Category: News

Another move to propel the St. Kitts-Nevis Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation (SIDF) forward is the introduction of the International Marketing Agent Initiative, says Les Khan, CEO of the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU), while appearing on the government’s radio-television programme “Working for You” on November 30.

Mr. Khan explained that the initiative is another proactive effort to stay in line with the competition in the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme that will also help in identifying market opportunities in terms of who sells the product, where they sell it, and to whom.

“This is information we didn’t have before,” he said. “So, with a combination of the new website that will give us all of this data, together with international marketing agents and the approach that we are taking, is one that is not just about competition.

The CEO said that the CBI programme is not trying to “price up on the competition,” but that it is trying to put a process in place that allows the management of the international marketing agents, but at the same time give them an opportunity to be paid to bring applications into the programme.

Some international marketers, who promote programmes, include Henley and Partners, Apex, CS Global and Arton Capital.

“All of the service providers and developers have agents overseas who are marketing their product. We just don’t know who they are,” said Mr. Khan.

Mr. Khan said that with the creation of the international marketing agent initiative, the service providers and developers will be asked to register and they will appear on the CIU website. Due diligence will also be done to know who is marketing the product. This will result in more control and will help to identify in what region the CBI programme is being marketed.

“So, if we notice a movement in applications to one region, we could say what and who is our marketing agent, why is it happening, are they really promoting our interest or are they promoting their interest,” explained Mr. Khan.

He added that because selling citizenship garners much cash flow, the controls are necessary to decipher whether or not the marketer is running a scam.

“We know that sometimes out there, to use China as an example, you have 4 or 5 thousand agents and you hear stories about people selling citizenship, not St. Kitts and Nevis, from a taxi. You need to know who these people are and what they are actually selling and if it’s a scam,” said Mr. Khan.

“It’s not just about the competition, it’s about the process, it’s about being able to control, who is taking our product and selling it,” Mr. Khan said.

Source: thestkittsnevisobserver.com

New Zealand will double the amount of investment needed for permanent residency, the country’s immigration minister said on Wednesday, while also increasing the number of visas it issues.

The ‘Investor 2’ visa will require NZ$3 million (1.68 million pounds) in investment from May next year and 400 places a year will be available, up from 300, Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse said in an emailed statement.

The move signals the government is taking a closer look into how to translate its migration policy into economic benefit.

New Zealand is in the midst of a migration boom, but fast-growing industries such as technology and construction have struggled to find enough high-skilled workers. This has left the central bank calling for the government to reconsider its strategy, concerned that the country is not attracting “quality” immigrants.

More than NZ$2.9 billion had been invested in the country since the visa was introduced in 2009, but two-thirds of this was poured into bonds, according to the government.

“The government believes there is an opportunity to rebalance this towards growth-oriented investments,” Woodhouse said.

Requirements for the parallel ‘Investor 1’ visa, which requires NZ$10 million, are unchanged.

Source: reuters.com

The Government of Montenegro has today issued an international public tender notice for the development and implementation of a Special Investor Program under which a person may be granted Montenegrin citizenship.

Details available from the Montenegrin Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism website here

Details of the tender document and process are available here

SOURCE: Montenegrin Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism

To access the data sheet on the Portugal’s Golden Residence Programme (GRP) results as of the 31^st October 2016, please click here

ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) — The Antigua Government is reporting a decrease in applications for the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP).

According to Lennox Weston, the minister of state in the Ministry of Finance, this can be attributed to a decrease in demand for the programme but he remains optimistic that this could change in the future.

“Yes, it has slowed down, not only in Antigua but in St Kitts, too, and in other territories. It has not dried up, we may have seen a 10 per cent decline but we still have two more months to go. We project that we may have a 10-15 per cent reduction from last year when we had EC$100 million from it; we may end up with EC$75, EC$80 or EC$85 million,” said Weston who was against on Observer Radio’s Big Issues programme.

He noted that the projections do not spell disaster for the economy since there are international factors that could result in growth adding that marketing of the desirability of the Antiguan and Barbudan passport should be revised given that the world’s CIP market is large enough.

“You have to look at areas of instability in the world, in terms of where you get your business from, if for example the Middle East stabilises to the point where betting becomes possible, then you will see a boom or if Donald Trump implements some of the policies he touted or wealthy persons who may want multiple status.”

He admitted that the decline has had an impact on some developments as several projects are heavily dependent on CIP revenue.

“Those 10 big hotel projects have not started and so we expect that when they started we will hit out five per cent minimum growth which we have set and we would love to edge up to six and seven per cent. We expect them to start next year…”

The CIP has so far been established up in four of the nine member states of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) — St Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts Nevis and Dominica.

Source: jamaicaobserver.com
Posted: November 2016

Uncertainty and fear over a United States governed by a Donald Trump administration appears to be pushing wealthy Americans to look for alternative citizenships – and the Caribbean just might benefit.

The Republican’s upset win over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton was announced early yesterday after Tuesday’s elections, following a divisive campaign that featured controversial statements and actions by the real estate mogul, particularly as it relates to immigration, trade and climate change.

