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| Dear Reader |
I am delighted to have been invited to guest edit this edition of the IMC news bulletin which is being published just moments before the IMC annual meeting in Geneva the ‘Investment Migration Forum’ which looks to be a spectacular gathering of industry professionals from all around the globe ready to share their thoughts on the latest developments in the industry.
This has been a tumultuous time for immigration policy. The inexorable rise in the number of migrants worldwide – now 244 million – continues unabated. Granted, the refugee flow to Europe has slowed considerably, but we are still confronted with a negativity toward immigration which is unprecedented. In fact, a groundswell of political opposition seems to be the norm. The driving forces would appear to be a lack of control over borders and the perceived negative impact of immigrants on the domestic workforce. The borders issue reached a high point with the refugee crises supplemented by a steady flow of economic migrants. Terror incidents have fueled the feeling that a dangerous situation was brewing. The impact of this larger phenomenon upon citizenship-by-investment is more opaque. The conventional wisdom that all migration is under siege would appear to be an oversimplification with the continued proliferation of new programs as well as modifications of the existing programs. Granted the debate on the efficacy of citizenship by investment has heated up in a number of countries but upon more detailed analysis, seems to be rather program specific. Larger programs have a propensity to draw much more press coverage and thus becomes more controversial. At the same time, restrictions on the outflow of capital and the documentation of source of funds become a greater hindrance to the mobility of investors.
We are delighted to present to you a series of articles that delve into those issues in some detail. On the investor side, we have a piece by Edward Beshara on PEP’s and FATCA compliance and another by Nadine Goldfoot on the Fourth Money Laundering Directive, which was formally adopted by the Council of the EU in May 2015. It is designed to address global anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing. The Chinese market, which is so key to the CBI practice, has experienced some changes which are the subject of an article by Larry Wang. As to the new and revamped program in Europe, we have an article by Christine Sullivan on Europe and the Politics of Migration and an article by Chad Ellsworth on Proposed Changes in the EB-5 Program. And, finally, an article by Balazs Esztegar on the Austrian Citizenship Program and an article by Thomas Jacobsen on the Malta Highly Qualified Persons Rule.
I hope you enjoy the analysis contained in these articles and will attend the Investment Migration Forum taking place 5th-7th June, 2017 at the Grand Hotel Kempinski, Geneva.
For more information please visit the dedicated site investmentmigrationforum.org
Happy Reading, and see you in Geneva! |
Austin T. Fragomen, Jr. IMCM
Special Guest-Editor |
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| Articles from our Members |
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| Christine Sullivan IMCM |
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| Europe And The Politics Of Migration |
As we head towards mid-2017, we continue to see diametrically opposed developments across the European Union in investor, and broader, migration discourse.On the one hand, migration and nationalism featured prominently in European elections. In the Netherlands and France, centrist victories provided respite from anti-immigration rhetoric… Read more > |
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| Nadine Goldfoot IMCM |
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Compliance And Regulation Forth Money
Laundering Directive |
As practitioners, we are guided by our clients’ interests but also principally by the regulation and best practice standards by which we are ethically and legally bound. At times there can be disjuncture between the two, but that disjuncture is rightly diminishing. The causes of this are manifold.The regulatory frameworks that not only bind but guide us are constantly shifting, and in one … Read more > |
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| Balazs Esztegar IMCM |
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An application for Austrian citizenship in most cases requires – apart from some other requirements – that the applicant has a minimum time of lawful and continuous residence in Austria of at least 6 or 10 years, depending mostly on his current citizenship, his family background (e.g. married to an Austrian) and whether he is “highly integrated”. Besides the requirement of residency, in most cases advanced knowledge of the …. Read more > |
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| Larry Wang |
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The Immigration Market In China:
Threats And Opportunities |
For centuries, China has experienced many historical periods of emigration and in the era of modern emigration, large numbers of Chinese have migrated to popular immigration destinations such as the U.S., Canada, Australia, U.K., etc. For many of these destination countries, China has been a top immigration source country. But in recent years, significant policy changes… Read more > |
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| Edward Beshara IMCM |
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A Positive For The Foreign National Investor
Peps And Facta |
Foreign National Investors (hereinafter FNIs) may obtain U.S. permanent residency by their investment of personal funds (USD$500,000.00 or USD $ 1 million), into a U.S. business which creates U.S. jobs by compliance with the U.S. immigration laws and regulations, as part of the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. The preparation and filing of the FNI petition with the … Read more > |
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| Chad Ellsworth IMCM |
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| EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program: Proposed Changes on the Horizon |
Congress has yet again extended the temporary EB-5 Regional Center program for another five months from April 30, 2017 to September 30, 2017, as part of its Continuing Resolution. Although the EB-5 Regional Center (“RC”) program was created 25 years ago by Congress in 1992, it still remains a “temporary” program. By way of background, the RC program allows foreign investors who… Read more > |
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| Thomas Jacobsen IMCM |
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| The Malta Highly Qualified Persons Rules |
Situated in the middle of the Mediterranean, as a full member of the European Union, Malta is an ideal jurisdiction from which to do business within the EU, and also with jurisdictions situated outside the EU. A number of international businesses have established a presence in Malta for this reason, taking full advantage of Malta’s strong legal and regulatory system … Read more > |
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| We are happy to welcome 24 new members from 13 countries. |
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Anna Maria Vassiliades
Anastassis Yiasemides
Annelise Poulton
Artur Sieradzki
Christodoulos Vassiliades
Chrysoula (Chriso) Kitti Savva
Edward Beshara
Franz K. Borkovec |
Ioannis Ioannikiou
Jacopo Zamboni
Jean-Marc Remy
Jen Judes
Khalil Masri
Kipros Toumbas
Lisa Czepek
Maria Burley-Smith |
Marianna S. Pavlides
Natalia Lesnic
Nigel Barnes
Tammy Fox-Isicoff
Till Neumann
Vishal Khanna
Wayne Pisani
Yuriy Blazhevych |
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| Important Events for your calendar |
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| The Investment Migration Forum 2017 |
The must-attend ‘who’s who’ forum of the global investment migration industry, where all the leading players unite to unveil the latest thinking, developments and new programs. Be part of this unique forum and experience first-hand valuable information and excellent networking opportunities. Read more > |
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