The Mobility Standard: Recent Episodes
Christian Henrik Nesheim
In this Investment Migration Insider production, Christian Nesheim, together with Rogelio Caceres, Ahmad Abbas, and expert guest speakers, dissect current events, trends, and crucial questions related to investment migration.
Each new citizenship in your portfolio comes with legal fine print that activates on its own: Expiry at 22, automatic cancellation, lifetime tax, or revocation years after approval. IMI covers the 11 rules of citizenship most people discover after the deadline to act has already passed.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
Gulf venture funding fell 22% in the first half of 2026, yet the region's founders and business owners refuse to leave. Why? In this video, you'll learn about the billions in state capital anchoring them in place and the second-passport surge, up to 4x in one country, that reveals how the Gulf's wealthy are repositioning.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
The citizenships to which your child was born with rights has constraints. The 10 countries mentioned in this video require something of the parents and/or children in order to maintain their rights and continue holding the passport or get one in the first place.
Read the full analysis here.
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These six legal tools allow the state to stop you, your money, or both from crossing its borders. IMI covers all six, plus the one variable they all depend on and the one thing a second passport cannot fix.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
Russia's parliament has approved 14 restrictions on convicted citizens abroad, covering frozen funds, annulled e-signatures, and passports that cannot be renewed. IMI covers what this means for Russians overseas and why this design could travel well beyond one country.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
IMI's Global Property Scoreboard scores 146 cities on their investment merits alone, and 7 golden visa favorites land in an order that inverts the marketing. Why? Greece Golden Visa-eligible Athens and Lisbon (which no longer has a Portugal Golden Visa-eligible real estate investment option) post the worst property fundamentals of the group.
Read the full analysis of Kenya's forthcoming program here and Ethiopia's golden visa here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
Ethiopia will demand $10 million for its new 10-year golden visa while Kenya revives a residency by investment plan with no price tag at all. IMI covers both programs, how they stack up against similar programs worldwide, and the catch that could sink both.
Read the full analysis of Kenya's forthcoming program here and Ethiopia's golden visa here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
Most passport rankings measure visa-free travel, but they say nothing about a far more valuable metric: Where your passport gives you the legal right to settle, work, and stay. In this video, we break down the difference between visa-free access and residency rights and the settlement blocs that let one passport unlock as many as 30 countries.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
Your passport can be revoked, frozen at the border, or downgraded overnight, and holding only one stacks risk in a single place. Learn the seven ways a single citizenship can fail you in 2026.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
Passport rankings measure visa-free travel, not who comes for you when you're detained, hospitalized, or trapped in a collapsing country. Learn which citizenships pull the most weight in a crisis, why one draws on 27 consular missions at once, and an oft-forgotten condition that leaves even the strongest passport powerless in times of need.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
Every Gulf state operates a golden visa program, and the entry price ranges from $200,000 in one country to $16.3 million in another. Learn about all six GCC investor residency programs on cost, permanence, and presence requirements.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
Building a global citizen family? The levers that decide your child's citizenship mostly close forever at 18. In this video, you'll learn all six ways your baby can become a passport collector, plus the obligations most marketing never mentions.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
Few governments let you simply hand back your passport if you want to renounce your citizenship. In fact, one country will tax every asset you own on the way out. In this video, you'll learn the five ways nations handle renunciation.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
Golden visas with routes to eventual citizenship can cost upwards of six figures, but these five routes to EU citizenship require no entry fee at all. And you might already qualify for one without knowing it. In this video, IMI covers all five.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
The price of a home abroad is the last simple number you will ever see, because owning one can tax you every year you hold it, again when you sell, and once more after you die. In this in-depth video, IMI covers the six ownership-based tax traps most buyers miss.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
DISCLAIMER: This video is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as immigration, legal, financial, or tax advice. Consult the professionals before considering any action.
Nine post-Soviet states now sell residency to foreign investors, and Belarus could soon become the first in the former USSR to sell citizenship outright. IMI covers all nine, from the EU passport routes in the Baltics to an underperforming program in Moscow to newer golden visa options in Central Asia.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
The European Commission has told all five Caribbean governments operating citizenship by investment programs that they must phase out their programs by June 2028 or lose visa-free access to the Schengen Area. IMI covers the demand, why one prime minister is refusing to comply, and the interim deadline in September.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
More than 120 countries automatically share your bank data through the Common Reporting Standard, but eight jurisdictions refuse to join. And each one offers a compelling way to get residency or citizenship.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
DISCLAIMER: This video is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as immigration, legal, financial, or tax advice. Consult the professionals before considering any action.
IMI Pro David Lincoln argues the region that investors once dismissed now offers the rarest asset in investment migration: Livability. In this video, we walk through his analysis of the top 7 investor visas from Central America to the Southern Cone.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
Citizenship by merit allows investors to earn an alternative citizenship by bringing a business, jobs, or investment to a country, with full rights from day one and no language test or long wait. In this video filmed at IMI Connect Barcelona, IMI Pro Rafael Cintron of Wealthy Expat covers how citizenship by exception works and where to pursue it.
Reach IMI Pro Rafael Cintron directly here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
Hold two or more passports and one careless border crossing can flag you as an overstayer, cost you consular protection, or earn you an entry ban. IMI covers the document discipline that keeps your records clean, the countries that refuse to see your second passport, and which one to show at every border.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
More than 100 tax authorities worldwide now receive your bank balance, address, and financial transactions automatically. Moving your money offshore usually doesn't help. In this video, IMI covers what the Common Reporting Standard is, the one G7 country that never signed, and the legal move that the rich are using to avoid financial over-reporting.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
DISCLAIMER: This video is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as immigration, legal, financial, or tax advice. Consult the professionals before considering any action.
Savory & Partners founder and IMI Pro Jeremy Savory has invested across 11 countries more than 30 times in the last 23 years, and his strongest returns came from places most investors would never touch. In this video filmed at IMI Connect Barcelona, he covers why he offloaded his holdings in two jurisdictions, how he determines his next ones, and where he is putting his money next.
Reach IMI Pro Jeremy Savory directly here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
Dubai's reputation as a safe haven has fractured after the 2026 Iran war, and some of the world's wealthiest are moving themselves and their assets out of the Emirate. In this video, IMI covers which three safe tax havens could replace Dubai in 2027, what each costs, and the dark-horse country that might beat all three.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
Ghana just wrote citizenship by investment into national law, but the entire plan fits in a single clause. IMI covers what the bill says, what happens now, and why Ghana's passport plans could still be a long way from anything you can buy.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
This video is sponsored content, produced in partnership with The Open World Residencies and Citizenship: France's €300,000 residency by investment route requires no minimum stay or language proficiency (until naturalization), yet most investors never hear it exists. IMI Pro Charlie Maggi covers the routes, costs, and benefits shaping how investors secure a second residency in Europe.
Reach IMI Pro Charlie Maggi directly here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
What you've heard about Latin America may be outdated. In this video, IMI Pro David Lincoln covers the six Latin American residency and citizenship programs increasingly attracting Plan B investors from around the globe, from Paraguay's $150,000 investor pass to the Dominican Republic's six-month route to citizenship.
Reach IMI Pro David Lincoln directly here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
Want flexible international residency with no need to relocate? IMI Pro Rafael Cintron covers his top 5 golden visa residency programs that hand wealthy investors a second base with no physical presence required, one on every continent. See how Panama, Mauritius, the UAE, Thailand, and Greece grant residency through real estate, renewable energy, or a single donation.
Reach IMI Pro Rafael Cintron directly here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
What lessons can you learn from the ultra-rich building global Plan Bs and an advisor who helps them? These portfolios hold up when borders close, banks freeze, and war breaks out. IMI Pro Jeremy Savory has guided 2,500 families over 15 years and explains exactly how this multi-citizenship, residency, and tax-residency strategy lets a family relocate at a moment's notice.
Reach IMI Pro Jeremy Savory directly here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
Portugal rewrote its citizenship rules overnight, stretching naturalization to as long as 10 years with no grandfathering for investors already in the program. IMI Pro Madalena Monteiro covers how she and 8 law firms are building a 1,000-investor case against the Portuguese state, and what it could mean for anyone holding (or who will hold) a Portuguese golden visa.
Reach IMI Pro Madalena Monteiro directly here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
The world's top citizenship by investment program is flexible for investors with an open real estate market. But where to invest? In this video, IMI covers where $400,000 in Turkey real estate pays off across Istanbul.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
These 12 countries grant residency to foreign nationals willing to register a business and hire themselves, often with no investor capital required. IMI covers each program and the perfect investor fit.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
Passport rankings measure visa-free travel. But in this video, IMI covers the ranking that measures where you can actually live – the 13 supranational settlement blocs ordered by citizenship speed.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
After 11,000 millionaires fled the UK in 2024 following the abolition of the country's non-dom regime, Prime Minister Starmer's government is floating a £5 million invite-only investor visa with a three-year path to settlement. Learn how it's structured and the catch that could decide whether the plan ever launches.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
Europe's draft is back. Germany made it illegal for males aged 17-45 to leave the country without military permission, Latvia restored conscription in 2024, and Russia raised its conscription age to 30. And global conflict is only increasing which begs the question – How can I avoid mandatory conscription? We cover the 12 countries on Earth that do not conscript their citizens, with the citizenship pathway for each.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
Most high earners owe up to 50% of their income 1) because they live in a high-tax country and 2) because they can't afford to spend more than half the year (i.e. the 183-day tax residency rule) in a more tax-friendly jurisdiction. But you can have your cake and eat it too! In this video, you'll learn five jurisdictions that legally accept you as a tax resident with just 90 days or fewer of physical presence.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
If you're a HNW investor or entrepreneur, you've probably looked at relocating either your assets or yourself to one or more of these jurisdictions. In this video, we'll compare each of the world's top tax-friendly jurisdictions wealthy clients weigh in 2026. Each fits a completely different investor profile, and matching yours to the wrong one could cost millions.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
Retirement does not have to cost you your life savings or pension. These 12 countries pair a dedicated visa program with a tax break for pensioners and retirees, from Malta's 15% headline rate down to the five jurisdictions that drop taxes from foreign income entirely.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
Passport rankings have lost most of their meaning to an algorithmic border infrastructure screening 1.4 billion travelers before they ever board. IMI contributor Giselle Bru covers the three risk profiles already costing wealthy investors their mobility and the three pillars that rebuild it.
Read Bru's full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
On March 31, El Salvador's Decree 531 cut the temporary residency presence requirement from 9 months to just 90 days a year – yet also tightened the rules for keeping Salvadoran citizenship once you have it. In this video, you'll learn what President Bukele changed, the three most popular routes into the country, and why one industry insider says President Bukele is running the UAE's playbook.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
In 2025, Saint Kitts & Nevis revoked 13 citizenships, and the investors lost both the passport and the investment. Why? In this video, you'll get the 23-item checklist that would have caught every red flag before a dollar was wired.
Read the full list and analysis here.
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Only four residency programs offer qualifying bank deposit options under $100,000 in 2026, but each one has a structural catch that decides whether it works as a Plan B for you. This video walks through all four programs with their deposit thresholds, the upgrade paths, and the asterisks the brochures leave out.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
Citizenship by investment does not have to cost six figures. Three African countries now sell citizenship for as little as $90,000, making the continent the cheapest emerging market citizenship cluster in the world. In this video, you'll learn about all three options, what each passport unlocks, and a potential fourth program that could undercut them within months.
Read the full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
After 14 years of socialist rule and a collapsed currency, Bolivia may provide an investment-free path to a Mercosur passport with regulated USDT custody and zero foreign-source tax. IMI contributor Edwin Hudepol covers what’s changed under President Paz, what investor profile the country fits, and how the FATF grey-list and wealth-tax catches affect the country’s outlook.
Read Edwin Hudepol's full analysis here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
Italy just expanded its 7% flat tax regime to 74 new towns across Southern Italy, including Pompeii, Noto, and Ostuni. In this video, you'll learn how the regime works, why Americans can effectively pay near 0%, and how Italy now stacks up against regional rivals Portugal, Greece, and Malta.
Read the full story here.
Access a suite of powerful tools and the world's #1 private investor community as an IMI Sovereign. Use code SOV10 for 10% off your first month.
12 real estate-based golden visa and citizenship by investment programs lead into rental markets yielding 6%+ gross, with one country topping 8.5%. IMI ranks all 12 by rental yield and reveals where inflation, currency, and luxury thresholds can destroy the headline number.
Read the full analysis and list here.
A second citizenship doesn't have to cost six figures. More than 30 countries across the Americas hand a passport to any child born on their soil. Moreover, in this video, you'll learn the three countries few investors know about where the parents get a fast-track passport too.
Read the full analysis and list here.
Investment migration expert and IMI Pro Kemal Nicholson argues that Donald Trump and the European Union are forcing citizenship by investment into a new era he calls CBI 2.0: More expensive, slower, and far more selective. In this video, IMI covers which programs will survive and collapse and three ways investors should act before the window closes.
Read the full story here.
California's 5% billionaire wealth tax has cleared the ballot threshold and could raise $100 billion if voters approve it in November. In this video, IMI covers the law applying retroactively to any residents worth over $1 billion on January 1, the billionaire exodus already in motion, the $80 million counter-offensive funded by Google's founders, and the three strategies wealthy Americans are running to prepare for a potential federal version.
Read the full story here.
Is Europe finished? IMI contributor and global tax expert Jimmy Sexton argues the EU has regulated itself out of relevance and lost the global tech race to the US and China for one specific, terminal reason. We unpack his case, including the moment Europe's own cybersecurity chief admitted "We've lost the whole cloud; we have lost the internet."
Read the full analysis here.
UPDATE: President António José Seguro approved the new nationality rules on Sunday, May 3, 2026.
Portugal has now officially doubled the citizenship wait from 5 years to 10, with no grandfathering for residents who arrived under the old rules. IMI Pro David Bonellie analyzes the four most damaging changes in the new nationality law.
Read Bonellie's piece here and the nationality law update here.
29 countries exempt foreign income from local tax. But would you want to live 183+ days in all of them? These 15 places you may actually want to live in, and IMI covers all of them across four distinct frameworks for tax-free living.
Read the full article here.
Investors are flocking to African residency and citizenship programs before they increase in price. In this video, you'll learn about the 8 active African residency by investment programs available today,. The case for looking here at all: pricing at a third of the global floor, ECOWAS settlement rights across 15 West African states, and some programs that could eventually unlock Schengen access.
Read the full story with more details here.
Wondering the fastest 2nd passport route on every inhabited continent in 2026? From a $90,000 investment program that issues citizenship in six weeks to a two-year naturalization clock – Six continents, six speeds, and the trade-offs that decide which one fits you – We covered it all.
Read the full story here.
Turkish President Erdogan's proposed 20-year tax holiday could outlast every other regime, with zero entry cost or required investment. IMI covers why Turkey is moving now and what this means for the country's citizenship by investment program.
Read the full story here.
Greek golden visa approvals jumped nearly 96% in 2025, and the government just dropped a 31-page circular targeting fake deals fueling the boom. In this video, you'll learn the new fraud rules, the €250,000 option that survives, and why the Airbnb ban is narrower than the headlines suggest.
Read the full story here.
In 2025, the European Court of Justice ended formal citizenship by investment programs across the EU, shutting down Malta, Cyprus, Montenegro, and North Macedonia. IMI covers how citizenship by merit is becoming the new shadow market for wealthy investors in Europe.
Read the full article here.
Remote work permits often trip the tax residency threshold that make nomads pay more tax than they had predicted. Your foreign income, taxed once at home, becomes fair game locally as well. But a small group of digital nomad visas sidesteps this rule entirely through one of four mechanisms, and IMI's latest video covers 15 of them.
Read the full article here.
Chile has the strongest passport in Latin America. Will it sit on the sidelines while Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay attract capital and talent? In an IMI Daily opinion piece, Chilean investment migration expert Maria Esperanza Schorr Donoso makes the case that the country is leaving one of the industry’s largest opportunities on the table.
Most golden visas cover a spouse and minor children. These nine go further, allowing parents, grandparents, siblings, and adult children well into their thirties.
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Twelve golden visas that grant residency through passive investment while demanding zero or near-zero time in the country. The full list for Plan B investors in 2026.
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Buried clause in December's military reform requires Bundeswehr approval for extended male absences; dual nationals included, enforcement mechanisms remain undefined.
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This guide covers every active CBI program and the handful of countries where naturalization takes two to three years.
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Regional Center filings surged 38% year-on-year; direct petitions remain marginal with a 58% denial rate.
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Parliament approves revised nationality law 152-64 after PSD-Chega deal; no transitional protections; PS-affiliated president may veto or delay.
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The initiative, described by officials as a “market-based evolution” of existing CBI programs, will for the first time allow individuals to transact directly in nationality without state intermediation.
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The flat tax and impatriati stack has an expiry date. Marco Mesina maps the transitional window and its limits.
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PS proposes 6/9-year timelines with grandfathering; PSD/CDS-PP eliminate phase-in for current residents; Chega sets lowest criminal bar.
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The two most popular residency routes abroad solve different problems. One demands investment capital, the other demands proof of income. Choosing wrong costs years.
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He left for India on a family trip. When he tried to fly back, his ten-year golden visa no longer existed.
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Algorithmic border systems are quietly reshaping global mobility; passport rankings fail to capture the risk.
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🌍 Fastest Passport per Continent
🇲🇹 Malta vs Cyprus Golden Visa
🇲🇾 MM2H Hits $1B in One Year
🇬🇧 2.9M Hidden British Citizens
🌏 East Asia's 5 Investor Visas Ranked
💰 7 Best Tax Regimes in Europe
🇰🇳 Biometric Deadline: July 2027
🇩🇰 Freezes Citizenship Applications
🇩🇲 Suspends CBI for Iranians
🇪🇺 Entry/Exit Catches 4,000 Overstayers
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Six continents, six fastest routes to a new passport. CBI programs dominate where they exist. Where they do not, naturalization timelines decide the race.
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Both Malta and Cyprus grant permanent residency to non-EU investors, but they differ on Schengen access, family inclusion, investment options, and the path to citizenship. Here is how they compare.
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3,172 approvals and nearly US$1B in deposits and property; MM2H's rebound from its disastrous 2021 overhaul is now quantifiable.
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The data feed the EU's new visa suspension mechanism, which lowered the overstay threshold that can trigger loss of visa-free access.
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Roseau reverses course on a market it reopened just four years ago amid the US-Iran war; however, some caveats still apply.
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New rules may apply retroactively to pending cases; the parliamentary naturalization system leaves applicants with no legal recourse.
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Existing CBI passports issued before April 14 expire for travel purposes on July 31, 2027 unless holders complete biometric enrollment.
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Europe is a high-tax continent, but seven countries offer special regimes that exempt or cap taxation on foreign income. We rank the best options for 2026.
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Every passport index on the internet ranks just one metric: Visa-free access. This is flawed. In this video, IMI picks the strongest citizenship in all 7 world regions based on tax treatment, dual citizenship rules, settlement rights, and border reputation. We hope to make you reconsider what a "strong passport" really is.
Read the full article here.
Five East Asian economies offer investment-based residency, but each program carries distinct costs, limitations, and long-term settlement prospects. All five are getting more expensive.
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Of 2.9 million BNO citizens, over two million don't hold a valid passport. Many may not know they have this citizenship at all.
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🇺🇸 Seattle's New 18% Top Tax Rate
🇻🇬 Reaffirms RBI, Rules Out CBI
🇮🇹 4 Hidden Wealth Taxes Exposed
🌍 Balkan Residency From €50,000
🇦🇪 Evacuates 500 Golden Visa Holders
🇰🇳 $100/Month to Every Nevisian
🌐 8 Countries Tax You for Leaving
🇮🇹 CBD Reform: Who Still Qualifies?
🌐 11 RBI Programs Under $100K
🇵🇾 Mandates Wallet-Level Crypto Rules
🌍 Every Golden Visa Open in Europe
🇮🇹 Court Upholds CBD Generational Cap
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The bill cleared both chambers after the longest floor debate in state history; if signed, Seattle's combined top rate would reach 18%, the highest in the US.
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14 months after the first announcement, Wheatley says discussions continue; no thresholds or timeline have been set. Explains why the country will never have a CBI program.