According to a statement issued by citizenship advisory firm Henley & Partners yesterday, “in the hours since Donald Trump was confirmed as the next President of the United States, there has been a sharp increase in the number of Americans enquiring about alternative residence and citizenship programmes.”

It said similar sharp increases were also noted after major events such as the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union, Brexit. However, Henley & Partners did not indicate how many of the inquiries had translated into actual Citizenship by Investment (CBI) applications, or to which CBIs any applications were made.

“Such spikes happen when citizens become uncertain about the future of their country. They seek safer options for their families,” it added, noting that as the chance that Trump would win the election increased on Tuesday night, the Canadian Immigration website crashed because of an overload of visitors.

Speaking from the 10th Global Residence and Citizenship Conference in London, Henley & Partners’ chief executive officer Eric Major said there was similar interest among Americans looking for alternative citizenships and residences when George W. Bush was running for re-election in 2004.

“We are seeing a comparable trend emerging now among wealthy Americans who wonder what the next four years will hold. There has been a significant increase in enquiries to the Henley & Partners website since the news broke,” he said.

Henley & Partners noted that in contrast to 12 years ago, there are now many more residence and CBIs  programmes available to choose from worldwide. Among them are CBIs in the Caribbean nations of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, and St. Kitts and Nevis.

Governments are embracing these programmes to stimulate economic development and growth, and there is a growing number of wealthy and talented individuals looking to diversify their citizenship portfolios to give themselves and their families greater international opportunity, freedom and security.

Major said governments were recognizing the significant benefits of attracting global citizens who can contribute to their own economic development and advancement, with those individuals bringing not only their investment, but proven business success, world-class skills and international experience, valuable networks and contacts that can benefit a country enormously.

Meantime, leading Caribbean academic Sir Hilary Beckles said people should expect “migration of larger numbers of Caribbean people back to the region and significantly back to Latin America” because of Trump’s win.

The Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies issued the warning as he contended that presidency had “reconstructed the white global supremacy system”.

Sir Hilary suggested that Trump’s election was a retrograde step that would take the US back by several decades to the days of “plantation America” when blacks had little to no civil rights and white supremacy was key.

Source: caribbean360.com
Posted: November 2016

The number of people looking to get a second passport has increased after Donald Trump won the race for the White House, sources have said.

Henley & Partners, which has an office in Dubai that also helps wealthy individuals acquire alternative citizenships, have been swamped with queries from potential customers, particularly those from the United States, since Trump’s victory was announced. Most of the queries are reportedly coming from residents looking to move to Canada.

“In the hours since Donald Trump was confirmed as the next president, there has been a sharp increase in the number of Americans enquiring about alternative residence and citizenship programmes,” said Henley & Partners in a statement sent to Gulf News.

“Such spikes happen when citizens become uncertain about the future of their country. They seek safer options for their families.”

The Canadian immigration website was earlier reported to have crashed in the wake of Trump’s victory, fuelling speculations that there’s been an upsurge of Americans looking to emigrate to the country.

International citizenship and residence advisory firm, Henley & Partners, has been appointed by the Government of Grenada to restructure its citizenship-by-investment program. The mandate of the firm’s Government Advisory Team is to work hand in hand with the Citizenship by Investment Unit and other government officials to revitalize the program.

Grenada’s Citizenship-by-Investment program is the only one in the Caribbean that offers successful applicants visa-free access to China, as well as the opportunity to apply to enter, live and do business in the US under the E-2 Investor Visa Treaty.

Bata Racic, Manager of Henley & Partners in the Middle East, says they will be working closely with the Government of Grenada over the coming months to strengthen the application processes, in order to attract the very best applicants from around the world. “Our firm has over 20 years of relevant experience and expertise in working with governments in North America, the Caribbean and Europe on the design, implementation and operation of the world’s most successful residence and citizenship programs, including the most recent launch of the Malta Individual Investor Programme.” Racic continues, “Our government advisory practice has raised billions of dollars in foreign direct investment. We are confident that we can help make a significant difference to Grenada’s economy by creating a world-leading proposition for those seeking a beneficial second citizenship.”

The Grenada Citizenship-by-Investment Program is currently ranked as the 2nd best program in the Caribbean, according to the Global Residence and Citizenship Programs 2016 index. This index considers a broad range of factors, including legal aspects, tax, and quality of life, as well as transparency, risk and compliance issues. Grenada is also ranked 39th globally on the Visa Restrictions Index, a widely regarded index which Henley & Partners has published annually with IATA for over 10 years.

Grenada is currently offering visa-free travel to 112 countries, including the EU’s Schengen area, the UK, Singapore, Brazil, China and Hong Kong. On the new Henley & Partners–Kochenov Quality of Nationality Index, Grenada is ranked 91st, performing well in terms of its Human Development and Diversity of Travel Freedom scores.

