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The European Commissioner for Justice, Věra Jourová has announced her intentions to bring forward a report on Citizenship-by-Investment from December to the Autumn, which will seek to issue new, more stringent guidelines – believing that the granting of citizenship poses a serious security risk.

The Investment Migration Council (IMC), which represents the investor immigration and citizenship by investment industry, welcomes the opportunity to respond to comments made by European Commissioner for Justice Vera Jourova on Citizenship by Investment, as reported across European media:

Bruno L’ecuyer, the Chief Executive of the IMC, comments: “IMC members are compliant to a comprehensive Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, that addresses any issue pertaining to security. As a consequence, significant time and capital is spent by professional firms and governments to ensure the tightest levels of security and background checks are carried out by European and global security agencies. Likewise, Citizenship-by-Investment applications are also vetted against current EU anti-money-laundering and financing of terrorism legislation, and must adhere to legal and regulatory obligations that individual EU states have adopted in line with EU law. It ensures the highest levels of corporate governance and due diligence is in place to prevent any security concerns.

The IMC shares and understands the Commissioner’s concerns in respect of the security of EU citizens. Nevertheless, we believe that the governance, due diligence and transparency of applicants under the Citizenship-by-Investment provisions in Austria, Malta and Cyprus – the three most active countries in the EU in this field – are not a security threat to the EU, given that very strict due diligence procedures and background checks on applicants are in place in those countries.

The Citizenship-by-Investment programmes run by EU sovereign states process a very small number of applications – approximately 700 to 1,000 per year. By comparison, according to Eurostat, in 2016 a total of 994,800 people obtained citizenship of an EU-28 Member State. Citizenship-by-Investment applicants therefore account for about 0.1% of the total of new EU citizenships granted each year.

The concerns of the Commissioner and the EU are of paramount importance and shared by both the IMC and our members, as well as the sovereign states which offer Citizenship-by-Investment in Europe.

We welcome a meeting with Commissioner Jourová to discuss her concerns and have the opportunity to demonstrate our confidence in the security measures in place and highlight the societal impact the industry has on local economies and their citizens.”

Peter S. Vincent, Assistant Director General for International Policy at BORDERPOL and former Legal Counsel at the US Department of Justice and US Department of Homeland Security, also responds: “I can understand and sympathize with the EU Commissioner’s concerns. However, having been exposed to the industry for a few years now, I can honestly say that as a former security and counterterrorism professional, the citizenship by investment programs of the EU are not a security threat to the European Union. In terms of commitment to governance, the very robust application process in Malta could even become the standard industry model, not just for the European Union but globally”.

Mr Vincent states that, as a result of consulting with the IMC and the industry, and seeing first-hand how governments manage their programs effectively, he has “increasing confidence with the degree of safeguards that are in place in order to minimize and mitigate risks to the global infrastructure, and certainly within a European Union context.”

Bruno L’ecuyer concludes; “Residence and citizenship by investment programs raise valuable capital for sovereign states around the world, including also in the European Union. This permits governments, particularly of smaller countries, to reduce deficits and reliance on external funding partners and invest in vital infrastructure to diversify and future proof their economies.”

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Member of the Governing Board of the Investment Migration Council and Chairman of the largest residence and citizenship advisory firm, Dr. Christian H. Kälin, who is also known as ‘Mr. Citizenship’ or ‘The Passport King’, has launched a new website. The personal website features a selection of Kälin’s many speeches and publications, and a range of top-tier media interviews and profiles.

Dr. Kälin is often referred to as the pioneer of citizenship-by-investment and as one of the leader of the associated investment migration industry, including his role at the IMC. As Atossa Araxia Abrahamian explains in her 2015 profile of Kälin for The New Republic and in her book The Cosmopolites: The Coming of the Global Citizen, one of Kälin’s key interventions was in St. Kitts and Nevis, whose citizenship-by-investment program he advised to completely reform and revive in 2006-2007. This contributed substantially to rescue the country from the economic crisis following the closure of its sugar industry. The result, to quote Abrahamian, was an “economic miracle”. Converting its citizenship into a natural resource “has enabled the country to pull itself out of an economic recession, increase bank liquidity, and balance its budget”, as also the International Monetary Fund, IMF, has noted in several reports.

Dr. Kälin and Henley & Partners have likewise worked with many other governments in structuring some of the most successful residence- and citizenship-by-investment programs that generate significant foreign direct investment for these countries and their citizens. The firm recently won also the mandate to generate similar value for the country of Moldova through the new Moldova Citizenship-by-Investment program.