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While Western Europe raises golden visa prices and closes programs, three Western Balkan countries are building some of the continent's most affordable investor residency pathways.
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Citizenship by investment programs range by hundreds of thousands in pricing. But which programs allow inclusion of dependents and how much do prices increase per member of the family? IMI standardized every government fee across 12 programs and four family sizes to reveal the true cost per passport.
Read the full story here.
October's consular expansion for Golden Visa holders gets its first real-world test as airspace closures strand hundreds abroad.
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Spain officially ended its golden visa program in 2025, but contrary to popular belief, three alternative pathways to relocation remain wide open, each leading to the same permanent residency and citizenship timeline. Two options even come with attractive tax perks! Here's how to navigate Spain's new immigration landscape and which route matches your situation.
Read the full article here.
A bitcoin billionaire's US$100-a-month offer to every Nevisian has split the federation's politicians. The CBI angle is bigger.
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Most people plan where to move. Few consider what their current country will charge them for leaving.
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Marco Mesina maps the three narrow paths to Italian citizenship that survived the Constitutional Court's ruling.
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16 countries offer real estate residency programs for investments between $30,000 and $165,000, some with citizenship pathways in as few as two years. IMI ranks every sub-$150K property-to-residency program available in 2026 by cost, timeline, dual citizenship eligibility, and passport strength.
Explore 100+ properties that qualify for residency and citizenship here.
Federico Salmoiraghi maps the wealth-type charges that Italian tax residents face on both foreign and domestic assets.
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Court rejects constitutional challenges to Italy's citizenship-by-descent reform on four separate grounds.
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Most cheap residency lists mix passive investments with active business visas. This one covers only programs where you park capital and walk away. Eleven options, four continents, one EU golden visa, all $100,000 or less.
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A jurisdiction long favored by Bitcoin holders for its territorial tax regime and non-CRS status now requires transaction-hash disclosure above US$5,000 a year.
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Spain, Ireland, and the UK killed their golden visas. Eight European programs survived. This is the full inventory.
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A US senator has filed a bill that would force every American dual citizen to pick one nationality within 12 months or lose their US passport. IMI analyzed 60 years of Maastricht University data across 200 countries to reveal why 76% of the world moved in the opposite direction, and what that means for your passport portfolio in the future.
Read the full article here.
Learn more about IMI's Official Partner, GSC International, and how the boutique global law firm's two decades of corporate practice inform its approach to RCBI.
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🌐 GSC International is Newest Official Partner
🇱🇨 PM Defends CIP After UK Suspension
🇻🇺 "Clerical Error": Russian Ban Reversed
🇫🇷 Zero Tax on US Retirement Income
💰 20 Countries with Zero Crypto Tax
🤔 What’s the Best Citizenship by Region?
🇪🇸 3 Ways to Move to Spain in 2026
🌍 28 Rules for Sovereign Individuals
🇦🇷 4-Firm Group Chosen for CBI Contract
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PM Pierre says the country has "no intention of stopping the CIP"; Deputy PM Hilaire rejects any link between the suspension and program.
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Citizenship Commission chairman says March 9 memo restricting Russian and Sudanese applicants was released in error; both nationalities remain eligible.
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Memo adds Russia and Sudan to restricted nationalities list, but a source says it may reflect internal miscommunication rather than a ban.
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An American retiree in France can owe zero French income tax on her 401(k) and US dividends. Legally. Here's how.
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20 countries offer zero or near-zero taxes on crypto capital gains, but they reach that outcome through very different legal mechanisms. Here is what each jurisdiction offers, what conditions apply, and how to establish residency.
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Here are the seven best citizenships in the world by region in 2026, and why the top-ranked passport is not always the best pick.
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Spain killed its golden visa in April 2025, but three residency routes remain open. Here's how other programs fit in.
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These 28 rules cover everything from passport diversification and tax residency planning to asset protection and location-independent income, practical principles for anyone building a life across borders.
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Argentina's CBI evaluation report is out. Four of six bidders were declared inadmissible.
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A single European residence permit can unlock visa-free or simplified access to 49 countries beyond the Schengen Zone, and some require as little as just proof of €920 per month in passive income. In this video, IMI maps the pathways (from digital nomad visas to golden visas) and compares the Schengen and US Green Card travel multipliers side by side.
Read the full article here.
Saint Lucia's CBI program registered 5,642 applications in 2023-24, up 423%, and London calls the practice "inherently high-risk."
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Denmark is considering a wealth tax 30 years after abolishing it, but Norway’s recent experiment shows how quickly capital flight and billionaire relocations can follow. In this video, IMI covers the prime minister's proposal, what happened when Norway raised its wealth tax, and what it could mean for you if you have ties to Europe.
Read the full article here.
🇱🇨 Visa-Free Access to UK Revoked
🇮🇱 How to Claim Citizenship in Israel
🇭🇰 CIES Surges 440%
🇦🇷 Exempts CBI Nationals in Tax Fix
🤔 VC: Fund Records Are Overrated
🇰🇳 FinCEN Advisory Lifted
🇨🇦 Court Rules in Favor of SUV Freeze
🇺🇸 Cuts Visa Validity for CBI Nationals
🇸🇬 GIP Processes 450 Investors in 9 Years
🇩🇰 Revives Wealth Tax Campaign
🇧🇹 World's First Blockchain Visa
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Israel’s Law of Return grants citizenship to anyone with a Jewish grandparent. But the travel document you receive depends on time spent in Israel, and the two documents open different doors internationally.
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One rule change in March 2025 triggered a 440% monthly surge. The numbers since make the first year look like a different program.
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Argentina has addressed what practitioners called the CBI program’s single largest fiscal obstacle: Automatic tax residency.
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Fernando Ferreira argues that institutional investors’ fixation on track records may be costing them the best returns in venture capital.
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Washington has given 24 EU member an ultimatum: Open your biometric databases to American border officials or lose visa-free travel. In this video, IMI reveals what data is on the table, why not a single EU government objected, and what the US government's algorithms mean for every European traveler.
Read the full article with details here.
The withdrawal closes a chapter that hung over the world's oldest CBI program for more than a decade; PM Drew credits three years of reform.
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A five-year wait, a clean file, and a court ruling that says none of it matters if the incubator falls.
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Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, and Grenada retain ten-year, multiple-entry terms; only Antigua and Dominica face the downgrade.
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Italy's Decree-Law 36 cut off 80 million people from claiming citizenship by descent, and birthright citizenship is contracting on every continent, including in the US where the Supreme Court will determine its validity. In this video, IMI covers the three most popular methods of nationality acquisition, how two are dying, and why one $20 billion market is the only path still expanding.
Read the full article here.
When the UK ended its 226-year-old non-dom tax regime, 10,800 millionaires left in a single year, taking tens of billions in wealth with them. This video and the data we found reveal where they went – Five European alternatives from Ireland's indefinite zero-fee remittance system to Italy's flat tax and Greece's investor regime.
Read the full article here.
The most detailed figures the government has ever made public on the program's outcomes arrive via a parliamentary inquiry.
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Denmark last had a wealth tax in 1997. Frederiksen wants it back, proposing a 1% annual levy on the country's richest residents.
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Bhutan's digital nomad visa has no income requirement. What it does require is unlike anything in the 50-country DNV market.
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The EU built the world's strictest privacy law. Now it's negotiating how much personal data to give US border agents.
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🇺🇸Negotiating EU Citizens’ Data
🤔 How to Add Mobility with No New Passport
🇺🇾 Tax Holiday Threshold Jumps to $2M
🇨🇦 Biz Immigration in Full Swing Despite SUV Pause
🌍 How CIPs Rank in Family Costs
🇵🇹 Moves GV Renewals Online
🇺🇸 Dual Citizenship Ban Unlikely as World Liberalizes
🌐 All the World’s Non-Dom Tax Regimes
🏛️ CBI Rises as These 2 Methods Retreat
💰 Only 10 Countries Still Tax Wealth
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A second passport is not the only way to expand your global mobility. The right residence permit can unlock dozens of additional destinations without the time, cost, or complexity of acquiring citizenship.
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Francisco Litvay warns that Uruguay is repeating Portugal’s NHR mistake. Philippe May thinks the real winner is next door.
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IMI Pro Charlie Maggi, a French citizen himself, dismantles 17 myths about France's golden visa framework, its €300,000 investor pathway, and taxes that stop most applicants cold. From a two-year citizenship route for graduates to a no-minimum-stay residence card with full Schengen access, this is the EU golden visa hiding in plain sight.
Read the full article "17 Misconceptions About France’s Residency Framework and Its Investor Visa" here.
Slava Apel argues the SUV's flaws killed it, but Canada's entrepreneur immigration model is being rebuilt, not abandoned.
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Same family, twelve programs, wildly different per-passport costs. The cheapest option depends on how many children you have.
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Think you can avoid taxes by staying under 183 days per country? The reality is far more complex, and getting it wrong could cost you fines, penalties, back payments, and a whole lot of stress. Shakira is the perfect case study. Here's what tax authorities in 5 major countries look for when they claim you as a resident.
Read the full article "Why the 183-Day Tax Rule Works Differently in Every Country" with details here.
Portal goes live amid persistent technical glitches; in-person visits limited to biometric data collection.
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The Exclusive Citizenship Act arrives six decades into a global liberalization trend that shows no sign of reversing.
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This updated flag theory framework turns compliance infrastructure into personal sovereignty across multiple jurisdictions. Learn why Americans now represent 50% of migration firms' fastest-growing demographic, how one citizenship can unlock 30 nations (not just one), and which asset architecture makes your wealth un-freezeable.
Read the full article with more details here.
The UK abolished its 226-year-old non-dom regime in April 2025, but the concept lives on elsewhere. Some countries offer distinct ways to shield foreign income from local taxation.
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Birthright and descent citizenship are retreating across the developed world. Only one acquisition doctrine is expanding, and governments keep lining up to sell it.
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Only a handful of countries still tax net wealth directly, but the details vary wildly. A guide to who pays, how much, and what counts.
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IMI has reviewed every government gazette, parliamentary record, and official tender from the last six years to compile the world's only comprehensive tracker of proposed citizenship by investment programs. This video breaks down all 14 potential schemes, from Argentina's forthcoming program now in tender review to Tonga's proposal backed by its new Prime Minister. We'll also reveal which are launching, which pivoted to residency instead of citizenship, and which have gone silent.
Read the full article "14 Countries That Have Proposed Citizenship by Investment Programs" with more details here.
Singapore. Hong Kong. USA. These golden visa price tags alone won't tell you if they're worth it. In this video, we break down the investment returns (if applicable), the citizenship pathways and passport strength, and a 5-question framework to decide if a premium golden visa makes sense for your goals and situation.
Read the full article "The World’s Most Expensive Golden Visas: Are They Worth It?" with details here.
🇳🇿 AIP Visa Records Rapid Surge
🇦🇬 PM Claps Back at EU
🌐 Flag Theory 1.0 is Dead, Long Live 2.0
🇲🇾 MM2H Closes in on $1 Billion
🇻🇨 CBI Compared to “Cocaine”: Debate Erupts
🇦🇫 Taliban Wants Foreign Investors
🇳🇱 Announces Unrealized Gains Tax
🌍 14 CBI Proposals, Only 1 Launch Date
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The April 2025 overhaul that slashed the minimum from NZ$15 million to NZ$5 million has produced a 48-fold increase in committed investment over the prior regime's total.
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The Netherlands just passed a 36% tax on unrealized gains from crypto, stocks, bonds, and ETFs, meaning Dutch residents will owe tax on paper profits they never cashed in. But real estate is completely exempt, and the government admits this isn't even the system they wanted. In this video, we break down how this tax will work works and how the rest of Europe compares.
Read the full article "Dutch Lawmakers Approve a 36% Tax on Unrealized Crypto, Stock, and Bond Gains" here.
Prosecutors never summoned key witnesses in the highest-profile case from the Al Jazeera scandal; the attorney general now signals an appeal.
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Browne uses inaugural Caribbean-EU forum to argue CBI vetting exceeds European standards; calls for engagement over coercion as Brussels and Washington tighten the screws.
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Most people building a global mobility portfolio have never heard of the settlement bloc that covers 18 million km, spans 9 countries, and offers citizenship timelines that make European naturalization look glacial. This video breaks down a few sensible entry points, costs, and trade-offs across in 4 MERCOSUR countries.
Read the full article "The Mercosur SSB: How One Passport Can Grant You Access to an Entire Continent" with all details here.
MM2H approved 9,511 participants in 18 months after managing just 1,900 in the three years prior; 2,637 property transactions remain pending.
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Gonsalves claims Washington warned SVG against CBI and a China pivot. PM Friday calls his program a "sovereign capital" strategy.
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An investor bought citizenship-eligible property for $200,000 and was offered $80,000 when he tried to sell. The citizenship by investment real estate market works that way. In this video, we break down transaction data from the Caribbean, Turkey, and Egypt to show you which CBI real estate markets let you exit and which ones trap your capital.
Read the full article "What Actually Happens When You Try to Resell CBI Real Estate" here.
Afghanistan endorses ten-year investor visa proposal as economy struggles. The question is: Will anyone actually apply?
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Six years ago, Americans barely registered in the investment migration market. But today, they've quadrupled their share and outnumber the next 4 nationalities combined. In this video, we break down the five no-presence-required residency programs attracting the most Americans in 2026.
Read the full article "Which Low-Presence Backup Residencies Americans Are Buying in 2026" here.
From the Caribbean to Central Asia and the Pacific, governments keep announcing CBI plans. Few have followed through.
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Starting January 2028, the Netherlands is set to require that residents pay tax on paper profits they have not yet cashed in, pending Senate approval.
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Swiss to vote on a population ceiling that would trigger residency restrictions as the country, now home to 9.1 million, approaches 10 million, with potential consequences for EU free movement.
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🇻🇨 to Launch CIP with Residency Mandate
🇨🇭 Votes to Cap Population
🇸🇹 Revokes Agent’s License for Discounting
🌴 How a Mercosur Passport Leads to Others
🇲🇪 Formalizes RBI Program at €150K Min
🤔 Myth of the 183-Day Tax Rule
🇱🇰 Unveils Digital Nomad Visa
💕 How to Apply for 2 Citizenships at Once
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When Caribbean nations banned Russian CBI applicants overnight, thousands turned to a forgotten 1991 Soviet treaty that offered citizenship in another country for almost nothing. In this video, we break down how this Cold War loophole worked, why it got shut down, and what it means for your strategy.
Read the full story "The Soviet Loophole That Gave 7,000 Russians New Citizenship" here.
São Tomé puts its foot down on price undercutting, revoking an agent's license fewer than five months after launching its CBI program.
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St Vincent's CIP will mandate residency. PM Friday: Not "revenue-at-all-costs" but "sovereign capital mobilization strategy."
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If you earn money from investments, businesses, or other sources, you're probably tired of watching huge chunks disappear to your government each year. Here are four countries where your tax bill stays exactly the same whether you made one million or fifty million. We'll break down what program each costs, who qualifies, and how to take advantage starting this year.
Read the full article "Lump-Sum Taxation: Countries Offering Fixed Tax Bills for the Wealthy" here.
Note: This is not investment, financial, immigration, legal, or tax advice and should not be construed as such. Consult the professionals before considering any action.
Most people think of passports as keys to a single country. But what if one passport could open the door
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The EU-candidate nation introduces a structured property-based residence pathway and a minimum tax threshold for foreign business owners.
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Think the 183 day rule lets you avoid tax anywhere? Here is why every country applies it differently.
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Cyprus charges 5% tax on foreign pensions, Italy and Greece charge 7%, and 29 countries charge absolutely nothing. In this video, we break down every country where your pension faces taxation below 10% and the requirements to qualify. Whether you're planning retirement in the EU or considering 0% tax territorial jurisdictions in Latin America, Asia, or the Middle East, this is the most complete guide to low-tax retirement destinations in 2026.
Read the full article "Countries Where Your Pension Gets Taxed at 10% or Less" here.
The threshold places the program within the mid‑range of an increasingly competitive digital nomad visa market; undercuts regional peers.
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From $75,000 to $7.8 million, Southeast Asia offers 12 investor visas or residency programs across 8 countries, but only a handful lead to citizenship. In this video, we break down each country's investment options, residency requirements, and some hidden catches, so you know exactly which program fits your goals.
Read the full article "Southeast Asian Investor Visas Compared - 2026 Guide" here for all the details.
Pursuing two citizenships simultaneously is perfectly legal. It's just that sometimes applicants create the problems that lead to rejection.
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Americans lead investor visa surge as New Zealand’s growth category draws bulk of applications since April reforms.
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🇳🇿 Active Investor Plus Visa Still Surging
📉 Guide to Lump Sum Tax Regimes
🇦🇷 Why Argentina Will Dominate CBI
🇲🇾 MM2H Property Data Underwhelms
🇭🇳 How to Reduce Your Taxes in Próspera
🇸🇦 Quietly Denying Visas from UAE
🇳🇷 Slashes CBI Costs, Offers Discount
🇶🇦 to Intro 10-Year Entrepreneur Visa
🇬🇪 to Hike Investor Visa Thresholds 50%
💣 7 Neutral Nations and How to Move There
🇦🇬 Gaming Company Entering CBI Real Estate
🇺🇸 Flocking to Low-Presence RBI Programs
🎙️ Populism Pressuring CBI to Mature
🇪🇺 Opinion: Rule Addiction Leading to Downfall
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Compare lump-sum taxation in these 3 countries. Learn the costs, requirements, and benefits of paying a fixed annual tax on foreign income.
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What if you could live abroad without having to pay a dime in taxes? 29 countries tax only what you earn locally, leaving your foreign income completely untouched. We break down which ones exempt it unconditionally, which ones tax it only when you bring money in, and which ones give you a multi-year holiday before taxation kicks in.
Read the full article "29 Countries That Don’t Tax Foreign Income in 2026" with more details here.
Brussels bullies Caribbean nations over visa policy. Try that with a G20 economy. That's a completely different conversation.
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Chinese buyers lead with 304 transactions, 41% of the total, followed by Taiwanese nationals at 91 and Singaporeans at 63.
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Honduras’s autonomous jurisdiction of Próspera introduces a crypto-friendly flat-tax residency with a seven-day annual visit.
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The visa crackdown began quietly over the past two months as Saudi-UAE tensions hit a fever pitch. Mahmoud Elwakil says the unofficial policy is "unlikely to last."
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Nauru’s citizenship overhaul: No dependent age limits, married dependents accepted, 30% discount running until June 30.
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Singapore, Japan, and the US top every passport ranking. But each citizenship comes with a fatal flaw that could cost you everything. In this video, we reveal the two citizenships that unlock 190+ countries, 6 settlement blocs, and favorable tax incentives, and how to obtain them.
Read the full article "What is the World’s Best Citizenship Combo?" here.
Qatar to launch extended residency option for entrepreneurs, aligning the program with GCC competitors.
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As tensions with the EU escalate, Georgia is overhauling its immigration system to formalize a shadow economy while hiking its property investment threshold by 50%.
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In Europe, Latin America, and the GCC, these are world's most neutral and peaceful countries to live in as the new world order takes shape.
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🇦🇷 6 Firms Bid for CBI Contract
🇺🇸 Grants Gold Card to Nicki Minaj
🤔 “Program Bundling” Next IM Trend?
🇸🇦 New Residency Path for UHNWIs
🤝 What Happens When Selling CBI Property
🇦🇩 Rewrites RBI Thresholds
⛔ 5 Reasons for CBI Rejections
📈 100+ Jobs Open on IMI Website
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Americans now dominate the client books of major investment migration consultancies. Discover where US investors are moving and investing in 2026.
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Four passports, four different legal names, one person. It sounds like a spy movie, but it's been done completely legally in dozens of countries. We break down the exact process in the US, Italy, Russia, and Japan, plus the inheritance, identity, and banking landmines that can quickly turn this strategy into a disaster.
Read the full article "Is It Legal to Have Multiple Passports with Multiple Names?" and details here.
Kemal Nicholson: When external actors can blacklist your country overnight, citizenship programs face a choice they can't ignore.
