program conditions, while achieving the objective of making FDI more attractive through better infrastructure. In this context, the authorities’ ongoing collaboration on CBI programs’ financial integrity to improve their transparency and governance could help lower negative perceptions about the use of CBI programs. Such collaboration could support region-wide sustainability of these flows and financial stability.

5.  Over the longer term, a regional pooling of fiscal resources can complement national fiscal buffers to build resilience against natural disasters and other shocks at a lower cost. While individual ECCU countries face similar risks, natural disasters put them in different economic conditions at a given time. The regional pooling of resources saved by limiting excessive growth of public consumption in good times could support macroeconomic stabilization and create scope for resilience building and other growth-enhancing investment in bad times. Staff calculations suggest that the size of a pooled fund would be about one-half of the sum of individual countries’ funds for the same stabilization effect. Such an arrangement would require a strong governance framework and should be financed by national budgets to protect ECCB’s international reserves and the credibility of its quasi-currency board arrangement. This pooling of resources could complement national insurance strategies against natural disasters, a key pillar of the Disaster Resilience Strategies currently being piloted in Dominica and Grenada.

B. Enhancing Financial Integration

6.  Accelerated progress on the ECCB’s reform agenda will help address financial system vulnerabilities. The ECCB in its capacity of a region-wide bank supervisor and regulator has continued to advance essential reforms, including strengthening its financial system stability function with deepened interaction with regional regulatory authorities, identifying regionally-systemic financial institutions, and improvement to its Financial Stability Report. The implementation of risk-based supervision, phase-in of Basel II/III standards, technology upgrades for supervisory operations, and enhanced AML/CFT frameworks continue to build supervisory effectiveness. Additional reforms are currently being pursued, such as establishing a shared services platform for indigenous banks; developing a deposit insurance scheme; implementing an e-conveyancing regime for collateral realization as part of the initiative to modernize insolvency frameworks; harmonizing non-bank financial laws; operationalizing a credit bureau; and preparing guidelines for the treatment of impaired assets. Authorities are also considering a macro-prudential framework for financial sector stability including the Lender of Last Resort (LOLR) function; and a framework for optimal regulation of the financial sector.

7.  The reform agenda needs to be prioritized with key short-term actions. Despite improvements in Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) in most jurisdictions, efforts to repair bank balance sheets should be stepped up by (i) adopting effective plans for all banks to reduce NPLs below the 5-percent benchmark by end-2023, including via sales to the Eastern Caribbean Asset Management Company (ECAMC); (ii) requiring banks’ disposal of non-banking assets (including land); and (iii) strictly enforcing exposure limits and market risk management. ECCB’s and deposit-taking institutions’ governance frameworks should be reviewed and passage of critical legislation, including AML/CFT, should be expedited by remaining countries to increase compliance and enforcement. Consolidated supervision of financial groups should be advanced. Urgent measures are also necessary to monitor and address operational risk, including due to CBRs and cybersecurity. The new treatment of impaired assets standard, now expected by January 2020, should be implemented without delay.

8.  Provided the critical short-term priorities are addressed, steps toward a fuller banking union could take place in the long term. These would involve: (i) enhancing the financial safety net with a robust deposit insurance scheme and (ii) establishing a regional resolution and crisis management framework. Both these steps require operationalizing credible fiscal backstopping as a key precondition, based on minimum regional fiscal responsibility commitments entrenched in national laws. Other reforms that should be implemented include: (i) advancing the regulatory regime for systemic institutions (including non-banks) to minimize regulatory gaps and shock propagation; (ii) consolidation of regional non-bank financial sector oversight to enhance coverage, address sector-specific risks, reduce compliance costs, and mitigate resource constraints; and (iii) progressing the establishment of a macroprudential mandate and toolkit to address region-wide systemic risk.