Kälin’s website also provides details of his philanthropic engagements, which center on the plight of displaced people around the world and on the relief work done by the UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations in this area. In addition to chairing the Global Citizen Award Committee, he is also the founder and chairman of the Switzerland-based Andan Foundation, which focuses on the plight of displaced people.

Visit site here

Henley & Partners, the leading global investment migration firm, has welcomed the announcement by the Government of Montenegro that it will launch its long-awaited citizenship-by-investment program in October. It follows the decision a few weeks ago by another European nation, Moldova, to award Henley & Partners the mandate to design, implement, and promote its much-anticipated Moldova Citizenship-by-Investment (MCBI) program.

Henley & Partners has accumulated over 20 years of experience working with governments in North America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia on the design, set-up, operation, and promotion of some of the world’s most successful residence and citizenship programs, raising more than USD 7 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI).

The firm has been advising the Montenegro Government for more than eight years on the possible introduction of an investment migration program. Dr. Juerg Steffen, Chief Operating Officer at Henley & Partners, says they are looking forward to working with the government to make it a success story for the country. “With Moldova and Montenegro, these two new attractive European programs will significantly diversify and expand the global citizenship-by-investment market. These programs have the potential to create a series of genuinely significant liquidity injections into an economy, both in and of themselves, and as pathfinders for more strategic investments that can help modernize and diversify the economy of often smaller nations, creating a better life for their citizens,” explains Dr. Steffen.

The Montenegro Citizenship-by-Investment Program will be limited to just 2000 applicants during a period of three years with a minimum investment of EUR 250,000. The government will, in addition, charge a fee of EUR 100,000 per application which will be directed to a special fund for underdeveloped areas. Montenegro is ranked 42nd on the Henley Passport Index, offering citizens access to 123 destinations, including Hong Kong, Singapore, the UAE, and all the countries in Europe’s Schengen Area.

“The investment migration industry is maturing. There is both a growing demand from investors for European options, just as developing European sovereign states understand the potentially transformative value of effectively managed citizenship-by-investment programs. It is a mutually beneficial exchange, and it is also very much the direction in which the world is heading, as globalization becomes an undeniable feature of modern life,” concludes Dr. Steffen.

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Source: business.financialpost.com

Since 2012, 738 people lost their citizenship including journalists, human rights activists and religious scholars.

Bahrain has stripped hundreds of people of their citizenship since 2012, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW).

In total, 738 people – including journalists, human rights activists and religious scholars – had their citizenship revoked through executive orders or court decisions, Friday’s report said.

“While authorities claim that these acts are linked to national security, they are in fact punishing many people merely for peacefully voicing dissent,” Eric Goldstein, HRW’s deputy Middle East director said in a statement.

“Bahrain seems intent on earning the dubious honour of leading the region in stripping citizenship.”

Out of the 738 revocations, 232 were carried out in 2018, according to the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), which collected the data.

“What Bahraini authorities have done in stripping away hundreds of people’s citizenship clearly violates international norms,” Goldstein’s statement said.

Once a person is stripped of their citizenship, they effectively become stateless.

At least eight of those stripped of their citizenship were deported to Iraq, the report said.

A law amended in 2014 allows the interior minister to strip citizenship of any person that “aids or is involved in the service of a hostile state” or “causes harm to the interests of the Kingdom or acts in a way that contravenes his duty of loyalty to it”.

Many of the cases are dealt with by civil or military courts, which have repeatedly violated fair trials according to HRW.

Bahrain is a signatory of the Arab Charter on Human Rights, which says that “every person has the right to a nationality, and no citizen shall be deprived of his nationality without a legally valid reason”.

One of the people stripped of his nationality is Shia spiritual leader Sheikh Isa Qassim of his nationality, one of the leaders of massive anti-government that took place in 2011.

The Shia-led protests erupted across the country. That led to Sunni Arab Gulf allies suspicious of Iran and opposed to growing Shia influence in the region to intervene, quashing the protests on behalf of Bahrain’s rulers.

Following those protests, in which dozens of people died, hundreds of people were arrested and put on trial.

Authorities have refused to listen to opposition demands for reforms, including the establishment of a “real” constitutional monarchy with an elected prime minister independent of the ruling royal family.

Source: mwcnews.net

The UAE is set to launch a new system of entry visas for investors and professionals valid for up to 10 years in a bid to attract more international investors and top talent from across the world.

The Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (FAIC) said that its board has approved a plan for implementing all decisions taken by the UAE cabinet in May and June. The changes should come to effect before the end of the year.

The system will grant investors and talents up to 10-year residency visas for specialists in medical, scientific, research and technical fields, as well as for all scientists and innovators.

It also grants five-year residency visas for students studying in the UAE, and 10-year visas for exceptional students.