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Learn more about IMI's Official Partner, EDICR, and how the company has brought its data-heavy background expertise into CBI hotel developments.
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Europe sacrificed innovation for regulation and lost everything, writes Jimmy Sexton. Can it recover?
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After nearly 4 decades as a non-citizen, the Trinidad-born rapper says she’s now finalizing US citizenship paperwork after receiving a “free” Gold Card.
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Forget €500K golden visas. 40 countries offer legal residency to anyone who can prove they have enough money in the bank to support themselves, and some lead to citizenship in as little as two years. We reveal which programs have the lowest barriers, fastest passport timelines, and best tax advantages (plus the traps that catch most applicants).
Read the full article "Prove Your Income and Get Free Residency: 40 Countries with Independent Means Visas" and explore the visas here.
From Caribbean to MENA: four-firm consortium among six bidders for Argentina's citizenship program contract.
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Charlie Maggi explores investment migration's new baseline: CBI programs packaged with European access as clients demand layered mobility.
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Modern states don't just divide people into citizens and foreigners. Rather, they operate four-layer settlement systems that investment migration programs (like golden visas and citizenship by investment programs) accelerate in unique ways. This pyramid explains everything from program pricing to international scrutiny and residency and citizenship benefits.
Read the full article "Climbing the 4-Layer Settlement Rights Pyramid" here.
After receiving over 40,000 applications in 18 months, Saudi Arabia may further expand its Premium Residency program with Abu Dhabi-style pathways for superyacht owners and the ultra-wealthy.
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Three markets sell citizenship through property investments. Each plays by completely different rules. Knowing which matters before you buy.
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Five systematic issues account for most citizenship by investment rejections across global programs, from due diligence failures to technical documentation errors.
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Andorra passive residency jumps to €1m, but Housing Fund route offers €400k alternative.
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11% of current IMI’s Job Board listings are now fully remote. Find your borderless career on the IMI Jobs board today.
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Smart citizenship planning looks nothing like passport hoarding. Strategic combinations work brilliantly, thoughtless accumulation fails.
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São Tomé citizenship applicants span 27 countries from Russia to Venezuela. The program averaged 20 submissions monthly since launch.
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Compare Asia's top investment visas: Singapore GIP, Hong Kong CIES, Thailand Privilege, Malaysia MM2H, and more. Investment thresholds, residency paths, and citizenship options explained.
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Grenada's CIP is on track for its third best year ever, continues to cut the backlog, and has set a new historical record in Q3 of 2025.
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Nisha Mc Intyre: Constantinople's fall sparked the Renaissance. Could US immigration restrictions trigger Caribbean rebirth?
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Every country where your foreign pension faces single-digit taxation or less. Covers dedicated retiree flat-tax regimes, 29 territorial tax jurisdictions, and the EU's 10% flat-rate options in Romania and Bulgaria.
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The world's first comprehensive guide to CBI agent commissions reveals what governments pay per approved client. And of course, that gap incentivizes agents to recommend certain citizenship by investment programs to investors over others. We expose the exact commission structures across Caribbean, Pacific, and African passport programs so you know what's at stake when your agent suggests one country over another.
Read the full article "What Governments Pay CBI Agents in Commission" here.
🇺🇸 Freezes Visas for 75 Countries
🇨🇳 Deploys Tax Shaming Methods
🇩🇴 Dominican Investment Migration 101
🧗 Full Guide to Settlement Rights
💰 Are Most Expensive GVs Worth it?
🇧🇾 Lawmakers Advance CBI Proposal
🇦🇬 Included in US Visa Bond Program
🇫🇷 Tax Official Sold Crypto Investor Data
⚖️ How RCBI Rule Changes Affect Investors
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The US has suspended immigrant visas for 10 CBI countries, citing a "high risk for becoming a public charge."
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Beijing's tax crackdown uses AI surveillance and self-reporting to chase $940B in offshore assets, but can't verify amounts.
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What happens when governments double citizenship by investment thresholds overnight? There's ONE critical moment when your application becomes untouchable. We break down exactly when rule changes can hurt you, when you're protected, and how to structure your investment to minimize regulatory risk.
Read the full article here.
In this analysis, Daisy Polanco Jiménez examines Dominican residency beyond headlines, hype, and shortcuts.
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States don't divide people into citizens and foreigners. They use four layers of legal status. This is the Settlement Rights Pyramid.
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The most expensive golden visas cost millions, but are they worth it? Your passport, tax situation, and goals determine whether premium programs make sense.
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Belarus to review a draft law that would grant foreign investors Belarusian citizenship and de facto permanent residence in Russia. "Approval expected within 3-6 months," says Ilja Belobragin.
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Governments can change investment migration program rules whenever they want. This leaves you vulnerable to sudden policy upheavals. Here's how to protect yourself.
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Tax official exploited France's system to sell crypto investor data including addresses and financial records.
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The US more than doubled its visa bond list from 15 to 38 countries. Starting January 21, tourists from Tonga, Antigua, and 23 others must post $15,000 to visit.
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Most people live their entire lives trapped by a single passport, a single currency, and a single government that doesn't have their best interests at heart. These 28 rules separate sovereign individuals from everyone else. And #28 is the one that makes all the others work.
Nearly 43,000 people applied for Paraguayan residency in 2025. That's 50% more than the year before.
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South Korea proposes freezing crypto accounts on suspicion alone. One critic calls it "political intent," not real policy.
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A forgotten relic of Soviet governance created a loophole that Russians utilized once the CBI world closed its doors to them.
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Backlog fell over 4% between October and November as Greece completes 88% of 2023 applications and half of 2024's submissions.
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U-Haul data shows California and New York hemorrhaging residents to low-tax Texas and Florida. Attorney Mona Shah: "The exodus is real and significant."
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Live in Panama, earn in Europe, pay zero tax. These 29 countries only tax local income. Your complete territorial tax guide.
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From fake financing deals to bogus "EU citizenship" offers, this video exposes 8 residency and citizenship by investment scams costing investors hundreds of thousands of dollars. And we'll show you how to spot them. Learn the three-rule protection framework that separates legitimate RCBI programs from elaborate traps.
Read the full article with more details here.
* Note: No information in this video/audio constitutes financial, tax, immigration, or legal advice. Consult the professionals before considering any action.
Note: Italy has increased their flat tax to €300,000 as expected.
Life in Europe doesn't have to be as high-tax as you may imagine. Discover 13 legal tax regimes that let you live in Europe while paying under 10% – the same strategies used by the likes of David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Novak Djokovic. We break down the exact requirements, costs, and qualifying criteria for special programs in Italy, Greece, Ireland, Malta, Spain, Poland, and Switzerland.
Download the full European special tax regimes report here for free.
Maduro's capture Saturday triggered celebrations across the Venezuelan diaspora, and possibly quiet calculations about investing in a nation with the world's largest oil reserves and real estate at half its 2014 value.
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St Kitts to phase out donation-only citizenship in 2026. Nicholas Stevens calls it "the new normal," while Daisy Joseph-Andall says lower application volume may be "precisely the point."
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Washington's scrutiny of Caribbean CIPs may already be affecting travel access, with or without formal restrictions.
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Investment migration, sadly, has its fair share of scams, which could lead to loss of money, or worse. Here is how to spot some of them.
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17 EU/EEA countries offering citizenship to descendants of their citizens, and up to 30 million Americans may qualify for a second passport through ancestry alone. We break down which countries have the clearest pathways, why one date in your family history determines everything, and how to find out if you qualify before these programs change for good.
Explore citizenship by descent programs and other residency and citizenship programs in IMI's RCBI encyclopedia.
Marco Mesina breaks down Italy’s new €300,000 flat tax and why ultra-wealthy families are likely to continue choosing Italy despite the hike.
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EU citizenship sits unclaimed by millions of Americans. Mexican nationality goes unformalized by millions more.
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EU and US pressure mounts on Caribbean citizenship programs while new programs emerge in different corners of the globe.
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Most digital nomad visas function as long-stay tourist visas. These 11 programs offer something different: codified paths to PR and citizenship in Europe, Latin America, and Asia.
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Here’s a question that sounds simple until you really try answering it: What’s the world’s best citizenship combo?
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Central bank to monitor large non-resident transfers as speculative gold trading peaks at 60% of forex transactions and expat population swells.
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The newly-elected PM says the program launch remains viable despite recent US visa suspensions for Antigua and Dominica, and the EU's most serious CBI warning yet.
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A large-scale investigation has uncovered a criminal network spanning Romania, Ukraine, and Moldova using fallen soldiers' identities to fuel massive passport fraud in an European Union member state – nearly 20,000 fake citizenships since 2022.
Read how investigators uncovered the scheme at IMIDaily.com.
Foreign property purchases are cooling in Greece as golden visa investors shift to renovating idle properties to qualify at the €250,000 threshold.
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Caribbean CIPs should tighten vetting “pending discontinuation of those schemes,” reads a recent report by the EU Commission.
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Georgia might put the EU's new visa-waiver mechanism to the test amid escalating tensions over authoritarian drift and visa policy misalignment.
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Le Monde reports that nearly 20,000 Russians, Ukrainians, and Moldovans gained EU access using fake ancestral documents in a scheme involving €4,000 Romanian passports.
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With a €31,000 annual income threshold, Bulgaria enters a crowded field of European digital nomad visas with a one-year, renewable permit.
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🇬🇷 to Address GV Processing
🇮🇹 GV Applications Double YOY
🇧🇬 Launches Nomad and Founder Visa
🌐 IMI’s Top 10 Stories in 2025
🇳🇿 Attracts NZ$3 Billion in 2025
🎙️ Opinion: Reputation Outperforms Ads
🇦🇬 Secures Relief from US Pressure
🇮🇹 Confirms Tax Regime Compatability
🇧🇿 Proposes $500K Investor Residency
🇨🇦 Suspends Startup Visa
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From Norway's secretive CBI ban to Caribbean leaders scrambling to avoid US restrictions, here are our 10 most-read stories from a record 5 million readers in 2025.
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Christos Vardikos says the forthcoming bill will ensure applicants receive their residence cards with full five-year validity periods from the date of issuance, rather than backdated to the filing date.
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Alaattin Kilic explains why trust, not ad spend, has become the most valuable asset in today’s investor migration market.
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Billionaires and wealthy families use a specific system of multiple citizenships, offshore banking and structuring, and global residency to make themselves virtually untouchable. And, best of all, these tactics are legal. Watch until the end to see the full 10-step blueprint for building a life impervious to lawsuits, political targeting, financial collapse, and geopolitical chaos.
This video does not contain legal, financial, or tax advice. It's for entertainment purposes only.
Italy's investor visa applications doubled in the past two years, and one CEO believes that 1,000 applications annually is a real possibility.
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Discover the exact country-by-country strategy to legally obtain three powerful and diversified passports without spending hundreds of thousands on citizenship by investment programs. This video reveals the specific residency timelines, investment thresholds, and naturalization requirements that make this passport stacking blueprint possible for you.
IMI has created a residency and citizenship encyclopedia for you to find the right program for your needs. Search and explore 250 such programs here.
Canada suspends Start-Up Visa, officially closing at year's end, suggests new pilot program to take its place in 2026.
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American and Chinese investors lead the surge in New Zealand's revamped program as "US applicants pursue multi-generational planning," says Mischa Mannix-Opie.
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The EU's ETIAS launches in 2027 and could let the EU deny entry to CBI passport holders while technically preserving visa-free status. Moreover, 33% of industry executives already expect discriminatory enforcement. We break down how the system works, what it means for citizenship by investment holders, and whether EU residency permits now make more sense.
Read the full story "How Europe’s ETIAS Could Upend the CBI Market" here.
President Trump's administration just announced a partial US travel ban on Antigua & Barbuda and Dominica, citing their citizenship by investment programs. But several other notable Caribbean and Pacific CBI nations were left untouched. Here's what triggered the crackdown, how both governments are responding, and what it means for investors.
Learn more about this development in "Antigua and Dominica PMs Respond to US Travel Ban"
Antigua PM calls US travel ban an error, says program presents no risk whatsoever to security. Dominica seeks urgent clarity.
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Portugal's Constitutional Court struck down four nationality law provisions but upheld the one that could double your path to citizenship. Your next move depends on where you stand today. We break down who's protected, who's racing the clock, and what the president's decision means for golden visa holders approaching year five.
Read the full news story here.
New legislation allows Active Investor Plus visa holders to purchase homes worth NZ$5 million or more, effective early 2026.
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Portugal’s Constitutional Court strikes down four nationality law provisions while upholding ten-year citizenship timeline.
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Five confirmed cases of CBI passport holders have been denied entry into the country because their "investment passports" are "not valid" in the eyes of Norway.
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The Russian Golden Visa now has zero physical residency requirement as the government unobtrusively amends the law.
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Using a loophole that any Schengen country could copy tomorrow, Norway is quietly deporting Caribbean citizenship by investment holders at the border without any policy change, warning, or legal recourse. Watch to learn exactly how they're doing it, who's been affected, and why the EU could automate this ban across all of Europe.
Read the full, exclusive story about Norway quietly denying visa-free entry to citizenship by investment holders.
"We want to emulate Portugal," says Panama vice minister promoting investor visa offering simplified route to citizenship.
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Panama wants to 6x its golden visa approvals, and Vice Minister of Internal Commerce Eduardo Arango reveals exactly how they'll do it in this IMI exclusive interview from Panama City. He explains the $300K Qualified Investor Visa pathway, the light physical presence requirement, and why citizenship is finally back on the table in this Central American country.
Learn more about the Panama golden visa here.
Discover why the wealthy stack Cook Islands Trusts with Panama Foundations to create a nearly impregnable wealth protection strategy and which structure (or combination) may fit your goals. The Jerz Way breaks down the critical differences in control, cost, tax treatment, and legal strength, so you can make the right move before it's too late.
Get more details in Trusts vs. Foundations: Which One Is Right for You?
Nauru challenges the UK's decision, emphasizes robust screening, and signals a diplomatic push to restore visa-free travel.
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As Tonga’s parliament prepares to choose a new leader Monday, a leaked CBI proposal has reopened old wounds.
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Despite a low threshold by European standards, Alexander Risvas warns the program's structure may penalize investors for outcomes beyond their control.
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Leaked NSS: "Make Europe Great Again" by pulling four nations from Brussels, creating forum with China, Russia.
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🇺🇸 Launches Gold Card and Social Checks
🇵🇹 GV Investors Challenge Law in Court
🇷🇴 Kills Golden Visa Bid
🇬🇧 Rescinds Nauru’s Visa-Free Access
🇻🇨 Outlines Proposed CBI Program
🇵🇹 GV Ponzi Scheme Steals €37M
🇦🇷 Publishes Historic CBI Tender
🇺🇸 Halts Migration from 19 Nations
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The synchronized announcements are no coincidence, says Rafael Cintron.
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IMI Pro Mikkel Thorup of Expat Money reveals why he left the UAE after nearly a decade to relocate his family to Panama and how the US$300,000 Qualified Investor Visa delivers permanent residency from day one. Watch until the end to discover the surprisingly simple requirements and the one rule you must follow to keep your status for life.
Learn more about the Panama Qualified Investor Visa here.
CSAT: Golden Visa threatens Romania's Schengen, Visa Waiver, OECD goals by undermining institutional credibility.
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We lack confidence in the legitimacy of any vetting processes." UK revokes Nauru's visa-free access over CBI program.
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The last OECS nation without a CBI program outlines its multi-institutional framework as Deputy PM emphasizes accountability, regional best practices, and job creation over pure revenue generation.
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Investors have been waiting since 2021 as returns never came. By June 2025, the scheme collapsed, exposing €37M in losses.
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Argentina just published a tender that hands one investment migration firm total control over designing its citizenship by investment program – from investment thresholds and options to due diligence and step-by-step processing. Everything.
Learn more about the program and breaking news here.
The master agent will design Argentina’s entire CBI program from scratch, including investment thresholds, routes, processes, and global rollout.
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“That’s not how the Constitution works.” Legal experts question Trump’s new freeze on asylum and immigration benefits.
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Madalena Monteiro on Golden Visa investors challenging Portugal’s new law: “They simply expect to be treated fairly.”
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IMI Pro Mikkel Thorup of Expat Money has helped hundreds of Americans and Canadians relocate to Latin America and overseas. In this video, he reveals the biggest mistakes expats make, why a select few destinations top his list, and what you must know before going offshore in 2026.
Connect with Mikkel here. And explore more than 250 residency and citizenship programs overseas here.
🇺🇸 Proposes Dual Citizenship Ban
🇪🇺 Executives Fearful of ETIAS Implications
🇨🇭 Vote Crushes 50% Inheritance Tax
🇻🇨 Opinion: SVG is Ready for CBI
🌐 Trusts vs Foundations: A Full Breakdown
🇧🇭 Cuts Investor Visa Threshold 35%
🇻🇨 Elects New Leader Who Promises CIP
🇪🇬 Grants 36 Citizenships in 2025
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The phrase “visa-free access” is about to become the investment migration industry’s most expensive technicality.
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New Senate bill would force Americans with dual citizenship to choose one country within a year or lose US nationality.
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Turkey just revoked citizenship for 451 investors who fell for a scam. Additionally, one citizenship investment route just got even riskier after the government eliminated lira currency protection. Aran Hawker of IMI Official Partner company CIP Turkey reveals exactly which investment path to avoid and the only safe route he's recommended for 30 years.
Learn more about the Turkey citizenship by investment program here.
IMI Pro Federico Salmoiraghi breaks down Italy's 4 special tax regimes for foreigners at IMI Connect Rome – from the €200K flat tax (changes coming?) to the 90% deduction most people have never heard of. Watch to find out which regime fits your unique profile.
To learn about the Italy Investor Visa and your other relocation options in Italy, check out this page.
50% of industry executives doubt Caribbean CBI states will enforce 30 day stays and 75% expect new CBI programs in 2026.
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A climate tax targeting billionaires crashed hard at the Swiss ballot, upholding a national trend of rejecting proposals that threaten Switzerland’s wealth haven status.
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St. Vincent & the Grenadines just elected a new government that's promised to launch the Caribbean's 6th citizenship by investment program. And it could reshape the entire CBI market. Find out what Prime Minister Godwin Friday's landslide victory means for investors and why experts say SVG's new CIP may outperform its rivals.
Follow the breaking news here.
This analytical piece looks into foundations and trusts, detailing both, and highlighting which works best for whom.
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Philippe May says “SVG will set a new standard,” predicting its new CIP will outperform those of its more established Caribbean counterparts.
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Every country falls into one of four categories based on how it treats wealthy residents. And where yours lands determines whether you'll build wealth or watch it drain away. Discover which nations are actively courting millionaires, which are quietly bleeding them, and how to position yourself on the right side of the global wealth migration.
To find your next home country that treats you and your capital well, search IMI's 250+ residency and citizenship programs.
Bahrain's program now prices into the GCC’s lower-to-mid band, undercutting Oman and Saudi Arabia, but at nearly twice the UAE’s Golden Visa minimum.
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The opposition has repeatedly promised to introduce a CBI program in the island nation should it win the election.
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Egypt processed citizenship applications from 15 countries in 2025, approving 36 while implementing stricter verification requirements.
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“The [UNHWI] targets are bolting from California now,” says David Lesperance as union pushes 5% tax on state’s 200 billionaires.
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🇺🇲 California Floats Billionaire Tax
🇪🇸 Guide to Mbappe Tax Regime
🇰🇼 Launches Two Residency Schemes
🇬🇧 Proposes New £2.5M Investor Visa
🇫🇷 Residency Paths: 17 Myths Dispelled
🇺🇸 EB-5 Fee Increases Ruled Unlawful
🇮🇹 Proposes Nomad Tax Incentives
🇬🇧 to Fast-Track High Earners to Residency
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St Kitts & Nevis CIU Executive Chairman Calvin St Juste reveals the 3-pillar playbook that slashed revenue and cut processing times to 120 days. Discover the inside story of Caribbean CIPs' new 30-day residency requirement, the exclusive VIP concierge program for high-net-worth investors in St Kitts, and how St Juste is setting compliance standards with international partners.
Learn more about the St Kitts & Nevis citizenship by investment program and connect with a specialist here.