C. Solidifying the Currency Union by Raising Payment System’s Efficiency

9.  Building on the successful launch of the Electronic Funds Transfer, the ECCB, national authorities, and financial institutions should continue efforts to modernize the payment system. Major banks have recently begun to offer various electronic payment services. The authorities are also examining options to integrate credit unions in the core payment systems. This would help competition, but it should be considered in the context of establishing an appropriate prudential oversight framework. The ongoing review of the legal framework pertaining to the payment system is also critical to allow emerging Fintech and nonbank e-payment services to operate and innovate. Advancing e-government initiatives would also help increase the volume of digital payments to help address small-economy constraints and enhance the business opportunities for the private sector. In this context, the Digital Economy Project, which is currently in its preparatory phase, would support digital transformation of key services provided by ECCU Governments. Early introduction of a digital ID is needed to support these initiatives.

10.  The digital currency pilot project, launched by the ECCB, should proceed cautiously as planned. The authorities view the digital currency as an option to reduce excessive reliance on cash and cheques; improve the efficiency of the retail payment system; and support economic development by reducing financial frictions. To contain vulnerabilities, important safeguard measures are embedded in the design of the digital currency, such as the limited size of its holding and transaction values, no interest accrued; and does not include foreign currency transactions. That said, the digital currency could expose the ECCB and the financial system to various risks, including those related to financial intermediation, financial integrity, and cybersecurity. The pilot will provide the opportunity to examine these risks, test the design of the digital currency, and assess any policy gaps. After the pilot, the ECCB is planning to thoroughly review its results, and more work may be warranted, especially to further test the digital currency system, strengthen cybersecurity and AML/CFT operations, and update legal and regulatory frameworks.

 

Source: imf.org
Published: 7 January 2020

As we enter the new decade, Asian countries have firmly established their lead on the Henley Passport Index, the original ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. For the third consecutive year, Japan has secured the top spot on the index — which is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) — with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 191. Singapore holds onto its 2^nd-place position with a score of 190, while South Korea drops down a rank to 3^rd place alongside Germany, giving their passport holders visa-free/visa-on-arrival access to 189 destinations worldwide.

The US and the UK continue their downward trajectory on the index’s rankings. While both countries remain in the top 10, their shared 8^th-place position is a significant decline from the number one spot they jointly held in 2015. Elsewhere in the top 10, Finland and Italy share 4^th place, with a score of 188, while Denmark, Luxembourg, and Spain together hold 5^th place, with a score of 187. The index’s historic success story remains the steady ascent of the UAE, which has climbed a remarkable 47 places over the past 10 years and now sits in 18^th place, with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 171. On the other end of the travel freedom spectrum, Afghanistan remains at the bottom of the index, with its nationals only able to visit a mere 26 destinations visa-free.

Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of Henley & Partners and the inventor of the passport index concept, says the latest ranking provides a fascinating insight into a rapidly changing world. “Asian countries’ dominance of the top spots is a clear argument for the benefits of open-door policies and the introduction of mutually beneficial trade agreements. Over the past few years, we have seen the world adapt to mobility as a permanent condition of global life. The latest rankings show that the countries that embrace this reality are thriving, with their citizens enjoying ever-increasing passport power and the array of benefits that come with it.”

As ongoing research shows, these benefits are extensive. Using exclusive historical data from the Henley Passport Index, political science researchers Uğur Altundal and Ömer Zarpli, of Syracuse University and the University of Pittsburgh respectively, have found that there is a strongly positive correlation between travel freedom and other kinds of liberties – from the economic to the political, and even individual or human freedoms. Altundal and Zarpli observe that “there’s a distinct correlation between visa freedom and investment freedom, for instance. Similar to trade freedom, countries that rank highly in investment freedom generally have stronger passports. European states such as Austria, Malta, and Switzerland clearly show that countries with a business-friendly environment tend to score highly when it comes to passport power. Likewise, by using the Human Freedom Index, we found a strong correlation between personal freedom and travel freedom.”