Currently, expat university students have a visa sponsored by their university as long as they are enrolled. Once they graduate or leave university, their visa becomes void.

The country is also conducting a review of the residency system with a view to extending residency permits for those sponsored by their parents after completing their university studies to facilitate their future residence in the UAE.

Changes to the foreign ownership system of companies in the UAE, allowing 100% ownership of UAE-based enterprises by international investors were also announced by the authorities.

Source: internationalinvestment.net

Almost €210 million has been invested in Ireland in the first five years of a government scheme which grants residency to foreign investors.

New figures show €209.6 million of investments were approved under the Immigrant Investor Programme up to the end of March last year. A further €131.3 million in investment projects were rejected over the same period.

The IIP, established in 2012, allows non-EEA nationals to secure residency in return for an approved investment.

Residency is initially granted for a five-year period which can be reapplied for in subsequent five-year tranches.

Over 90 per cent of applicants come from China. The other main countries of origin for applicants are the US, the UAE, Russia and Bahrain.

Margaret Atwood is adding another accolade to her collection as the 2018 laureate of the Adrienne Clarkson Prize for Global Citizenship.

The annual prize, named for former governor general Adrienne Clarkson, is awarded annually to an individual who has demonstrated commitment to the principles of inclusion and belonging.

In a statement, Clarkson lauded Atwood’s luminous literary career and social activism at the local, national and international levels.

The prize will be presented in Toronto on Sept. 26.

In addition to the dozens of honours her works have received, Atwood won the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, the Franz Kafka Prize, and PEN Center USA’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.

A stalwart of Canada’s literary scene, the 78-year-old has penned more than 50 books, two of which were recently revived for the small screen with serialized adaptations of “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Alias Grace.”

“She is a dynamic force in the world today,” Clarkson said in a statement Wednesday announcing Atwood as the winner.

“We want to honour … all she has done in her personal and professional life to make us aware that we are citizens of a country like Canada and of a planet that is our precious earth.”

Established by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship in 2016, the Adrienne Clarkson Prize for Global Citizenship has also been awarded to Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei and the Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of the world’s Ismaili Muslims.

Source: thetelegram.com

The fall in immigration since Brexit is already costing the UK more than £1bn a year, according to new analysis by an independent think tank.

Global Future, which promotes the benefits of openness, calculates that the loss to the public finances is the equivalent of more than 23,000 nurses or 18,000 doctors.

It also claims that meeting the government’s immigration target of “tens of thousands” will also cost Britain £12bn a year by 2023 – which represents 60 per cent of the funds promised to the NHS by Theresa May as part of a so-called “Brexit dividend“.

The figures are based on forecasts by the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) of the effects on net borrowing and debt under alternative scenarios of high and low migration.

These estimates suggest a surplus of £16.9bn if net migration fell from its peak of 336,000 in the year ending June 2016 to 185,000 by 2021, compared to a surplus of £5.2bn if it fell to 105,000 by 2021.

Global Futures used these estimates to devise what it called a “ready reckoner” of a cost of £150m for every reduction of 10,000 in net migration.

The latest migration figures are due to be released on Monday but net migration had already fallen to 244,000 in the year ending September 2017.

This translates to a cost of £1.35bn every year if net migration remains the same, with even greater losses if it is reduced to less than 100,000 per year.

“Cutting immigration hits our public finances hard,” said Peter Starkings, Global Future’s director.

“The British people may decide that they are happy to pay a bit more tax or see lower investment in our NHS and other public services in return for a reduction in immigration, but that’s a debate we have simply never had.

“What we do know is that the public think immigration has been good for our economy and our culture, and when offered the choice, they routinely choose economic stability over reducing immigration.

“As the government draws up its plans for a post-Brexit immigration policy, they must be honest about the trade-offs at the heart of this debate. This analysis, based on OBR forecasts, shows that lower immigration means lower public investment, higher borrowing, or higher taxes – and meeting the government’s self-defeating target to reduce net migration to tens of thousands a year would blow a giant multi-billion pound hole in the public finances.

“At a time when crucial sectors like our health service are reporting staffing shortages, government should think very carefully about what a restrictive immigration system will do to our country.”

The OBR forecasts assume that migrants and non-migrants will make the same net contributions to public finances if they have the same age and gender.

Other studies reached different results after attempting to take into account other factors such as increased costs to public services and displacement of British workers.

Migration Watch UK, an independent think tank which supports a reduction in immigration, estimated in May 2016 that immigration was costing the UK nearly £17bn a year, although £15.6bn of this was accounted for by non-EEA migrants.

Source: independent.co.uk