Alexandra Otway, the Grenadian Government Minister for Citizenship by Investment Promotions, adds that, “there is increasing competition worldwide to attract wealthy and talented global citizens as more and more governments realize the considerable benefits of investment migration programs.” Minister Otway continues, “We will work with Henley & Partners to take the Grenada program to the next level. The program has contributed significantly to the growth of our nation’s economy, and we expect it will continue to do so for many years to come. The inward investment it promotes has led to the creation of sustainable long-term employment, specialist training, and the general broadening of skills for many Grenadians. We aim to build a flourishing private investment market in Grenada for the benefit of its citizens and their general well-being. There has been a sharp increase worldwide in the number of individuals wanting to acquire a second or third citizenship to globalize their family’s opportunities and expand their business interests in a changing and uncertain world. Grenada has a great deal to offer, especially in terms of its exceptional visa-free access to the world’s largest markets. It also is very competitive compared to the other citizenship programs in the Caribbean, and we are about to make it even more attractive in terms of process quality and attention to detail for wealthy applicants from around the world.”

To qualify for citizenship through the program, an applicant needs to either make a minimum non-refundable contribution to the National Transformation Fund (NTF) of $200,000 or invest in an approved real estate project for a minimum of $350,000.

The NTF was established in 2013 as a means of transforming Grenada’s economy into a system oriented to meet Grenada’s domestic needs and create sustainable long-term employment. The NTF finances various projects in Grenada for the benefit of its citizens and its strategic industries, including tourism, agriculture, and alternative energy. Significantly, the government-related application fee for the NTF donation option is nearly five times less than other Caribbean programs. Minister Otway says the government is working with Henley & Partners to ensure a fast and efficient application process of around three months from submission to approval, with no visit by the applicant required.

Racic concludes, “The Grenada program offers international property buyers an exceptional opportunity to maximize the value of their overseas real estate acquisitions by connecting them to a quality second nationality. Investors also recognise the need to develop a diverse citizenship portfolio alongside the traditional investment portfolio to reduce their exposure to risk and open up new business opportunities.”

Source: cpifinancial.net
Posted: November 2016

The government of Antigua & Barbuda has not jumped at the opportunity to salvage Iraqi investor Ahmed Abbas Oleiwi Al-Hassani’s US $1.5 billion condominium project at Pensioner’s Beach or in arranging for it to go ahead elsewhere.

Instead, Minister of Information Melford Nicholas said, “We are at the stage where there are multiple interest in [state] resources…and I think the Cabinet has to take a balanced view as to where we are going to get the best returns on our investment.”

In October, the prime minister announced that the project had been shelved, but when OBSERVER media spoke to Oleiwi this week, he indicated that he was still willing to take on the venture and even supplied concept drawings.

While Oleiwi told OBSERVER media that the plans for the 2000 to 4000 unit condominium project were in their “final stages” government’s Chief of Staff Lionel “Max” Hurst said the Iraqi does not own the previously earmarked Pensioner’s Beach property.

Nicholas said, “I believe he still has an interest and a willingness to go forward, but whether or not the state would engage him on the original concept of the investment is another matter. The prime minister would have given an indication that we have moved on.”

Oleiwi’s project, which has been coined the ‘Iraqi Village’, was meant to be a real estate avenue for Iraqi Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP) applicants to invest in Antigua & Barbuda, and was supposed to be accompanied by a special policy which, if implemented, would have placed an embassy in Baghdad to facilitate Iraqi CIP applications.

Prime Minister Gaston Browne has made it clear that the ‘Iraq policy’ is off the cards. In the absence of the special policy, Iraq remains on a restricted country list from which CIP applications cannot be made, save through a few strict exceptions.

Source: antiguaobserver.com
Posted: November 2016

CASTRIES, St Lucia (CMC) – The main opposition St Lucia Labour Party (SLP) on Monday called on Prime Minister Allen Chastanet to be open and transparent with the population regarding the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP).

The SLP said it also wanted the new government to provide the public with all the proposed changes to the existing legislative framework for discussion.

In a statement, the SLP said that whilst being the leader of the then opposition United Workers Party (UWP), Chastanet had done much to undermine the CIP, under which foreign investors are granted citizenship of the country for making a significant investment in the socio-economic development of St. Lucia.

“He criticised the programme all over the world even when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other institutions praised the design of the CIP,” the SLP noted, adding that the CIP had only been in operation for 10 months and was severely affected by the public pronouncements of Chastanet.

“Therefore, the Labour Party is of the view that the programme should be allowed to operate for some time before there is any restructuring or relaunch with the existing legislative framework,” the SLP said.

It said it is calling on Prime Minister Chastanet to inform the public how many citizenships have been granted, what are the funds being raised used for, and which new projects have been granted CIP approval status.

The opposition party said it would also like to know what are the deficiencies of the programme and what are the proposed changes and which promoter is recommending changes to the existing legislation.

The SLP said that the public must be involved in the decision-making process as had been the case when the programme was introduced here by the party when in government because of the immense sensitivity of the programme.

Source: jamaicaobserver.com
Posted: November 2016