Kuwait, the GCC’s last mover on golden visas, is now in the game: 10-year residency for property investors, 15 years for business investors.
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Elisa de Mollinedo Suarez breaks down Madrid’s Mbappé Law and who actually benefits from the 20% deduction.
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Conservative-leaning lawmakers urge a new investor visa to retain capital, while a controversial 20% exit levy proposal looms.
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Charlie Maggi explains why France's €300,000 investor visa remains Europe's best-kept secret for global investors.
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With just two passports, you can gain the permanent right to live, work, and settle in 39 countries across Europe and South America – no visas, no permits, no questions asked. Discover the power of supranational settlement blocs that 99% of investors completely overlook. Understanding this is the secret to mobility and global citizenship.
To learn more about the world's 14 supranational settlement blocs and how to expand your mobility rights with a new citizenship, click here.
Ishaan Khanna reports that a federal judge struck down EB-5 fee increases, rolling rates back to pre-April 2024 levels.
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These eight countries treat financial success as inherently suspicious, using incentivized audits, exit taxes, and compliance nightmares to trap your wealth and punish achievement. Discover why 30% of Norway's wealthiest citizens have fled the country, how Spain's tax agents get bonuses for finding you guilty, and which countries are hemorrhaging their most productive citizens to friendlier jurisdictions.
To learn which countries will treat your talent and capital better than these eight countries, check out IMI's residency and citizenship program encyclopedia.
The measure targets remote workers excluded by stricter Impatriati rules, signaling a shift toward tailored immigration policy.
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The UK government touts the “biggest migration overhaul in 50 years.” John Kiely welcomes it but warns it may fall short on retaining wealth.
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🇳🇿 Delays Foreign Property Opening
🇨🇱 Why Chile Needs a RCBI Program
🌐 IM Winners and Losers of 2025
🇲🇾 Approves 22k Residents in 10 Years
🇦🇲 to Launch 5-Year RBI Program
🇵🇹 Sends Citizenship Bill to Courts
🇬🇷 GV Granted to Novak Djokovic
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Russia's golden visa offers permanent residency in just 6 months through blue-chip investments with surprising flexibility and growing interest from Western applicants. IMI Pro Ilja Belobragin, a featured guest at IMI Connect Rome, reveals which route saves investors a full year of waiting time.
Read more about the Russia Investor Visa here in IMI's residency and citizenship program encyclopedia.
Wellington delays the NZ$5 million real estate carve-out until 2026; experts split on whether it’s “mostly noise.”
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“Chile has the reputation and stability. What’s missing is action,” writes María Esperanza Schorr Donoso.
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2025 brought unexpected twists in the RCBI world, with once-dominant programs slipping and new contenders rising fast.
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Chinese applicants dominated MM2H approvals, followed by South Koreans, Japanese, Bangladeshis and Britons.
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Novak Djokovic just made a surprising move to Athens after years in Monaco and Marbella. And the reasons go far beyond tennis. From his kids' school enrollment to permanent residency to a €100K flat tax that could save him millions, discover what's really driving this shift.
Learn more about the Greece Golden Visa in IMI's residency and citizenship program encyclopedia.
Armenia unveils a no‑stay, five‑year investor fast track, retires “special passports,” and, as Astghik Pepanyan says, enters “uncharted territory.”
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Socialists bypass presidential action and trigger a preventive review of the nationality law, halting its entry into force.
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After 15 years in Monaco and five in Marbella, men’s tennis superstar Novak Djokovic makes a move to Greece with a real estate purchase in southern Athens.
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Most citizenship programs promise 3-6 months but take years to deliver. Even residency programs like the Portugal golden visa are backlogged 3-4 years. Philippe May from IMI Official Partner company EC Holdings reveals the only 4 countries in 2026 that process citizenship by investment applications in under 180 days – plus the real reasons why programs like St Lucia and Portugal have massive backlogs.
Sort, filter, and find the perfect residency or citizenship program for your needs and the specialist who can help you apply.
🇬🇮 Doubles PR Path Before Joining Schengen
🇨🇦 Overhauls Citizenship Law and Immigration Caps
🇺🇸 RCBI Market 4X’s in 6 Years
🇻🇺 Investigates Agents for Forgery
🇦🇷 Trump to Support Milei’s CIP?
🇲🇿 Unveils “Exclusive” Investor Visa
🇬🇩 CBI Applications Plunge But Revenue Peaks
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Ottawa sets a 250–1,000 admission range for the Startup Visa but locks in 500 yearly spots as Bill C-3 expands citizenship rights.
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When Canada cut Startup Visa organization approvals from 400 to just 10, everyone thought the program was dead. But Canada immigration expert and IMI Pro Slava Apel explains why the cap actually improved approval speeds and quality. Learn about Canada's hidden priority pathway that's processing new applicants in a fraction of the normal time.
Learn more about the Canada Startup Visa and find a specialist who can help you plan and apply for the program.
Gibraltar’s new immigration law doubles permanent residency requirement from five years to ten, full status to twenty.
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Italy's 2025 citizenship by descent law blocked millions of applicants from qualification with new restrictions including a two-generation limit for ancestral claims. Italian citizenship expert Marco Bersani reveals why thousands will bypass the ban through constitutional court challenges and what's to come in 2026.
Learn more about the Italian citizenship by descent changes here.
Half of firms in the 2025 Investment Migration Executive Survey say Americans are their fastest-growing client group.
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An Indian agent fled Vanuatu before raids as police investigate four CIIP agents for forging payment receipts.
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IMI Pro Rafael Cintron of Wealthy Expat reveals why a new form of citizenship is rapidly replacing traditional CBI programs and why countries like the UAE, Serbia, and the rest of the Balkans have become the new frontier for high-net-worth investors seeking access and mobility.
Learn more about citizenship by merit and future opportunities here.
Stephane Tajick suggests the US’ $20 billion loan may pressure Milei to abandon the CBI program or inadvertently become its best defender.
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Fewer files, richer returns. Grenada’s CBI earns record revenue per investor even as intake slows.
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Do popular havens like Dubai, Singapore, and Monaco provide the long-term legal security wealthy individuals need? Or do investors overlook other destinations that offer permanent residency and citizenship pathways, safety, and self-sufficiency? Philippe May of IMI Official Partner company EC Holdings reveals the critical factors and the jurisdictions most individuals ignore when evaluating their Plan B.
Explore these countries' residency and/or citizenship programs and the specialists who can help you plan for them.
The program will offer residency up to 10 years for the highest threshold of $5 million, placing it among the world’s priciest.
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📊 Q3 RCBI Program Processing Times Out Now
🇸🇱 Becomes World’s Most Inclusive CIP
🇬🇧 Weighs 20% Exit Tax
🌐 OECD Reveals Foreign Property Data Exchange
🇫🇷 Rejects Wealth, Citizenship-Based Taxes
🇲🇾 Unveils New Due Diligence Measures
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UK's proposed 20% exit tax could trigger a massive wealth exodus. Rachel Reeves plans to tax unrealized gains when UK-based high-net-worth individuals leave Britain, potentially raising £2B or backfiring spectacularly. Tax lawyer and IMI Pro Marco Messina warns the mere announcement may accelerate relocations as undecided millionaires won't wait for Parliament's verdict.
Learn more about the incoming levy and the industry's reaction here.
Sierra Leone now has the most flexible dependent criteria worldwide, allowing multiple families to qualify under one investment.
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IMI Official Partners Daisy Joseph Andall and Patrick Peters reveal the new 30-day residency requirement coming to all five Caribbean CIPs and why it may be an opportunity rather than a obstacle. Recorded at IMI Connect Rome, this video will expose how a unified Caribbean move could save EU visa waivers and boost Caribbean citizenship by investment programs long-term.
Learn about Caribbean citizenship by investment and 250+ other tax, residency, and citizenship programs here.
The proposed levy could take effect as soon as November 26; Marco Mesina warns that the proposal itself could accelerate capital flight.
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The OECD’s new agreement adds real estate to the global web of tax data already covering bank accounts and cryptocurrency.
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Seven countries have engineered radical approaches to personal freedom that most governments refuse to admit are possible – from abolished armies to zero income tax to citizens who can literally fire their king. These jurisdictions prove that sovereignty, wealth protection, and individual liberty can coexist when state power is limited by design.
Explore these countries' residency and/or citizenship programs and the specialists who can help you plan for them.
Socialist abstention killed citizenship tax by one vote. Lawmakers then rejected Zucman wealth tax.
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New security protocols require international background checks and intelligence screening for all MM2H applicants.
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Stephen Barnes, program architect of Sierra Leone's GO-FOR-GOLD residency initiative, reveals how 4,000 families will secure citizenship in 90 days – without traditional CBI legislation. Africa's fastest-growing economy chose special naturalization over citizenship by investment: What does this mean for the industry's future? Watch to discover the program parameters and why this non-CRS jurisdiction is attracting investors.
Learn more about the Sierra Leone GO-FOR-GOLD program here.
🇼🇸 Proposes CBI Price Cuts
🇵🇹 to Resolve GV Backlog by 2026
🇸🇹 CIP Origin Story Revealed
🇶🇦 Unveils $200K RBI Program
🇲🇹 Revokes 1st CBI Citizenship
🇵🇹 to Extend Citizenship Path to 7-10 Years
🇺🇲 Proposes Major EB-5 Fee Cuts
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André Miranda characterized the minister’s statements as “very offensive and shameless.” Madalena Monteiro finds it “hard to believe in any promises.”
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Chamber proposes SAT$2M threshold tied to creating 15 skilled jobs or 50 total positions depending on sector.
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IMI Pro Mona Shah breaks down why Trump's Gold and Platinum Card proposals are unlikely to succeed, revealing critical intel on upcoming EB-5 program changes that could raise investment thresholds. Do H-1B curtailments signal a major shift in US immigration policy? What does this mean for Chinese and Indian investors facing unprecedented backlogs?
Learn more about the US EB-5 program and find a specialist who can help.
Henseler says it took 18 months of hard work, market insight, and “a little bit of luck” to bring São Tomé’s CIP to life.
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The new threshold could give Qatar’s program a price edge over regional rivals such as the UAE, albeit with caveats.
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Jeffrey Henseler, Chairman of Passport Legacy and IMI Person of the Year 2025, reveals how he built São Tomé and Príncipe's citizenship by investment program in just 18 months. Discover the untold story of the program's lofty year 1 goals, the strict agent requirements, and what made this launch different from every other CIP in the market.
Learn more about the São Tomé & Príncipe citizenship by investment program.
Malta revoked Semen Kuksov's citizenship after he was sentenced to five years in UK prison for money laundering.
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Counting begins at residence permit issuance, potentially adding a further 2-3 years to the naturalization timeline.
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Pablo Ostrick from Holborn Pass reveals why Dubai's Golden Visa program is poised for explosive growth as 81,200 millionaires have already made the move to this low-tax haven. Learn about the 10-year residency program's requirements and why professionals expect Dubai to become even more dominant as wealthy individuals seek alternatives to increasingly restrictive policies in Europe and North America.
Learn more about the UAE Golden Visa and contact a specialist here.
Matthew Galati welcomes the proposal but argues it amounts to a concession that DHS overcharged EB‑5 investors for 18 months.
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After the European Commission ruled Malta's Citizenship by Investment program illegal, what's left for investment migration options in the small Mediterranean EU country? Malta-based IMI Pros James Muscat Azzopardi and Ryan Darmanin explain how the newly revealed citizenship by merit constitutional clause works and how investors can get involved.
Learn more about the opportunity here.
The proposal would once again place high-earning French nationals in the sights of domestic taxation rules even after they leave the country.
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🇦🇪 Offers Consular Services to GV Holders
🇪🇺 to Vote on Visa Waiver Suspension System
🇨🇦 Debuts AI at Borders. Who’s Next?
🇨🇦 Startup Visa Wait Tops 10 Years
🇫🇷 Wealth Tax in Limbo as Gov’t Collapses Again
🏆 IMI Person of the Year Crowned
🇵🇹 to Raise Property Tax on Non-Residents
🇩🇲 Unveils 4-Country Residency Rights
🇧🇼 Registers 464 in First Week Online
🌐 How to Win the 142k Moving Millionaires
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Two new proposals means the vote was postponed to tomorrow, but the death of a former PM may push it further.
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Botswana recently announced a forthcoming citizenship by investment program that will immediately rank among the most affordable in the world. Mohamed Bennis from program architect Arton Capital breaks down the program's investment options, processing time, benefits, and potential future changes in this interview at IMI Connect Rome.
For the latest news on the planned citizenship by investment program in Botswana, check out this link: https://www.imidaily.com/intelligence/botswana-cbi-program-records-464-registrations-in-first-week/
The message from Rome is clear: You can still buy certainty, but it’ll cost more. Italy’s flat tax overhaul is less about politics and more about arithmetic.
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Investment options reportedly include €400,000 in bonds, real estate, listed shares, or ASF-authorized investment funds.
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Romania just proposed a new Golden Visa program offering 5-year renewable residency for €400,000. In this video, IMI breaks down the four investment options, the murky citizenship timeline, and whether this program is actually worth it compared to other European alternatives.
For more details about the potential citizenship timeline, investment options, and more, check out the breaking news article here: https://www.imidaily.com/europe/romania-proposes-e400000-golden-visa-program/
Portugal’s Socialist Party has submitted what Madalena Monteiro describes as a “well-balanced” compromise to the Portuguese citizenship bill.
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Federico Salmoiraghi ponders whether the government’s proposal to link investment to the flat tax regime would work.
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Italy is considering increasing the flat tax rate for the second time in two years as it also debates tying it to investments.
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While the world fixates on Switzerland and New Zealand as doomsday destinations, a largely overlooked region offers something far more valuable: Guaranteed military protection, abundant food and fuel, and a 150-year track record of zero interstate wars. In this video, we reveal why geography, geopolitics, and liberal immigration policy have converged to create the world's last structural safe zone.
Learn more about our WW3 safe havens and why these 4 countries rank so highly compared to Switzerland, Canada, New Zealand, and other popular picks: https://www.imidaily.com/analysis/is-this-your-safe-haven-when-world-war-3-breaks-out/
The UK’s decision to strip Botswana of its ETA privileges coincides with the African country announcing a CIP, but officials say asylum claims are the motive.
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🇦🇪 Offers Consular Services to GV Holders
🇪🇺 to Vote on Visa Waiver Suspension System
🇨🇦 Debuts AI at Borders. Who’s Next?
🇨🇦 Startup Visa Wait Tops 10 Years
🇫🇷 Wealth Tax in Limbo as Gov’t Collapses Again
🏆 IMI Person of the Year Crowned
🇵🇹 to Raise Property Tax on Non-Residents
🇩🇲 Unveils 4-Country Residency Rights
🇧🇼 Registers 464 in First Week Online
🌐 How to Win the 142k Moving Millionaires
++
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Argentina's citizenship by investment program will likely exclude real estate options and instead require business investments, according to Philippe May, Founder and CEO at EC Holdings. Speaking at IMI Connect Rome, May revealed that officials have informally indicated they prefer "more active forms of investment than real estate." He reveals more in this analysis.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs extends citizen-level consular services to Golden Visa holders in what officials describe as a globally unprecedented move.
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The European Parliament has conducted its final vote, and now the bill moves to the Council of the European Union.
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Could Canada’s implementation of AI screening in immigration be a prelude to RCBI doing the same? Experts have their say.
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What's the ONLY European country offering residency by investment with Mediterranean beaches, Alpine skiing, world-class infrastructure, and exceptional culture all while potentially reducing your tax liability. Learn how to secure residency in under 3 months by investing in prestigious brands, gaining access to one of Europe's most coveted lifestyles without the typical high-tax burden.
Curious about Europe's special tax regimes? Check out this link for 13 low-tax programs in high-tax Europe: https://www.imidaily.com/editors-picks/2nd-edition-13-special-regimes-for-low-tax-living-in-high-tax-europe/
SUV applicants from 2022 still have to wait another three years, while new applicants face a decade long wait for permanent residency.
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France's fifth PM in two years resigns after 26 days as cabinet draws fierce criticism. Wealth tax debate remains unresolved.
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Henseler, credited with breaking the $100,000 barrier in CBI, is hailed as opening a new era of affordable second citizenship.
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“You don’t have to be everywhere this year. You have to be exactly where the right client is looking, and absolutely bulletproof when they find you.”
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Indians and Americans are the largest nationality pools to date, and 27 registrations came from within Botswana.
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PM Skerrit calls free movement “a win-win for all,” arguing it fills critical gaps while expanding opportunities for Caribbean citizens.
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Botswana's $75K CBI program will be the world's most affordable when it launches early 2026, with seemingly limited spaces available.
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Aran Hawker: “The first step into a new country should not be to defraud the government.”
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Foreign buyers make up 5% of real estate sales, says Ana Figueiras, suggesting a tax hike would scarcely improve affordability.
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Since July 2024, Indonesia has issued over 1,000 golden visa permits to investors from 61 countries, with corporate investors spearheading demand.
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Fitch has lifted Italy’s credit rating to BBB+, highlighting fiscal progress, policy continuity, and market confidence.
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🇧🇼 Reveals CIP and Sets New Price Floor
🇮🇹 Credit Signals Investor Interest
🇺🇸 McGregor Demands 100 Trump Cards
🇹🇷 Revokes Passports in Fraud Case
🇮🇩 GV Drives $3 Billion in Investments
🇦🇪 GV Surges After Reforms
🌴 Carib5 Authorize Regional Authority
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Trump’s Gold Card costs $1M per person as a contribution. McGregor wants 100 for his entourage, along with a $100M payout.
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Famed UFC fighter Conor McGregor is negotiating a US$100 million fight purse plus 100 Trump Gold Card visas for his family and friends at a White House event in 2026. But there's a problem: Each Gold Card requires a $1 million donation, bringing the total package value to $200 million and raising serious questions about who would actually pay for this unprecedented arrangement. Watch to find out what immigration attorneys are saying about McGregor's claims and whether this deal is even legally possible.
Get breaking investment migration news, opportunities, and updates before anyone else – https://www.imidaily.com/newsletter/
Botswana signed an MoU with Arton Capital to help build and launch the CIP, and development has “already started.”
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April law enabling pooled property investments drove $48.3m in golden visa valuations during August as investors pursue residency.
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PM Dickon Mitchell has announced that Grenada will host the headquarters of the new Caribbean CBI regulatory authority.
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UAE crypto holders can no longer hide from tax authorities as the Emirates joins global data-sharing agreement by 2028.
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David Lesperance explains whether executive orders are "law," and analyzes the Gold Card and H-1B policy updates.
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Miranda “father of Portugal’s constitution” labels Portugal’s citizenship bill unconstitutional. Read the full opinion here.
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PARTNER CONTENT: Learn more about the Italy Investor Visa or contact Dario Montagnese at Ariete Capital here – https://imidaily.short.gy/l0GwED
• • • • •
A lot of investors think Italy's €250k golden visa route is the bargain option, but many make a costly mistake that could wipe out their entire investment. This little-known strategy lets you secure Italian residency in under 3 months while protecting most of your capital from startup risk.
• • • • •
Get breaking investment migration news, opportunities, and updates before anyone else – https://www.imidaily.com/newsletter/
A group of Chinese investors says developers and agents duped them into funding a casino in a U.S. commonwealth that hasn’t broken ground since 2016.
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🔍 IMI Private Briefing Out Now
🇺🇲 Launches 3-Tiered, $1-5M Gold Card Program
🇦🇪 to Enter Crypto Tax Data Exchange
🇭🇰 Adjusts New CIES Investment Markers
🇺🇲 Tax Pro Examines Gold Card’s Impact
🇵🇹 “Father of Constitution” Calls Changes Illegal
🇺🇲 EB-5 Investors Allege $13M Fraud
🧲 How to Convert RCBI Leads Online
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Looking for the fastest path to a second passport? This video reveals the shocking truth about Latin America's citizenship timelines (they're the fastest in the world). Discover which countries offer naturalization in just 2 years while others take up to 10.
Get breaking investment migration news, opportunities, and updates before anyone else – https://www.imidaily.com/newsletter/
Alaattin Kilic details a repeatable system for RCBI firms to attract, nurture, and close clients through digital assets.