Looking ahead: an increasingly pragmatic approach to migration 

While the latest results from the Henley Passport Index show that globally, people are more mobile than ever before, they also indicate a growing divide when it comes to travel freedom, with Japanese passport holders able to access 165 more destinations around the world than Afghan nationals, for example. Analysis of historical data from the index reveals that this extraordinary global mobility gap is the starkest it has been since the index’s inception in 2006.

The impact of these and other key developments is analysed in depth in the 2020 edition of the Henley Passport Index and Global Mobility Report — a unique publication that offers cutting-edge analysis and commentary from leading scholars and professional experts on the latest trends shaping international and regional mobility patterns today.

Commenting in the report, Dr. Parag Khanna, bestselling author and the Founder and Managing Partner of FutureMap in Singapore, notes: “Migration, as with almost everything else, is a function of supply and demand — and, increasingly, it is accepted that more migration creates more demand, stimulating much needed economic growth. As the world economy heads into a synchronized slowdown, we must view migration as part of the solution, not the problem.”

Khanna points out that with the US-China trade war showing no signs of decelerating, Western investment has shifted out of China towards Southeast Asia, bringing a new wave of foreign talent into ASEAN countries that have encouraged greater migration through streamlined visa policies. Thailand’s strong upward movement in the Henley Passport Index’s rankings over the past year is a clear illustration of this emerging trend; benefitting from mutually reciprocal visa waivers, the country has climbed three spots in the past year and now sits in 65^th place, with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 78.

Middle Eastern countries have also made strong gains as part of overall efforts to boost trade and tourism. The UAE and Saudi Arabia each climbed four places, while Oman climbed three. Saudi Arabia is now in 66^th place, with citizens able to access 77 destinations around the world without a prior visa, while Oman sits in 64^th place, with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 79. Despite these positive regional developments, Dr. Lorraine Charles, Research Associate at the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Business Research, warns that migration and mobility trends in the Middle East are largely driven by conflict, which looks set to continue in 2020. Citing deepening conflicts in Libya, Syria, and Yemen, and with renewed anti-government protests in Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon, Charles notes that “forced displacement will most likely continue to dominate migration and mobility patterns within the Middle East.”

Brexit, talent migration, and the gap between policy and rhetoric

Following the Conservative government’s landslide victory in the UK late last year, the future of mobility and travel freedom between Britain and the EU remains uncertain. Madeleine Sumption, Director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, says, “The Conservative government has promised an ‘Australian-style’ points-based system that would be more liberal than current policies towards non-EU citizens, though still much more restrictive than free movement. As with all big migration policy changes, what this will mean for actual levels of mobility, however, remains extremely difficult to predict.” Noting that the looming threat of Brexit has potentially made Britain a less attractive destination for EU citizens, Sumption points out that net EU migration to the UK fell by 59% between 2015 and 2018.

Prof. Simone Bertoli, Professor of Economics at Université Clermont Auvergne (CERDI) in France, says that while countries around the world insist that they are taking steps to attract “the best and the brightest”, a rather different picture is currently emerging: “When it comes to talent migration, a worrying gap between policy and rhetoric has been opening up over the past year. The sluggish improvement of labor market conditions after the 2008 crisis, and the concomitant rise of nativist political parties, is reinforcing the perception of immigration as a threat rather than as an opportunity.”

Citizenship-by-Investment countries retain strong positions

Going into the new year, countries with citizenship-by-investment programs continue to consolidate their positions on the index. Malta sits in 9^th place, with access to 183 destinations around the world, while Montenegro holds on to 46^th place, with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 124. In the Caribbean, St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda secure 27^th and 30^th spot, respectively.

Discussing the increasing popularity of investment migration programs for both wealthy investors and the countries that offer them, Dr. Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners, says: “Demand for these programs is accelerating, just as the supply has grown globally. The past year has shown that, increasingly, nations and wealthy individuals see investment migration as more than a competitive advantage. Today, it is viewed as an absolute requirement in a volatile world where competition for capital is fierce, and it’s very clear that we will see more of this in 2020.”

 

Source: henleyglobal.com
Published: 7 January 2020