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Gold card goes live for $1m, corporate cards available for $2m, and non-resident $5m platinum cards coming soon.
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Hong Kong slashes HK$20 million (US$2.6 million) from the residential property threshold; Stephen Barnes calls it “tinkering at the edges.”
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Home Affairs Minister Léon Gloden tabled legislation to repeal Luxembourg’s golden visa, citing low value and high administrative burdens.
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CIES applications jumped 51% in three months, reaching 1,900 by August with HK$58B in the pipeline, tracking toward 2,400-2,800 annually.
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The current Cypriot administration has revoked citizenship from 150 people, including 41 main investors and 109 family members.
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🇱🇺 to Axe Golden Visa
🇮🇹 to Tie Tax Regime to Investment?
🇭🇰 CIES Surges in Interest
🇨🇾 Revokes 28 More Citizenships
🇪🇺 Border Biometrics Replacing Passport Stamps
🇲🇾 MM2H Continues Capital Attraction
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The EES will start with major airports, then roll to seaports and land crossings over six months before full implementation across the EU.
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Foreign Residents Pump RM84.2 Billion Into Malaysia’s Economy Amid MM2H Fraud Case
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Lesperance and Peters give insights into the world of CBI due diligence, what happens behind the scenes, and more.
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Arton Capital’s survey of over 1,000 British millionaires finds that 53% may leave the UK over a wealth tax, while 83% have considered RCBI.
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Ireland approved 538 golden visa applications in 2024, more than double 2023’s total and a record for the program.
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Alaattin Kilic: “Statistics inform. Stories persuade. Firms win trust when they combine both, but it always begins with the story.”
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🌐 How CBI Due Diligence Really Works
🇬🇧 Wealth Tax Could Trigger Mass Exodus
🇮🇪 Defunct IIP Sets Approval Records
🌐 Opinion: Why and How Stories Sell
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“I’ve watched the lira tank for 30 years […] it can devalue 100% overnight,” Aran Hawker warns potential deposit-based CBI applicants as KKM ends.
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Industry experts praise changes as Saint Kitts removes education requirements that “weren’t working” for modern families.
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IMI Connect Rome-bound Trindade on São Tomé’s CBI: Six weeks processing time, $90k investment, Dubai CIU HQ, and why energy infrastructure comes first.
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While some experts see the policy correcting a “fundamental flaw,” others argue it’s “no game changer” that won’t significantly boost demand.
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Greece is on track for about 8,600 applications in 2025, and the backlog has fallen by 4,612 applications since the start of the year.
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Alaattin Kilic highlights the gap between selling and consulting, and how trust dangles on a precarious scale between them.
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🇹🇷 Eliminates CBI Lira Protection
🇰🇳 CIU Removes Dependent Req’s
🇸🇹 CIU Boss Sits Down with IMI
🇳🇿 Lifts Property Ban for Investors
🇬🇷 Cuts GV Backlog by 10%
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The new Business Investor Visa has two investment options, one of which provides a fast track to permanent residency within 12 months.
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Korea introduces residency rules for foreign buyers, reflecting a wider trend of nations tightening property access.
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Good moral character is now vital for naturalization. And 55M visa holders, including EB-5 investors, now face continuous review.
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Officials say the program’s participants have a combined online audience of nearly 2.5 billion followers, and highlighted its positive impact on tourism and retail.
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Hong Kong’s C I E S hits HK$52B pipeline, but Stephen Barnes calls it “optics, not economics” for the city’s real economy.
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Federico Salmoiraghi highlights how foreign professors and researchers can access 90% tax relief in Italy for up to 13 years.
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Muscat Azzopardi, Major, Willis, and Aysever agree that Malta’s CBM model won’t rest on fixed-value donations or one-off payments.
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🎙️ Opinion: Trust is Firms’ Greatest Weapon
🇳🇿 Launches New Investor Visa
🇰🇷 Imposes Ban on Foreigner-Owned Property
🇺🇸 Reviewing 55M Visa Holders for “Good Morals”
🇦🇪 Golden Visa Attracts 2,415 Creators
🇭🇰 CIES Registers HK$52B in Pipeline
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Peru has exited the short list of countries with a two-year citizenship timeline, leaving Argentina as the only Mercosur member with a quick pathway to citizenship.
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New Zealand may relax its foreign buyer ban, in place since 2018, but experts doubt it will significantly boost demand for investor visas.
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The Saudi Premium Residency program approved 8,000 residents in 2024. Real estate agent Mohammed AlWahhabi said foreign residents seeking “stability and freedom” are driving the surge.
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Real estate investment has rebounded, and Turkish applicants lead. Latvia is on pace for its strongest year since 2021.
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Alaattin Kilic writes that lead generation alone no longer drives results for RCBI firms when product-market fit and clear messaging are absent.
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A court has ruled that investors must keep capital at risk for only 2 years, reducing the sustainment timeline for backlogged countries.
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Nick Stevens, Serhan Aysever, and Gokce Emer share contrasting views on the impact of a 30-day stay rule on Caribbean citizenship by investment.
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🇮🇹 90% Tax Exemption Guide for Academics
🇲🇹 Experts Examine New CBM Model
🇵🇪 Extends Short Naturalization Timeline
🇳🇿 Reconsiders Foreign RE Buyer Ban
🇸🇦 Residency Program Reveals Impressive Data
🇱🇻 Golden Visa to Growing 51% YOY
🌐 IMI Pro Unveils RCBI Lead Gen Secrets
++
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Patrick Peters and Kevin Hosam see ECCIRA boosting credibility but warn delays loom if five parliaments don’t ratify in September.
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Japan plans to hike the visa’s financial requirement to 30 million yen following the recent arrest of a visa holder accused of facilitating fraudulent applications.
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Following its 2024 overhaul, MM2H posted an 84% boost in inflows, including RM237 million in property and RM597 million in deposits.
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President Rebelo de Sousa vetoed Portugal’s immigration law after court ruled it violated family reunification rights.
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Marco Mesina warns the exodus could worsen, while Jimmy Sexton says that even wealthy shoppers now avoid the UK market, including Brits.
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Nauru CIU CEO Edward Clark confirmed that 20 applications are already in the pipeline, while agents have 20 more approaching submission.
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🌴 Insiders Examine Carib5 Residency Impact
🇺🇸 Court Eases EB-5 Timeline
🇯🇵 to Raise Business Visa Investment Req 6x
🇲🇾 Revamped MM2H Attracts US$200M
🇵🇹 Court Upholds Golden Visa Family Benefits
🇬🇧 IMI Pros Break Down Tax Policy Effects
🇳🇷 Approves 1st CIP Application, 20 in Pipeline
🌴 Carib5 Enact Regional Regulator Accord
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Citizens of citizenship by investment countries may soon need to post up to $15,000 in bonds to obtain a US tourist visa.
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São Tomé’s Dubai-based CIU will process applications in six weeks via a public-private model, offering agents US$20k commission.
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As Argentina’s category-defining CBI program takes shape, three industry experts weigh in on how to design it for maximum impact and benefit.
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A Chinese man wanted by Interpol for bribery claims Cypriot authorities didn’t notify him of his passport’s revocation, but the court found no ‘irreparable harm.’
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A single unreported tax form from years ago could now be grounds to strip someone of US citizenship.
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CBI law is now official in Argentina. The government must establish investment thresholds and complete system integration before launch.
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🇺🇸 to Require $15k Visa Bond
🇸🇹 Launches World’s Cheapest CBI Program
🇦🇷 CIP Should Be Designed This Way: IMI Pros
🇨🇾 Revokes Another CBI Citizenship
🇺🇸 Stripping Citizenship for Tax Errors
++
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The exemption card, akin to a digital nomad visa, will allow holders to stay up to 90 days and multiple re-entries, and appears to open a direct pathway to residency.
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Jean-Francois Harvey sees the potential EU visa requirement as a manageable change, not a threat to Caribbean investment programs.
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Argentina steps up its efforts to join the US visa waiver program, potentially providing a massive edge to its planned CBI program.
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CBI is “dangerous,” says the EU. Meanwhile, Germany quietly naturalizes nationals from the same countries it flags as security risks.
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Golden Visa experts weigh in on retroactivity, investor confidence, possible outcomes, and the future of the program.
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Under the new rules, 75% of investor visa funds must be in liquid and market assets, rather than “sitting idle in deposit accounts,” says James Hall.
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Malta’s fast-tracked citizenship bill would remove agents from the equation and shift to direct government applications.
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🇻🇳 Mulls Influencer Visa Exemption
🇪🇺 Visa Req Not End for Caribbean CIPs
🇦🇷 Approves CBI Framework
🇩🇪 Naturalization Data Shows EU Hypocrisy
🇵🇹 Experts Examine Naturalization Law
🇳🇿 Investor Plus Visa to Break Records
🇲🇹 Replaces CBI with CBM Model
🇵🇰 Cracks Down on UAE Visa Holders
🇦🇷 Applies for US Visa Waiver
++
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Pakistan’s Federal Tax Ombudsman has issued a warning and set a deadline for local tax authorities as it ramps up efforts to tax Pakistanis with overseas assets.
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Applicants receive five-year renewable residencies with no physical presence requirements, but the program appears to offer no path to citizenship for non-Muslims as per existing laws.
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Thailand’s influential ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra claims a $1 million golden visa could attract $600 billion in investments, but modest uptake of existing pathways tells a different story.
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Ryan Darmanin explains the new changes to the MPRP, including fee alterations and provisions allowing investors to rent out their properties.
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Easy requirements made the Destination Thailand visa popular, but administrative roadblocks may limit its appeal.
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Officials refuse to dismiss wealth tax plans despite expert warnings that most countries abandoned such levies after they failed.
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🇲🇻 to Launch $250K GV
🔎 Q2 Private Briefing Out Now
🇹🇭 Plans for $1 Million GV
🇲🇹 Intros New PRP Benefits
🇬🇧 Won’t Rule Out Wealth Tax
📊 Q2 RCBI Processing Times
🇹🇭 DNV Surpasses 35K Applicants
🇬🇩 Clears Heng Sheng
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Grenada lifts four-month suspension on Heng Sheng citizenship applications after finding no evidence of prohibited financing.
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73 investors donated €14.6 million to the museum, with €6.8 million more pledged. Cardoso says ending the program would “kill our dreams.”
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Malta ditches CIP for expanded citizenship by merit system targeting philanthropists, tech innovators, and job creators.
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Recent policy changes boost Hong Kong’s NCIES applications and approvals as officials project HK$30 billion in inflows by year’s end.
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Experts dismiss tax fears over potential Caribbean CBI residency requirements: “That argument doesn’t hold water.”
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Anastasia Barna says the old rules pushed people out. Mahmoud Elwakil says the new ones finally let them in.
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🇵🇹 GV Donation Success Story
🇮🇹 IMI Connect Rome: 30 Tickets Remain
🇲🇹 Replaces CIP with CBM Scheme
🌴 Opinion: Caribbean CIP Tax Concerns
🇭🇰 NCIES Surging
🇸🇦 Ending Foreign RE Ownership Ban
🌐 The Case for Tiered Services in RCBI Firms
🌍 Breakdown: African RCBI Programs
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Alaattin Kilic argues that investment migration firms must abandon all-or-nothing packages to build sustainable client pipelines.
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Starting at as little as US$35,000, gaining residency or citizenship in Africa is within easy reach for foreigners.
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Ruslan Kosarenko argues that the UK’s immigration framework creates a policy paradox, courting entrepreneurs while blocking entry.
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Charles Savva has dismissed opposition concerns, labelling them as “complete and total political nonsense.”
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Major advocates for a “light-touch” approach, while Arton labels St Kitts residency requirements a “vacation obligation.”
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Under new IRCC rules, speculative start-ups are out. Melissa Godmer breaks down the tougher business immigration criteria.
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🇬🇧 Failing Investors without Proper Visa
🇨🇾 Debate GV during Schengen Accession
🌐 Gain Mobility without 2nd Passport
🌴 Carib5 Introduce Residency Reqs (Experts React)
🇨🇦 Expert Breaks Down SUV Reqs
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New potential rules could force CBI applicants to stay to play, or risk losing out for failing to prove “genuine links.”
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Want more global mobility? A second passport isn’t the only way to get more visa-free travel.
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Jordan’s revamped citizenship program now accepts existing investors retroactively based on current business operations.
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UK and EU deal lets Gibraltar join Schengen, adding another route for investor migrants seeking EU mobility.
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Existing and new Elita Visa holders can save between US$15,500 and US$46,000 per dependent under the limited-time promotion.
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What do EB-5 regional centers actually do? Christina Tabacco explains their role in structuring, compliance, and capital flow.
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“A large portion of my clientele is based in the Middle East, and the conflict between Iran and Israel has had a deep impact on them.”
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🇯🇴 Overhauls CIP with New Options
🇬🇮 to Join Schengen Zone
🇹🇭 Reduces Elite Visa Fees
🇺🇸 How EB-5 Regional Centers Work
🇨🇳 HNWIs Abandoning Tradition
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The hukou once symbolized success and prestige. Luc Lu explains why that’s starting to change for China’s elite.
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Reform UK’s £250,000 “Britannia Card” would restore non-dom perks and funnel visa fees to Britain’s poorest full-time workers.
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Oman wants to boost tax revenue but says that ‘99% of the population’ will not have to pay personal income tax.
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Portugal may raise the bar for citizenship, but Portuguese Golden Visa experts warn: Nothing’s official yet.
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“A residency clause will be part of the new [CBI] law,” Drew emphasized. “Let me say that clearly, residency clause and the biometrics.”
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What makes you a tax resident in Hungary? Csaba Magyar explains the thresholds and treaty traps that ensnare new arrivals.
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“We will not be bullied”: Caribbean leaders push back as US targets CBI nations with possible travel bans.
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🇬🇧 Proposes £250K “Britannia Card”
🇴🇲 to Intro Personal Income Tax
🇵🇹 Plans 10-Year Citizenship Timeline
🇰🇳 Adds Residency Clause to CIP
🇭🇺 Opinion: Guide to Tax Residency
🇬🇩 Suffers 38% Drop in CIP Revenue
🌴 CIPs Respond Trump’s Travel Ban
🇺🇸 70K Register for Trump Card Waitlist
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“We will not be bullied”: Caribbean leaders push back as US targets CBI nations with possible travel bans.
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Lutnick adds salesman to his resume: Commerce Secretary admits he “can’t help himself” from selling Gold Cards to executives.
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In this case study, Federico Salmoiraghi dissects Italy’s tax incentives, revealing their surprising economic impact.
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Siren Chen said the current six-month DNV attracted an ‘unsatisfactory number of applications,’ prompting the expansion.
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Thailand expects crypto tax cuts to drive over $30M in mid-term revenue by stimulating investment and market activity.
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Should the final legislative steps proceed without delay, the EU’s new visa rule may take effect by the fall of 2025.
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🇹🇭 Eliminates Crypto Tax
🇮🇹 Analysis: Tax Regimes Bring Untold Value
🇪🇺 Ending CBI Countries’ Visa-Free Access
🇹🇼 Expands DNV Privileges
🇺🇸 to Ban Travel from 7 CBI Countries
🌐 Opinion: The 183-Day Tax Myth
🇳🇿 Investor Visa Surges
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Seven nations with active citizenship by investment programs face potential visa bans under a new US State Department directive.
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Marco Mesina warns that trying to live tax-free by avoiding residency anywhere often backfires with serious consequences.
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Immigration Minister Erica Stanford describes the transformation as moving from “an absolute nightmare” to a streamlined process that has wealthy investors “lining up.”
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“Thousands have been calling and asking,” said the US President as the official Trump Card website went live.
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According to Coletto, San Marino’s updated criteria are likely to deter casual applicants and attract only deeply committed retirees.
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Greece improves golden visa processing times, cuts down backlog, yet remains on track for 6th consecutive record year.
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Three-month investigation yields no over-financing evidence but removes 25 sub-agents as IMA introduces new requirements.
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Minister Amaro emphasized no plans to end golden visa program while revealing discussions on enhanced tax incentives as applications surge.
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🇺🇸 Launches Gold Card Site
🌐 IM Updates from H12025
🇸🇲 Tightens Residency Rules
🇬🇩 Lifts Heng Sheng Suspension
🇬🇷 Slims Backlog, GV Set for Record Year
🇵🇹 GV Surges Among Potential Tax Incentives
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From golden visa closures to crypto source of funds to new programs, the first half of 2025 brought a lot of change to investment migration.
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Gov’t: “We should have not allowed him in the first place” but “can’t just go back and revoke based on information that is discovered later.”
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The Thai tax proposal lets wealthy residents bring foreign earnings home tax-free if repatriated within two years of generation.
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With annual yields as high as 35%, these RCBI bond routes deliver the industry’s strongest returns.
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Cyprus approves 28,660 golden visas since 2014, Chinese and Russian nationals account for nearly two-thirds of all permits.
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Jimmy Sexton argues that U.S. tax hikes won’t drive millionaires away because expatriation costs more than staying put.
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🇹🇭 Proposes New Tax Exemption
🇻🇺 Won’t Revoke Tate’s Citizenship
🌐 6 High-Yield RCBI Bond Options
🇨🇾 Reports Strong Investment Data
🇲🇾 SMM2H’s Unprecedented Growth
🇺🇸 Opinion: Taxes Won’t Cause Exodus
🇮🇹 Finalizes “Genuine Link” CBD Limits
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Marco Mesina explores how Italy’s new law ends automatic citizenship for distant descendants without real ties to the country.
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Ministerial takeover accelerated SMM2H: 1,901 approvals in 5 years versus 1,240 in previous 13 years under Immigration control.
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The EU banned the commoditization of citizenship through CBI. Now, it will get the commoditization of citizenship through CBM instead.
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CIES applications continue to surge after government’s policy changes, monthly application average now at 85.
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Argentina’s government is introducing a CBI agency as part of its upcoming immigration reform. Details to follow next week.
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US ‘bullying’ turning off Chinese emigrants as other countries gain favor, says Henry Fan
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Patrick Peters discusses his plans to create a new RCBI program, expedite case processing, and how to plan the perfect April Fool’s prank.
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🇦🇷 Planning Top-Tier CBI
🇪🇺 CBM: CBI’s Replacement?
🇭🇰 CIES Registers Surge
🇨🇳 Investors Pivot from USA
🇮🇹 “No-Risk” Dolce Visa Growing in Appeal
🇷🇺 Shared Values Visa Drawing Interest
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Krista Victorio examines Italy’s Dolce Visa, full of promise, but in need of lessons from Portugal and Greece to reach its full potential.
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Germans lead SVV applications with 224 submissions, reflecting the broader dominance of European countries in the applicant pool.
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David Lesperance predicts wealthy will flee Australia over unrealized gains tax: “super rich are no longer sticky.”
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CBI is not a luxury bespoke privilege. It’s a product. The clearer and more reliable the offering, the stronger the market.
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In unprecedented release, AIIA’s FOIA request yields the first complete set of EB-5 filing data, exposing the true scale of visa backlogs.
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The regional regulatory framework culminates efforts that began in 2023, driven by increasing international scrutiny of CBI programs.
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🇦🇺 Tax Plan to Cause “Millionaire Exodus”
🌐 Opinion: CBI is a Product
🌴 Carib5 Oversight Body Advances
🇺🇸 EB-5 Bottlenecks Exposed
🌴 EU/US Demands of CBIs “Moving Targets”
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“Perhaps a divisive figure, but President Trump and his bold move with the New US Gold Card Program have definitely shaken things up.”
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“The Caribbean has done its part.” Daisy Joseph Andall discusses political pressure on Caribbean CBI programs, calls for a narrative shift.
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After cutting non-dom tax benefits and losing thousands of millionaires, the UK gov’t hopes to attract wealth with a new investor visa.
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Musk: “We’re testing the Trump Card visa to make sure the system works properly.” Public rollout to begin “once it is fully tested.”
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To “get rid of EB-5, you’d need an act of Congress,” Mona Shah unpacks how Trump’s gold card could impact the EB-5 program.
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The 13 special tax regimes that allow you to pay single-digit tax rates in 8 otherwise high-tax European countries in 2025.
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🇬🇧 Pondering Investor Visa
🇪🇺 Opinion: Didn’t Rule Out CBI
🇺🇸 Trump Card in “Quiet Trial”
🇪🇺 13 European Tax Regimes
🇻🇨 62% Support CIP
🇺🇸 Opinion: EB-5 Killed Only by Policy
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Survey indicates 81% prefer jobs from a CBI economy over unemployment; 68% don’t see citizenship sales diminishing national identity.
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At IMI Connect Athens, industry veterans James Muscat Azzopardi and Eric G. Major weighed in on the ECJ’s Malta ruling.
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Musk leads implementation of the Gold Card through DoGE, while testing confirms integration across CBP, State Department, and USCIS systems.
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Geneva is the top destination for Switzerland’s lump sum tax residents while Russians make up the largest applicant nationality pool.
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The non-dom may be dead in the UK, but Marco Mesina shows its legacy lives on globally from Thailand’s beaches to Singapore’s skyscrapers.
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🇺🇸 Trump Card Advancing
🇨🇭 Tax Regime Residents Up 22%
🌐 Where to Go After UK’s Non-Dom Killed
🇮🇪 World’s Most Valuable Citizenship?
🇻🇺 CIIP Amounts to Rise 20%
🇨🇾 Case for Cyprus’s Residency Program
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What makes a citizenship valuable? James Nuveen analyzes why the Irish passport is the world’s most coveted travel document.
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Vanuatu increases CIIP investment thresholds by 15-20%, as single applicant contributions rise from $100,000 to $115,000.
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Demetris Demetriades: The government is looking at the Cyprus Residency Programme, “but within the context of regulation, not cancellation.
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Central Asia on the rise? Kazakhstan follows neighboring Uzbekistan’s footsteps and launches a new golden visa program.
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The government has expressed concerns about foreign agents’ influence, and “strongly rejects any arrangement that compromises sovereignty.”
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“Encroachment on national sovereignty” and a return to “Blut und Boden” nationalism: industry experts react to ECJ’s citizenship ruling.
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🇪🇺 Invalidates Malta CBI
🇰🇿 Launches Golden Visa
🇸🇧 Comments on Potential CBI
🇺🇸 Exodus Reaches Fever Pitch
🌐 Opinion: Why Boutique RCBI Firms Win
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Malta commits to “bring framework in line with judgment” while defending economic benefits of citizenship program after ECJ defeat.
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The ECJ has ruled in favor of the EU, invalidating Malta’s citizenship by investment program.
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Alaattin Kilic shares his thoughts on why he believes boutique firms are winning the RCBI advisory race one client at a time.
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As the market awaits the ECJ ruling, fresh data show Maltese CBI application volume is recovering.
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“One of the biggest challenges is keeping up with an ever-changing regulatory landscape […] In this industry if you fall behind, you lose.”
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In 2024-Q3, 2,123 wealthy Americans renounced citizenship accounting for 44% of the year’s total, the highest quarterly figure since Q4 2016.
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In an op-ed for IMI, Saint Kitts CIU Chairman Calvin St Juste discusses the program’s transformation, refunding Russian applicants, and more.
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Six months after Siren Chen’s cautiously optimistic assessment, the HK$10.5B in approved investments suggests her confidence was well-placed.
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CitizenX has acquired Plan B Passports to mark the second high-profile investment migration M&A transaction in the past two years.
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🇭🇰 CIES Receives $10.5 Billion Influx
🌐 CitizenX Acquires Plan B Passport
🇺🇿 Launches Donation-Based GV
🇰🇳 Opinion: SKN CBI is a Trap
🇻🇨 PM Claims RCBI Firms Funding Opposition
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The new program, which will require a donation starting at $250,000, will come into effect on June 1, 2025.
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Vasily Istomin, documenting his ongoing wait for a St Kitts CBI refund, offers advice to potential citizenship by investment applicants.
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PM claims Chinese and European RCBI firms backing NDP to gain access to SVG’s high-ranking passport through a new CBI program.
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New Zealand’s investor visa starts off with 44 applications, 7 approvals, and at least NZ$260 million in investments in just two weeks.
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For a long time, Uruguayan passports of naturalized citizens were useless for international travel. The government has now fixed that.
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🇳🇿 Investor Visa Garners NZ$260 Million in 2 Weeks
🇺🇾 Passport Fix Impacts 16K Citizens
🇺🇸 Opinion: Will Trump Card Fix Debt?
⏰ Q1 Processing: Caribbean CIP Exceeds 15 Months
🇨🇭 Votes on 50% Inheritance Tax
🇵🇹 Coalition Wants More Residency Req’s for GV
🇮🇹 Residents Can Utilize 2 Tax Regimes
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David Lesperance breaks down the four types of “Trump Card” clients to determine whether Trump’s program can solve the US debt problem.
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Philippe May says the proposal will “fail colossally”. Yamin Fouzi warns that the mere hint of such a policy damages the Swiss reputation.
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These proposals remain only campaign positions—no draft legislation exists yet for citizenship reforms.
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“There’s too much noise in the investment migration space — recycled content, unclear legal advice, and overly aggressive sales tactics.”
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Marco Mesina details how a new ruling unexpectedly allows taxpayers to opt for multiple special tax regimes in the same fiscal year.
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Saint Kitts & Nevis CIU blacklists two major firms for marketing citizenship “below statutory minimums.”
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With a simple bank statement, 40 countries will give you residency. James Nuveen breaks down the world’s most overlooked visa type.
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🇰🇳 Revokes 13 Passports, Blacklists 2 Agents
🌐 40 Countries with Free Residency
🎨 Opinion: Why IM Firms Struggle with Trust
🇻🇳 Proposes Golden Visa
🌐 13 Ways a Passport Can Ruin Your Life
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Kilic argues that investment migration firms struggle to build credibility because they view branding as mere decoration, not strategy.
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Vietnam may join Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia in offering long-term golden visas as regional competition intensifies.
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More passports = more freedom? In a tax- and surveillance-happy world, James Nuveen claims your citizenship could be your biggest liability.
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Unlike marriage citizenship pathway with “no due diligence,” Hilaire defends CIP’s rigorous vetting as government plans program overhaul.
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The pass allows six-month stays with potential six-month extensions, and the government promises 5-day processing.
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High Court judge rules against “draconian” suspension of solicitor’s investor visa work over unproven complaint allegations.
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While the UAE leads with its Golden Visa, other GCC nations are quickly catching up with competitive investor residency pathways.
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🇱🇨 Aims for “Exclusive, High-End” CIP
🇮🇹 Restricts Citizenship by Descent
🫢 EU Golden Passport Announced
🇪🇺 Bill to Cut CBI Countries’ Visa-Free Access
🇲🇾 Introduces 1-Year Investor Pass
🇮🇪 Judge: Lawyer Can Process Golden Visas
🐪 Guide to GCC Residency
🇳🇬 Tables CBI Bill
🇦🇬 Refutes USA’s “Security Threat” Notion
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Antigua & Barbuda reveals it sends “every CBI program application to the US” and that the program is no threat to US security.
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April 1st: Questioned on the price tag, Von der Leyen retorted that “European values should cost at least twice as much as Trump’s gold card.”
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Kyle Kirkegaard of Empowered Startups is “surprised that the Portugal Golden Visa Program continues to be popular.”
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Italy will no longer allow foreign-born descendants of Italian emigrants to inherit citizenship unless they can prove a recent genuine link.
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CBI nations’ sovereignty over naturalization rights collides with EU’s authority to determine who enters its borders.
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The ruling APC’s majority in the House and Senate helps the bill’s prospects, and Deputy Speaker Kalu’s sponsorship signals strong support.
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Strict policies, annual quotas, and high financial demands make these residency options the hardest to secure in Europe.
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🌐 5 Premium European Residency Programs
🇪🇺 ETIAS Delayed Again
🇺🇸 1K Gold Cards Sold
🇬🇩 Suspends Heng Sheng
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The EU aims to partially enforce ETIAS in April 2027, while the system would become fully mandatory in October.
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Lutnick revealed that Elon Musk is developing the software for the program. Donald Trump is already thinking about renaming it “Trump Card.”
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IMA will reject all Heng Sheng applications if investigations reveal evidence of owner financing or under-selling citizenship investments.
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Chinese nationals lead both the Federal and Sarawak MM2H programs, accounting for a total of more than 15k applications.
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US State Department: “There is a review to look at the nature of what’s gonna help keep America safer when dealing with the issue of visas.”
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St Kitts joins Hong Kong in recognizing digital assets as wealth proof but requires additional verification protocols and due diligence fees.
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🇲🇾 Sarawak MM2H Tightens Screening
🇰🇳 Intros Crypto as Source of Funds
🇺🇸 State Dept Denies Travel Ban List
🇻🇺 Suspends CIIP Indefinitely
🌴 Caribbean Leaders Respond to USA Travel Ban
🇭🇺 GIP Registers Just 25 Permits
🌐 8 CBI Countries on USA Travel Ban List
🇺🇸 “Gold Card” #2 Most Expensive Golden Visa
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One expert anticipates a potential price increase to align with EU requirements and match adjustments in Caribbean programs.
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No formal communication echoes across the Caribbean as leaders demand answers after finding their nations on a reported US travel ban list.
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From 192 visas to just 25 permits: Hungary’s investor program reveals significant drop-off in completed applications.
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Eight CBI jurisdictions feature on reported US travel ban lists. Their nationals may face the possibility of partial US visa suspension.
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Donald Trump’s Gold Card is expensive, but would it be the priciest investment migration program in the world?
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The ability to revoke citizenship ranks among the most powerful tools a state wields, a practice documented from ancient societies to contemporary nations
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🇵🇹 Russian GV Investment Surges
🌐 A History of Denaturalization
🇻🇺 Cancels Passport of Indian Mogul
🇰🇬 Cancels Russian Citizenship Route
🇵🇹 Cultural GV Donations Up 165%
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Rebolo explains current approvals represent investments made “3-4 years ago,” not new Russian capital entering Portugal.
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Vanuatu PM orders cancellation of Modi’s passport, citing suspicions that the former IPL founder sought citizenship to avoid extradition.
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The Quadrilateral Agreement allows pre-1991 Soviet-born applicants to get Kyrgyz citizenship without ever having lived in the country.
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The cultural option grew rapidly in 2024, collecting nearly €12 million in investments—€7.5 million more than the €4.5 million raised in 2023.
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Grenada rejected six applicants in late 2024 and two in 2025 for illegal CBI financing. A third denial is imminent, and one citizenship revocation is in process.
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Since its inception, the MM2H program has granted residency to nearly 60,000 applicants, cementing its status as one of the leading programs in the region.
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🇬🇩 Revokes Discounted Citizenships
🇺🇸 Opinion: Gold Card, EB-5 Can Coexist
🇲🇾 MM2H Remains Popular
🇮🇹 How To: Pre-Approval for Flat Tax
🇺🇸 Gold Card to Destroy EB-5?
🌐 Opinion: CBI Is a Misnomer
🇺🇸 Experts Weigh “Gold Card” Constitutionality
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Richard Hallam warns against marketing citizenship programs primarily as financial investments with unrealistic returns.
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Could the Gold Card replace EB-5? Galati & Chavez examine the legal framework and political realities of Trump’s ambitious proposal.
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Marco Mesina explains how taxpayers can secure pre-approval from Italian tax authorities before relocating to benefit from Italy’s flat tax.
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Mona Shah details the legalities that oppose Trump’s plan to scrap EB-5 and analyzes the potential impact on investors.
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Experts divided on Trump’s Gold Card proposal: Streamlined path to citizenship or constitutional overreach? Our analysis unpacks the debate.
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Trump will put an abrupt end to four decades of EB-5 in favor of a simpler but higher-priced donation-based route to US permanent residency.
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🇺🇸 EB-5 to Be Replaced by “Gold Card”
🇳🇷 CIP Receives First Applicants
🇷🇺 Golden Visa Attracts Few Applicants
🇱🇨 Former PM to Block Galaxy CIP Applicants
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If the CIP manages to achieve its annual target of AU$60 million, it would account for 20% of all government revenue.
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Georgian officials hope to raise €1 billion through citizenship by exception. Market observers urge caution.
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Rough start for Russia’s golden visa: Numbers tumble from 24 to 14 investors year-on-year. 2025 opens with only two applications.
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If the opposition leader is successful, a court order could suspend 5,000 CBI applications under Galaxy’s project in Saint Lucia.
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Reaching figures nearly double the last all-time high, Panama shattered all previous investor visa approval volume records in 2024.
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🇵🇦 Sets Investor Visa Records
🇸🇾 CIP Applicants to Undergo Strict Due Diligence
🇲🇹 Citizenship Sales Linked to EU’s Threats
🇺🇸 EB-5 Risks: A Complete Guide
🌐 RCBI News that Didn’t Make the Headlines
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A belatedly released statistical report reveals the European Commission’s threats against Malta materially harmed its CBI revenue.
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Christina Tabacco examines the tradeoffs between increased EB5 regulatory burden and revised processing approaches under the reformed program
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The latest updates in Passport Potpourri cover sweeping citizenship purges, stalled reforms, new residency hurdles, and more.
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IIUSA lawsuit challenges USCIS rules on EB-5 investment periods, splitting industry between regional centers and investor advocates.
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The Caribbean Five continue to build on their MoA and now aim to address another one of the six principles by establishing a regional regulator.
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The Hong Kong Investment Promotion Agency confirmed two Chinese investors proved US$3.8m in Bitcoin and Ethereum to qualify for the CIES.
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🌴 Caribbean CIPs Launch Regulator
🇺🇸 EB-5 Program Fights Lawsuit
🇭🇰 Confirms Crypto as Proof of Funds
🇮🇹 To Vote in Citizenship Referendum
🇳🇿 Eases Rules on Investor Visa
🌐 Opinion: IMF’s RCBI Report Limited in Scope
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2.5 million foreign residents hang in the balance, Mesina notes, as Italy considers its most consequential citizenship reform in decades.
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“No one has ever invested 15 million actual dollars”: New Zealand admits investor visa rules were “an absolute nightmare”.
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While dismissing RCBI’s investment impact, IMF’s own regression analysis shows positive correlation with higher approval rates.
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Raquel de Matos Esteves and Safak Nervo welcome AIMA’s new measures, but caution that implementation will determine the program’s success.
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In this comprehensive guide, Gilberto Leonello explores all of Brazil’s immigration options covering investment, retiree, work visas, and more
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🇧🇷 7 Ways to Get Residency
🇵🇹 AIMA Accelerates GV Processing
🇦🇺 Opposition Proposes Revival of Investor Visa
🇯🇴 300+ Citizenship Investors Since 2021
🇬🇷 GV Backlog Nears 50,000
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Peter Dutton plans on reviving the visa, although he didn’t share a detailed plan. James Hall isn’t sure if this is true or a publicity stunt.
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Jordan’s CIP averages 76 approvals a year since its launch, but Fahed AlShoumari argues “the type of investment matters” beyond pure numbers.
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Greek golden visa backlog grows 76% as program processes only 17% of 2024 applications amid record-breaking demand.
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Marco Mesina examines how Italy’s recent tax changes affect global investors and part-time residents in 2024.
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David Lesperance explains how long-term residency in British Overseas Territories can lead to British citizenship.
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New Grenada citizenship by invitation program cuts wait times by 50% and includes annual advisory sessions with Prime Minister Mitchell.
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Court rules paperwork irregularities did not constitute fraud under Cyprus's CIP, but convicts real estate CEO of concealing apartment sales.
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“Hearing that they [client] had survived and are now thriving was deeply moving and reinforced the vital importance of the work we do.”
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🇮🇹 New Tax Rules Could Impact HNWIs
🇬🇧 How to Get British Passport via Territories
🇬🇩 Launches Citizenship by Invitation
🇨🇾 Passport Trial Acquits Five, Convicts Two
🇺🇸 Birthright Citizenship Faces Trump Challenge
🇱🇺 Investor Program Under Review
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Millions face uncertainty as administration plans to deny passports and benefits to those it deems ineligible for citizenship under new order
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Luxembourg rejected 4 of 6 applicants in 2023-24 and now aims to follow the Netherlands in closing its program, which drew minimal interest.
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57% of Startup Visa applications await eligibility review as Canada ramps up processing speed, clearing 5,633 cases in 2024.
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Despite only receiving 420 applications in 2024, Grenada’s CIP processed a record 1,676 files, naturalizing 5,443 people, and generated US$413 million.
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Management diverted funds meant for IIP social housing to private development, and investors are trying to get it back by seizing the company.
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Since the Labour Party’s budget overhaul, the UK has seen a 157% rise in millionaire departures, second only to China.
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“Exhausted by the bureaucratic stalling, several affected individuals have begun to organize collective efforts to demand the return of their money.”
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🇨🇦 Canada SUV Sets Record in 2024
🇬🇩 Grenada CIP Breaks Record
🇮🇪 Chinese IIP Investors Lose €9 Million
🇬🇧 UK Millionaires Leaving at Staggering Pace
🇰🇳 SKN CBI Applicant’s Collective Refund Effort
🇰🇼 Kuwait Revokes 5K More Citizenships
🇦🇪 Dubai Launches New GV for Creators
🇹🇭 Thailand Eases LTR Visa Rules
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“The surge in interest from the US market” is surprising. “It’s fascinating to see how US investors increasingly seek European residency”
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Of the 5,838 citizenship revocations, the vast majority target naturalized wives, while 128 involve fraud, and four hold dual nationality.
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Dubai’s new Golden Visa program targets 10,000 influencers, podcasters, visual artists, and digital creators through its Creators HQ initiative.
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Thailand has scrapped the income requirement for one of the LTR’s categories, removed the dependent cap, and introduced sweeping changes
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PM Sánchez: “The west faces a decisive challenge: to not become a society divided into two classes, the rich landlords and poor tenants”
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British Virgin Islands Premier Natalio Wheatley said that a new RBI program is in the works, but it will have no path to citizenship.
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Fewer than two weeks after Romania and Bulgaria joined, Cyprus announces its plan to join the Schengen Zone in 2025
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🇪🇸Spain PM Proposes 100% Tax
🇻🇬BVI Premier Plans for RBI Program
🌐70% of Top RCBI Programs Report Efficiency Bumps
🇨🇾Cyprus to Join Schengen Zone in 2025
🇪🇸Catalonia Registers Impressive GV Data
🇭🇺How to Convert Hungary GV to PR
🌐Q4 Private Briefing Out Now for IMI Pros
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Barcelona issued the majority of Catalonia’s Golden Visas as the region registers its best year in terms of investments since 2020.
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Most RCBI programs speed up processing in Q4, but at least one agent reports a Caribbean CIP taking 20 months to process an application
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Continuous residence, healthcare coverage, and social coexistence: Csaba Magyar outlines Hungary’s permanent residency requirements.
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The new options shortcut the path to Sierra Leone’s citizenship from eight years to only 60-90 days.
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Hong Kong scraps sole ownership requirement and expands qualifying assets under new CIES guidelines
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Jacinto Soler-Matutes ponders whether Spain’s Entrepreneur Visa can fill the Golden Visa shaped void.
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🇸🇱 Sierra Leone Launches 90-Day CIP
🇭🇰 Hong Kong Relaxes CIES Rules
🇪🇸 Expert: Death of Spanish GV Opens Door for Other Visas
🇺🇸 US Bill to End Citizenship-Based Taxation Dies
🇹🇷 Türkiye Ends Forex Protection for CIP Depositors
🇪🇸 Spain Sets GV End Date
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The tax bill would exempt overseas Americans from US taxation and exit tax requirements, but experts say bill passage is unlikely.
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Turkey has ended the FX currency protection scheme that guarantees CIP deposits. “It was literally a free passport,” says Ahmet Sener.
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After months of internal deliberation and legislative maneuvering, the Spanish government has finally ended the golden visa.
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Cyprus has unveiled major improvements to its startup visa program, making it considerably more attractive to foreign entrepreneurs.
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The government aims to protect 3,000 property deals potentially worth €750m from falling through
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HKIC will divide HK$600 million equally among the four managers next quarter. Siren Chen says the government seeks “optimal returns.”
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🇨🇾 Cyprus Eases Startup Visa Rules
🇬🇷 Greece Extends GV Property Deadlines
🇭🇰 Hong Kong CIES Appoints Fund Managers
🇦🇪 Abu Dhabi Launches GV for Yacht Owners
🇺🇸 US EB-5 Program Breaks Records
🇦🇺 Opinion: Australia’s NIV the Real Deal?
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Abu Dhabi launches first-of-its-kind golden visa for superyacht owners (40m+) and top maritime executives.
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Varvara Latyntseva: USCIS processing efficiency increases by 150% while I-526 pending petitions fall under 10,000 for the first time in years.
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Siren Chen compares the NIV’s nomination process to similar programs in Canada and the United States, noting distinct requirements
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Sam Bayat examines how the current government’s policies have created massive challenges for the Canadian immigration system.
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Indonesia says Golden Visa averages US$1.2M in investments per application, brings in over half a billion USD in first 4.5 months
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From Malta’s ECJ battle to Kuwait’s war on dual citizenship- 2024’s investment migration cliffhangers leave us guessing what’s next.
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🇨🇦 Opinion: Canadian Immigration “Mismanaged”
🇮🇩 Indonesian GV Shock Windfall
🌐 IMI’s Biggest Cliffhangers & Most Read Stories
🇰🇳 92% of Underpaying St Kitts CBI Citizens Yet to Pay Up
🇭🇺 Hungary Scraps Real Estate GV Option
🇪🇸 Spain Votes to Eliminate GV by March 2025
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101 St Kitts CBI investors remain silent as citizenship revocation deadline nears – just days left to respond or lose their passports.
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Hungary takes direct real estate option off menu days before slated opening. Move likely aims to safeguard program integrity and reputation, say experts.
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Spain’s Golden Visa program will officially end following Congress’ final vote. Soler-Matutes expects complete closure by March 2025.
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From Russia’s “anti-woke” visa and El Salvador’s “free passports” to Caribbean CBI revocations, these were IMI’s most-read stories in 2024.
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David Lesperance lists his 2025 predictions for investment migration, covering both “known and unknown knowns” of the global market for RCBI.
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Melissa Godmer: Why entrepreneurs may need to prove business success before permanent residency in 2025. Plus 3 more key predictions
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🌐 Opinion: 2025 IM Predictions
🇺🇸 MSR Media Drops RICO Lawsuit
🇨🇦 3 Predictions About Canadian Immigration
🇱🇨 St Lucia CIP Alleges MSR Settlement Bid
🇰🇼 Kuwait Revokes 12k Citizenships
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Saint Lucia characterizes MSR Media’s lawsuit as “a failed attempt to threaten, embarrass, and extort” the citizenship program
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The latest wave of revocations includes 2,863 dual citizenship holders as Kuwait launches a hotline for reporting dual citizens.
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MSR Media drops federal lawsuit against Caribbean officials over immunity, claims evidence sent to DOJ and FinCEN
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James Hall says the government will drop English requirements, add new investment options, and maintain access to new property developments
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The EU Commission also revealed that North Macedonia has received five economic citizenship applications but is yet to process any.
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Caribbean CIPs have registered 59,258 applications since 2014. Chinese investors drop out of top spot in 2023-2024
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An overview of San Marino’s 17% corporate rate, progressive personal taxes, and specialized regimes for startups, maritime firms, and holdings
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🇳🇿 New Zealand to Revise Investor Visa
🇲🇪 Montenegro to Revoke Citizenships of Sanctioned Individuals
🌴 EU Data Reveals Caribbean CIP Trends
🇸🇲 What to Know about San Marino Tax
🇻🇺 Vanuatu CIP Resilient Amid EU Visa Changes
🇹🇷 Turkey CIP “Correct,” Says Minister
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This digest includes new digital nomad visas in Central Asia, Italy revising its CBD guidelines, St Kitts waiving China apostille rules
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Vanuatu’s citizenship program is on track for US$60 mil in 2024 revenue, though the new Nauru CIP could reshape the Pacific CIP landscape
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Former minister Soylu maintains Turkey’s $15B citizenship program “is correct,” bringing investment and employment to the country.
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St Kitts tells CBI citizen who bought at discount to pay the difference by the end of the month or lose citizenship.
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HKIC targets HK$300 million for its CIES investment portfolio by year-end, sets December deadline for fund manager applications
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PSOE pushes ahead with golden visa termination despite Senate veto. Final Congressional vote expected mid-December
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Program opens for applications on Dec 7. Lifetime residency, 40-day approval. Agents earn $12K per approved client.
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🇰🇳 St Kitts to CBI Citizen: Pay Up or Lose Citizenship
🇭🇰 Hong Kong CIES Opens to Fund Managers
🇪🇸 Spain Senate Vetoes GV Termination Bill
🇸🇱 Sierra Leone Launches Gold-Backed Residency
🇱🇻 Latvia GV Registers Uptick
🇬🇷 Greece Shrinks GV Processing to 3 Months
🇸🇲 San Marino Residency Doubles Requirements
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Business investment applications account for 74% share of Latvia’s Golden Visa program as Chinese investors take top spot
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Katerina Saranti explains how Greece slashed processing times from 20 to 3 months, and what investment tier is the hottest right now
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San Marino raises foreign retiree income threshold to €120k and asset requirement to €500k. New rental rules limit shared contracts.
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670 investors applied for Hong Kong’s revamped visa program in 9 months, projections show it may reach only 18% of annual target
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Saint Lucia stripped Junjie Su of his citizenship after he was convicted of money laundering and sentenced to 14 months in prison.
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Cyprus revoked CIP citizenships for false statements, criminal records, and failure to maintain investments
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EU Parliament says “this is the first time ever the EU has revoked a third country from the visa-free list.”
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🇭🇰 Hong Kong CIES Applications Slow
🇪🇸 Spain Approves 70% Fewer Golden Visas in 2024
🇱🇨 St Lucia Joins Neighbor CIPs, Revokes Citizenship
🇻🇺 EU Ends Vanuatu’s Schengen Visa Waiver
🇪🇸 Opinion: Optimism for Spain’s Golden Visa
🇰🇳 St Kitts PM Labels Martinez “Extortionist”
🇨🇾 286 Cypriot Citizenships Revoked, More to Come
🇪🇸 Expert: Full Timeline for Golden Visa Termination
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Pierre-Marc Lecompte: “Valencia’s streets are still drying out after severe flooding, and Spain’s political climate isn’t much calmer”
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US Investors, who account for less than 10% of Chinese investors, contributed more than double in pure investment terms.
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PM Drew says individuals representing Martinez told him directly to pay “$40-$100 million to make the case go away.”
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Dr Jacinto Soler-Matutes anticipates closure of Spain’s Golden Visa program in May 2025 and warns of costly mistakes for potential applicants
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Thailand Privilege Card new memberships growth drops to 7,305 in 2024 after hitting 11,245 in the previous year.
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USD5K annual agent license, USD25K commission per file: Nauru’s new CIP details revealed in an interview with IMI.
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Malta’s MPRP will roll out higher thresholds for real estate, rent, administration and dependent fees, and donations on Jan 1st, 2025
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Chinese and UK applicants lead the pack as 450 successful applicants secure Sarawak RM90 mil in deposits ahead of the upcoming changes
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Following BLS’ acquisition of Citizenship Invest for $31M, Vancis Capital merges with Global Residence Index in deal valued at €21M
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“Wealth taxes failed before because governments didn’t know what people owned. Now they do,” cautions Jimmy Sexton on RBOs
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🇳🇷 Nauru CIU Chief Reveals Details
🇲🇹 Malta Residency Program Raises Fees
🇲🇾 Sarawak’s MM2H Reports Impressive Growth
🤝 Another 8-Figure IM Acquisition
🌐 Expert Warns: Wealth Taxes Are Coming
🇰🇳 St Kitts Deactivates Crypto Scammer’s Passport
🇹🇭 Thailand Intros New Visa Tier Amid Growth
🇱🇻 Latvia Blacklists Russian Businessman
💃 Opinion: Live Tax-Free in These 5 Latin Countries
🇪🇸 Bill Advances to Kill Spanish Golden Visa
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Months after launching the continuous due diligence unit, Saint Kitts & Nevis deactivates crypto scammer’s passport.
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295 startup visa applications, one address: Latvian investigation reveals how dozens of Russian companies shared a single mailbox in Riga
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Income tax is a scourge. Life in Latin America may eliminate it entirely. James Nuveen reveals five little-known tax havens in the region.
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For those who share Nayib Bukele’s vision for 🇸🇻El Salvador, the country’s CBI program is not overpriced, argues “Katie the Russian.”
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Five years after first joining IMI, Ahmad Abbas takes the helm as editor of our flagship news publication, IMI Daily.
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Congress approves golden visa termination, PP-controlled Senate faces limited options to block despite opposing the bill.
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Nauru’s CIP will launch tomorrow, offering citizenship from US$140,500 all-in. Henley & Partners is the master agent.
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🇳🇷 Nauru Launches CIP at $105k Pricetag
🇸🇻 Values-Based Demand for Salvadoran CBI
🇺🇸 Opinion: Trump’s Return Signals an IM Boom?
🇬🇷 Greece Shockingly Adds Startup GV Option
🇨🇦 Opinion: Immigration Shift Positive for Canadian IM?
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Recent media claims about Greece eliminating real estate from Golden Visa prove unfounded as new bill focuses only on adding startup option.
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“Trump’s vision for a merit-based immigration system” will be a boon for the market, write Mona Shah and Rebecca Singh.
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Melissa Godmer: Think Canada’s new immigration caps spell trouble? For entrepreneurs, they signal the opposite. Here’s what you need to know.
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Sarawak changes S-MM2H deposit threshold, income rules, new fees, and agent licensing criteria from January 1, 2025.
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After failing to add golden visa cancellation to Spain’s land law, the government has inserted it into a different reform bill instead.
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🇪🇸 Spain Socialists to Cancel Golden Visa
🇲🇾 Malaysia’s S-MM2H Overhauled Amid Growth
🏆 IMI Person of the Year 2024 Crowned
🇭🇺 Hungary Approves First Golden Visa Fund
💭 Opinion: How to Demonstrate Freedom in an Unfree World
🇸🇬 Insider Details Singapore PR Program Secrets
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Cotdemiey, whose peers called her achievement “a giant leap for investment migration,” says she now looks forward to being a full-time mother.
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Ten months after launching its Guest Investor Program, Hungary licenses its first qualified investment fund, with four more awaiting approval.
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IMI’s founder Christian Nesheim explains the philosophy behind our motto and values that guide the our work.
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Siren Chen explains why significant economic contributions alone isn’t enough to gain Singapore PR, and what’s really needed to get approved.
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Seven reasons account for 89% of startup visa rejections, with over half failing on basic program requirements alone.
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Seven reasons account for 89% of startup visa rejections, with over half failing on basic program requirements alone.
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🇰🇳 St Kitts Drops Real Estate CIP Prices
🇬🇩 Grenada Impresses with CIP Efficiency
🇨🇦 Canada Drops PR Targets by 25%
🇨🇾 Cyprus Revokes More Citizenships
🇨🇦 Startup Visa Expert Reveals Rejection Reasons
🇱🇨 Interest in St Lucia CIP Surges
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Amid mounting public pressure and housing concerns, Canada revamps its immigration strategy, including reduced Startup Visa quotas.
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One developer dominates St. Lucia’s CIP: Caribbean Galaxy’s Canelles Resort secured all 751 real estate applications worth US$203M.
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“Significant impact” convinces Panama to abandon its planned investment visa price hike, maintaining the $300,000 threshold indefinitely.
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Siren Chen says it’s better to curb your enthusiasm: The Elite Card promises a golden ticket, but with a NT$6M salary cap, few can qualify
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The proposed law would track income, capital gains, dividends, and inheritance through a global tax credit system.
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PM Drew: “Ill-conceived Prison Project issued tens of thousands of citizenships,” which put EU and UK visa-free access in “grave jeopardy.”
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Antigua & Barbuda’s brinkmanship on MoA implementation, which saw it remain the cheapest Caribbean CIP for a month, appears to have paid off.
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🇵🇦 Panama Scraps Investment Threshold Hikes
🇹🇼 Taiwan’s Elite Card Not What It Seems
🇪🇺 “Growth of CBI in Europe” Expected
🇫🇷 France Flirts with Citizenship Tax
🇰🇳 St Kitts PM Says Reforms Axed Revenue
🇦🇬 Antigua’s MoA Brinkmanship Paid Off
🇮🇳 200k Indians Renouncing Every Year
++
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Indians sent 2,800% more money abroad in 2024 than in 2014, and more than 200,000 of them are now giving up citizenship each year.
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Hong Kong reopens door to property investors seeking residency through the CIES – for a premium
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Could 2025 be the year St Vincent finally joins the CBI club? Opposition promises program if elected, challenging PM’s enduring objection.
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Gov’t warns of blacklisting MM2H agents spreading misinformation; Vincent Fong hopes for potential residence exemption for investors over 50.
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Following the European AG’s thumbs-up for Malta, Bojan Bugarin says Montenegro should process another 1,000 CBI applications.
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Hopes that Trump could end citizenship-based taxation are but a pipe dream, argues David Lesperance.
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Indonesia aims for 1,000 golden visas by the end of 2024, despite issuing only 300 since the program’s inception.
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🇻🇨 New CBI Program Coming to the Caribbean?
🇺🇸 Opinion: US’s Citizenship-Based Taxation Won’t End
🇭🇰 HK’s CIES Reintroduces Real Estate as Investment Option
🇲🇪 Why Montenegro Should Reopen Their CIP Immediately
🇲🇾 Malaysia Cracks Down on Fake News
🇮🇩 Indonesia to Approve 1k Golden Visas by 2025
🌐 Processing Times for 9 of Top 10 Programs Lengthen
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Processing times for the most popular investment migration programs now range from 2.5 months to more than 3 years.
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San Marino offers many residency paths: elective for investors, entrepreneurial, atypical with reduced taxation, and atypical for retirees.
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Dutch lawmakers push for “fair share” from departing HNWIs, citing lifelong benefits of Dutch society. David Lesperance warns of exodus.
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Canada Startup Visa applicants can now get open, three-year work permits. But it may take over a year to get them.
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Egypt shakes up its CIP rules by allowing shared investments, but adds other critical qualification criteria.
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Skerrit: CIP shutdown risks “dislocation.” Linton: Skerrit’s claim “deliberately misleading” and “disingenuous.”
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CBI gets a win, but the EU's watching. CBI firms should prioritize transparency and prepare for more oversight and scrutiny.
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A historic week in investment migration. Get the recap of all the breaking news here:
🇸🇲 4 San Marino Low-Tax Residency Paths Revealed
🇳🇱 Netherlands to Introduce Additional Exit Taxes
🇨🇦 Canada Permanent Residency Program Expands
🇪🇬 Egypt CBI Introduces 3 Advantageous Changes
🇩🇲 Dominica PM-Opposition Feuding Over CBI
🇪🇺 Opinion: Positive Implications for Europe CBIs
🇲🇹 Court Official Backs Malta CBI in Case vs. EU
++
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Advocate General Collins proposed that the court “dismiss the Commission’s action” against Malta and order it to pay Malta’s legal fees.
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If the opposition lawsuit is successful, hundreds of thousands face the possibility of losing their Turkish citizenship.
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Is your last name Borg, Camilleri, Vella, Farrugia, or Zammit? If so, chances are good you qualify for Maltese (and European Union) citizenship.
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CBI revenues of US$232 million helped fund Dominica’s geothermal plant and airport, accelerating national infrastructure development.
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Global Elite Card offers fast-track residency for high earners, while Digital Nomad Visa allows remote workers a six-month stay without residency.
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Opposition leaders seek to reclaim ‘the people’s money’ in Caribbean CIP lawsuit. Campaign for Italy citizenship reform gains momentum.
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A brief summary of all the investment migration news this week:
🇹🇷 Turkey Opposition to Revoke CBI Citizenships
🕵️♂️ Q3 Private Briefing Out Now
🇲🇹 Millions May Qualify for Maltese Citizenship by Descent
🇹🇼 Taiwan’s Elite Card Offers One-Year Path to PR
🇩🇲 Dominica CBI Revenues 37% of GDP
🌴 Caribbean CBI Regulator Makes Crucial Steps ++
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The new CBI regulator aims to balance economic needs with compliance, tradition with progress, and national interests with global demands.
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Property sellers allegedly exploit Golden Visa loopholes, pocketing up to €150,000 per deal through inflated prices and tax manipulation.
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What would it be like to be Jason Bourne – with different passports with different names? James Nuveen details how it’s possible but complex.
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Hong Kong’s investment visa scheme could inject HK$15 billion into the economy, yet experts see “significant room for growth.”
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Russia’s new Shared Values Visa targets 47 nations. Ilja Belobragin sees it as a workforce strategy, doesn’t expect list to expand soon.
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A brief summary of all the investment migration news this week:
🇬🇷 Alleged Greek Golden Visa Scam
👤 Is It Legal: Multiple Passports in Multiple Names?
🇭🇰 Hong Kong’s Alarming Update on CIES
🇷🇺 Russian SVV Reveals 47 Eligible Nations
🇰🇳 St. Kitts CIP Launches Probe into Irregularities ++
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A foreign Special Prosecutor will lead the St Kitts CBI probe, PM Drew pledges full government backing and no “interference.”
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“Recent data showed no adverse effect from restricted countries,” Bastien Trelcat notes as Thailand Elite Visa lifts ban on 28 nationalities.
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More popular than ever, the Greek golden visa struggles to get through a backlog caused by biometric appointment delays during COVID-19.
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Henry Fan’s inbox flooded: 300+ govt emails reveal unexpected twists for Australian visa hopefuls amid BIIP shutdown.
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Varvara Latyntseva: This year already boasts the highest number of investors completing the EB-5 process in the program’s history.
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A brief summary of all the investment migration news this week:
🇬🇷 Greece GV Backlog Reaches Pivotal Moment
🇦🇪 Citizenship Invest Sets Industry M&A Benchmark
🇹🇭 Thailand Opens Elite Visa to Everyone Except …
🇦🇺 Aussie BIIP Applicants Saved By Last-Minute Twist
🇺🇸 USA’s EB-5 Program Hits New Record
🇱🇨 St Lucia Backdates CIP Approvals, Sparks Controversy
++
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CIP Board reveals: Three major projects, including Galaxy’s, operated for years without official gazetting despite government approval.
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BLS International’s acquisition of Citizenship Invest at 7x EBITDA sets a new benchmark for the investment migration industry.
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Everyone needs a contingency plan for if/when World War 3 breaks out. James Nuveen details six bolt-hole jurisdictions that may surprise you.
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St. Kitts and Nevis CIU CEO Michael Martin resigns. Government claims to have received 1,000 applications for the position.
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Solomon Islands fast-tracks Citizenship by Investment Bill, a top government priority. Regulatory framework already in development.
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Political party AKEL claims former Cyprus president Anastasiades orchestrated the scandal and alleges an ongoing cover-up.
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The new investment option, which is part of a broader economic plan, will allow investors to obtain a Golden Visa by investing in startups.
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🇸🇧 Solomon Islands Drafts New CIP
🇰🇳 St. Kitts CIU CEO Resigns Amid Upheaval
🇰🇷 Guide to South Korea’s Digital Nomad Visa
🌐 6 Places to Go If/When WW3 Breaks Out
🇨🇾 Cyprus Scandal Escalates, Ex-President Alleged
🇬🇷 Greece PM Proposes New €250k GV Option
🌴 Caribbean Five Near Oversight Body with US’s Aid
++
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Caribbean CBI countries have implemented four of six US-proposed principles. Two remain as nations prepare for new oversight.
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IM-market business development has never been easier! We’ve done the heavy lifting to place 1,200 industry firms at your fingertips.
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Charles Savva details the evolving EU Golden Visa scene. While some countries tighten restrictions, others maintain attractive programs.
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David Lesperance reveals why affluent Canadians are fleeing, how they’re dodging the exit tax, and the “fire escape” plans they need to know.
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IMA warns of license revocations and citizenship cancellations as Grenada cracks down on CBI marketing firm’s alleged discounts.
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A hectic week in investment migration has concluded. Here’s what you’ve missed:
🌐 1,200-Company IMI Rolodex Revealed
🇰🇳 St. Kitts CIU’s “Extraordinary” Finances Raise Questions
🇪🇺 These EU Golden Visas Outperforming
🇨🇦 Canadian Exit Strategies Revealed
🇬🇭 Ghana Presidential Candidate Proposes CIP
🇬🇩 Grenada Investigates Heng Sheng
🇭🇺 Hungary National Card Sparks Debate
🇭🇰 5 Paths to Residency in Hong Kong
🇲🇾 Sabah to Manage Own MM2H Program
++
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The program, which would open to Africans and descendants of Africans, is the first step of Bediako’s “Project USA, United States of Africa.”
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Hungary’s new residency program alarms EU nations. Is it a gateway for Russian spies or a benign economic tool? Csaba Magyar investigates
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Siren Chen compares the five investment- and skills-based routes to Hong Kong residency by cost and difficulty level.
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“Extraordinary amount of money”: MSR alleges Les Khan’s company received $13.4M in transactions linked to CBI program.
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Decentralization of MM2H management allows Sabah to directly regulate agents and enforce program rules at state level.
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Stephen Barnes summarizes the six ready-to-detonate threats to the CBI market, and offers an alternative path forward.
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Cypriot CIP cleanup: Government revokes ten more passports as investigation into 100 “problematic” cases advances.
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It’s been a busy week in investment migration. Here’s what you’ve missed:
🇷🇺 Russia Launches ANTI-WOKE Visa
☢️ 6 Dire RISKS to the CBI Industry
🇨🇭 5 Ways to Get Swiss RESIDENCY
🇨🇾 Cyprus REVOKES 10 More Citizenships
++
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Dr. Guillaume Grisel examines the five ways to get Swiss residency, the path to naturalization, and the Swiss special tax regime.
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The visa is exempt from the quota restriction, and Anastasia Barna and Ilja Belobragin say that there is already high demand for it.
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Hannah Ma explores Japan’s efforts to attract more talent and FDI through its Business Manager and Skilled Workers visas.
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J. Savory, D. Lincoln, K. Nicholson, and P. May weigh in on the UAE Golden Visa’s 5-year journey, its unique proposition, and its future.
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Lulu Gordon and Haya Farrag explore the complexities of EB5 investor protections, new guidelines, and navigating regional center sanctions.
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Slava Apel says designated organizations celebrated the news, and Chris Lennon states it ends some consultants’ “cozy relationship” claim
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We’ve hunted down the most explosive investment migration stories you may have missed this week:
🇯🇵 How to Get Residency in Japan
🇦🇪 5 Years In: Where Is UAE’s Golden Visa Now?
🇺🇸 USA’s New EB-5 Regulations Demystified
🇨🇦 Canada’s IRCC Hijacks SUV Administration
🇪🇸 Can This Spanish Faction Save the Golden Visa?
🇬🇧 UK Swaps Out Non-Dom Tax Regime
++
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Conversations with the Catalan faction of the Spanish parliament lead Dr. Jacinto Solér Matutes to believe the Spanish golden visa will survive.
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Jimmy Sexton believes the UK is "making every wrong financial decision possible," and that includes its new residence-based tax regime.
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CBI isn’t the only way to get a new citizenship fast. James Nuveen outlines the six ways to qualify for another citizenship within two years.
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CBI isn’t the only way to get a new citizenship fast. James Nuveen outlines the six ways to qualify for another citizenship within two years.
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Gibraltar has four different pathways to permanent residency. Paul Correa explores those options and what else Gibraltar has to offer.
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James Hall explains New Zealand’s updated visa fee structure as entrepreneur and investor visa fees set to triple.
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Manpreet Kataria, Patrick Peters, Nisha Mc Intyre, Omer Kahraman, and Anastasia Barna speculate on who will benefit from the Caribbean MoA.
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The investment migration industry is overflowing with breaking news this week. But don’t worry. We’ve got the top stories you may have missed:
🇬🇮 4 Compelling Paths to Gibraltar Residency
🇮🇹 Italy DOUBLES Lump Sum Flat Tax
🌎 6 Ways to Qualify for New Citizenship in 2 Years
🇳🇿 New Zealand to TRIPLE Investor Visa Fees
🇪🇺 Digital Nomad Wars: Portugal vs. Spain vs. Italy
🌴 Post-MoA: The Clear Winners and Losers
🇺🇸 US Lowers Thresholds for Foreign Entrepreneur Program
++
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Siren Chen meticulously breaks down the Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian digital nomad visas to find out which one is best.
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Entrepreneurs can now qualify by securing investments worth $264,147, but immigration lawyer Matthew Galati thinks uptake will remain sluggish.
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Madalena Monteiro believes the regime remains attractive, and David Lesperance says the new sum positions Italy more naturally in the market.
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Experts believe Vanuatu's new passport enrollment process will bolster the integrity of its citizenship programs and address EU concerns.
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Henry Fan: "It seems the Australian government would rather give back the money than approve the BIIP applications."
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While CB's share of govt, revenue is down by two-thirds since the Schengen suspension, Vanuatu's CBI revenue remains surprisingly resilient.
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We’ve scoured the investment migration industry this week. These are the top breaking news stories you may have missed:
🇻🇺 Vanuatu Mandates Additional CBI Step
🇦🇺 Australian BIIP Applicants Stuck in Limbo
🌴 MSR Hints at Damning Evidence Against Caribbean CIPs
🇻🇺 Vanuatu CIP Shockingly Resilient
🇬🇩 Grenada Reveals Stunning CIP Data
++
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"The truth is coming out very shortly," claims Philippe Martinez as he discusses the latest developments in the MSR case.
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Grenada has released the most comprehensive data set in its CBI program's history. Revenues remain at record highs despite cratering application volume.
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Some of the world's most valuable permanent residence permits require no investment at all. James Nuveen explores five great examples.
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The newly established Board of Governors will modernize St. Kitts' CBI Unit, develop policies, and ensure projects are financially sound.
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The new prices are lower than the ones the CIU previously proposed in June, and the memo outlines new criteria for dependent children.
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Our summary of the top stories in investment migration this week:
🇦🇬 Antigua Announces Lower-Than-Expected CIP Prices
🇰🇳 St Kitts and Nevis CIU Incorporates
🇩🇲 Dominica Revokes 68 Passports
🇭🇰 Hong Kong CIES to “Awaken Economy”
🇹🇷 Turkey Calls CIP Accusations “Baseless”
++
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More than half of those who lost citizenship are Iraqis, and Philippe May argues further consequences may follow those named in the order.
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Siren Chen believes the "new CIES could catalyze a vibrant economic resurgence" of Hong Kong and strengthen its ties with Mainland China.
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While the program has been open since July 1st, no applications have been filed yet. Csaba Magyar explains why.
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Our summary of the top stories in investment migration this week:
🇪🇸 Spain Proposes Scrapping Golden Visa Altogether
🇵🇹 Portugal Golden Visa Reopens to Russians
🇭🇺 Hungary Golden Visa Implementation Delayed
🇨🇦 3 Alternatives to Canada’s Quota-Limited Start-Up Visa
++
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If adopted, the legislation would eliminate all forms of residence by investment in Spain, explains golden visa specialist and IMI Pro Krista Victorio.
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As new quotas limit the Startup Visa, C-11 Entrepreneur, Intra-Company Transferee, and PNPs provide alternative paths to Canada residency.
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It turns out the ban on Russians and Belarusians, which lasted for two years, was never legal to begin with, explains Madalena Monteiro.
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New USCIS policy details three types of sanctions and discretionary determinations for noncompliance in the EB-5 program.
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"French HNWis would be naive if they didnt react, comments Philippe May. The rich are "clearly preparing to exit, says Bastien Trelcat.
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Our summary of the top stories in investment migration this week:
🇺🇸 USCIS Stricter on EB-5 Violations
🇫🇷 Wealthy French Seek Expatriation
🇵🇦 Panama Residency Programs Breaking Records
🇪🇺 AML Regulations to Impact EU RCBI Operators
🏝️ European Tax Haven Sark’s Big Plans
++
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Demand for real estate investment visas in Panama remains buoyant and is on track to break records in 2024.
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AML6 imposes legal obligations and potential penalties on RCBI operators, making them liable for AML/CFT compliance failures.
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Sark - a tiny, self-governing island in the English Channel that has no income or capital gains taxes - is home to just 600 people. For years, the car-and-crime-free island's population was in decline and struggled to sustain even the most basic services.
That was until German entrepreneur Swen Lorenz showed up in 2017 and began singing the island's praises across the European continent. By 2021, when we first covered the story, Lorenz's efforts had already driven a 20% increase in the island's population.
Now, after years of planning, Lorenz is making what could be the biggest move of his career: He has plans to raise some GBP 70 million over the next several years to renovate and redevelop as much as 40% of the crown dependency's total land area and more than double its population.
"We want to purchase and refurbish neglected properties, aiming to revitalize the island and attract new residents through the Sark Property Company," said Lorenz during his appearance on IMI's podcast. "Our vision is to make Sark one of the best places in the world to live, and not just for the wealthy."
We asked Lorenz a range of questions, including:
- What is it like to live on Sark, and what kind of people does he hope to attract?
- How can you get residency there?
- Why are so many of the island's properties in a state of disrepair?
- What does his company plan to do once it has acquired 40% of the island?
- What kind of returns does he foresee for investors?
- How many people does Sark have room for?
- What do the locals think of his redevelopment plans?
Having only approved 28% of pending applications, the Cypriot government is now legally bound to review hundreds of rejected CIP cases.
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Last month's Caribbean price changes left St. Kitts' donation option uncompetitive. Today, the ClU responds with new prices.
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Our summary of the top stories in investment migration this week:
🇬🇷 Greece Investors to Restore & Convert Properties
🇵🇹 Portugal Proposes Watered-Down NHR
🇭🇰 Hong Kong CIES Receives 339 Applications
🇨🇾 Cyprus Revokes Citizenship from 2 Russians
🇬🇩 Grenada Extends Application Deadline
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But specialists doubt whether the new rules will make housing more affordable for locals.
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Hong Kong's revamped investment residency scheme sees an uptick in June applications and approvals in principle.
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The government will need support from at least one parliamentary wing to push through a version of the NHR mainly of interest to employees.
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Cyprus revokes citizenship of two Russian oligarchs following investigations into 100 cases related to its CIP.
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Grenada extends CBI application deadline allowing agents to submit in-progress applications under the old price structure until July 12th.
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Sabah officially opens its 10-year residency MM2H program with income, deposit, and real estate requirements.
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Our summary of the top stories in investment migration this week:
🌴 All 5 Caribbean CIPs Have New Prices
🇲🇾 Sabah Launches MM2H Program
🇦🇬 Antigua Delays MoA Implementation 30 Days
++
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Dominica doubles the CIP donation threshold while maintaining the real estate investment pricing but adjusts its related fees.
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St Lucia CIP announces new prices from Monday but with a 30-day grace period.
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IMA Grenada's chief executive Thomas Anthony keeps his word: Grenada's citizenship by investment program will have new prices from Monday.
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Antigua & Barbuda indicated it was unable to implement the necessary legislative changes on time for the June 30 deadline.
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Chastanet says the PM must consider if St Lucia's infrastructure option was "deliberately designed to emulate the St Kitts prison fiasco."
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Our summary of the top stories in investment migration this week:
🇱🇨 St Lucia Leader Threatens Legal Action Over CIP
🇻🇺 Vanuatu Defends Giving Citizenship to Convict
🇲🇾 Malaysia Announces MM2H Rules, Scraps PR
🇺🇸 EB-5 Golden Age? Data Tells a Story
🌴 OECS Confirms But Raises Questions About MoA
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OECS confirms St Lucia's signing of the MoA and commits to the June 30 deadline. Raises questions about legislation and upcoming procedures.
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Vanuatu stated that Spira cleared background checks from INTERPOL and Vanuatu's Financial Intelligence Unit when he applied to the CIP.
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1,879 investors started their EB-5 journey in Q2, 2024. Varvara Latyntseva sees signs a new EB-5 golden age is now in the making.
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Malaysia unveils new MM2h regulations, removes PR pathway, adjusts investment amounts, and issues updated license renewal criteria.
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Judges question if genuine links are a real requirement, Malta bases defense on national sovereignty, historical precedent, and rigorous due diligence.
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The Unit, explained the PM, would alert the government whenever a CBI-approved citizen became the subject of criminal investigations.
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Our summary of the top stories in investment migration this week:
🇲🇹 🇪🇺 Malta and EU Face Off in Court
🇰🇳 St Kitts & Nevis CIP to Open Due Diligence Office in Europe
🇪🇬 Egypt CBI Demand “Massive and Organic”
🇱🇨 St Lucia Deputy PM Defends CIP
🇵🇹 Operation Babel Charges Several Officials and Companies
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Hany Mostafa Moawad says strong local demand-driven by a demographic dividend means foreign buyers need not worry about inflated markups.
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Hilaire brands MSR's claims as "false, baseless, malicious, and scandalous" and accuses Chastanet of creating the CIP Wild West.”
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Mercan Properties refutes wrongdoing in Operation Babel corruption probe, as former deputy mayor and prominent developers face charges.
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In this episode, IMI hosted the men behind two prominent X accounts in the global citizenship space: Bowtied Mara and My Latin Life. We discussed:
- The fastest paths to citizenship in Latin America (and, by extension, the world)
- The relative strategic advantages of the various Latin American citizenships
- Whether there's a physical presence requirement for naturalization in Paraguay
- Naturalizing in Argentina without becoming a tax resident
- The best countries for birth tourism in Latin America
- Is the number of Westerners moving to Latin America as big as it seems on X?
- How likely Latin American countries are to tighten their naturalization policies in response to growing demand
- Whether you can renounce Argentine citizenship and, if you can't, whether that's an issue
- Will Argentina remain stable for long enough to get through the shock therapy?
Dr. Laura Madrid Sartoretto provides a detailed analysis on the new government's comprehensive reform of Portugal's immigration system.
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Emmanuel says he never implied any wrongdoing on DPM Hilaire's part and that Martinez showed him no evidence to substantiate the RICO claims.
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Cypriot Cabinet officially strips Jho Low of citizenship after an independent commission rejected his appeal.
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For a few thousand dollars, you can get permanent residency in Armenia, with a 3-year path to citizenship with no minimum stay requirements.
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Our summary of the top stories in investment migration this week:
🇱🇨 MSR Media Adds St Lucia Deputy PM to RICO Case
🇦🇲 Armenia’s Nearly Free, Remote Residency
🇨🇾 Cyprus Revokes Another Citizenship
🇺🇸 Americans Are Increasingly Renouncing
🇪🇺 🇲🇹 EU Has “Zero” Chance vs. Malta in Citizenship Sales Case
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"A lot of people are coming to see us in Washington DC because they're scared," says Philippe Martinez on Saint Lucian TV.
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As the Commission and Malta prepare to face off in court, Prof. Kochenov stands by his 2020 forecast: "The Commission will be humiliated.”
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While tax is still the top motivator for expatriation, social polarization and violence have quickly become factors too, writes Mona Shah.
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Not only are rich Americans increasingly moving abroad; even foreigners who initially came to the US on EB-5 visas are now leaving, says Shah.
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Denzil Douglas: MSR's "allegations are baseless, malicious, and deliberate attacks intending to destroy my reputation, character, and legacy."
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Saint Lucia's PM declares his intention to sign the MoA, and has already made recommendations of his own for its "further strengthening.”
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The gov't. plans to channel capital from foreign investors to projects that would help integrate immigrants. Just don't call it a golden visa.
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Our summary of the top stories in investment migration this week:
🇱🇨 St Lucia Confirms MoA Signing
🇵🇹 Portugal Adds Investment Option to Golden Visa
🇪🇺🇻🇺 EU to Permanently Suspend Vanuatu’s Visa-Free Access
🇬🇷 Greek Golden Visa Processing Hits 18 Months
🇨🇾 Cyprus Probes “Problematic” Citizenship Cases
++
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After two years of temporary suspension, the European Commission believes Vanuatu hasn't adequately addressed its security concerns.
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Two-thirds of applications submitted last year (and 8% of those from 2022) remain unprocessed as elevated demand continues unabated.
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The 100 or so cases include ones in which the investors are criminal fugitives, didn't finalize the investments, or only pretended to do so.
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For just over $500, you can stay in Thailand for up to a year, and six months a year after that, thanks to the new Destination Thailand Visa.
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If the Supreme Court outlaws tax on unrealized capital gains, the major barrier to Americans leaving disappears, says Lesperance.
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PM Drew has already given the go-ahead for the judicial review and is the second regional PM this week to say he is ready to revoke citizenships.
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In a statement, the government said it had "no business with Philippe Martinez" and that agreements with Galaxy stem from the former gov't.
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Our summary of the top stories in investment migration this week:
🇺🇸 US expatriation expected to rise
🇹🇭 Thailand to introduce visa for remote workers
🇰🇳 Kittitian PM prepared to revoke fraudulent citizenships
🌴 MSR Media files RICO suit against Kittitian, Saint Lucian officials
🇱🇨 St. Lucia to sign MoA
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The UAE's golden visa approval volume doubled again last year, buoyed by a surge in Russian real estate investment.
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He also revealed that, so far, about three-quarters of applicants have been Syrians.
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Before the program has even formally launched, Hungary's parliament has already amended rules governing the GIP that's opening this summer.
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Whatsapp messages appear to show the Kittitian AG knew Khan and Harris had received several million dollars in kickbacks from prison project.
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Anastasia Barna says clients who have qualified for Caribbean citizenship via "the $80,000 option" are running the risk of revocation.
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James Hall says a tiny annual quota and a huge backlog imply decades of waiting. But Australia may soon introduce a new investor visa.
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Our summary of the top stories in investment migration this week:
🌴 Caribbean $80,000 Citizenship “Option”
🇦🇺 Australia May Refund 18k BIIP Applicants
🇬🇩 Grenada Breaks Confidentiality with Burmese Investor
🇭🇺 Hungary’s Makes 3 Changes to Upcoming Golden Visa
🇹🇭 Thailand’s Proposal of Schengen-Style Visa
🌴 Caribbean’s Possible Hike of Real Estate Prices
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CBI units who name applicants "will ruin the entire proposition" of CBI in countries that don't allow dual citizenship, warns senior industry executive.
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"They'll want to keep a delta between (donations and real estate), says Richard Hallam, hinting that the price for real estate could rise.
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Thailand's PM hopes to boost tourism in the region, which sees about 70 million travelers a year, by making it available on a single visa.
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Grenada collected more CBI revenue in 2023 than in the preceding five years combined but still has a backlog worth over half a billion EC$.
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While Peters believes the four Caribbean countries fully intend to implement the MoA, he thinks the June 30th deadline is unrealistic.
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Benin government proposes law to grant three-year passport with route to citizenship for individuals of African descent.
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Our summary of the news this week:
🇬🇩 Grenada Breaks Records
🌴 Caribbean Deadline “Is a Bit Tight”
🇧🇯 Benin Government Proposes Citizenship by Descent
🇨🇾 Cyprus's Startup Visa Off to Slow Start
🇨🇦 Canada's Startup Visa Has Workaround
++
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Cypriot authorities hope to turn the island into an "innovative tech hub," but its Startup Visa has produced limited tangible results.
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While processing times for the Startup Visa average about 30 months, Slava Apel reveals a workaround for those eager to get to Canada sooner.
"If they are processed in three months also this time, then this program will be the best, because clients want to see results," says Kiss.
IMI Pro Csaba Magyar provides a step-by-step guide to how property investments work for Hungary's new Guest Investor Program.
Ivan Petrov details a path to EU residency for up to three individuals through Bulgaria's Trade Office Representative route.
Nicolas Laurin urges designated organizations for Canada's Startup Visa to refrain from excessive price hikes in the wake of the new quotas.
Immigration lawyer Nerses Isajanyan explains everything you need to know about how and why to claim your Armenian citizenship by descent.
Leila Bagheri recounts the story of a young pilot who ruined his career after paying for a fast-track to Mexican "citizenship".
However, only 32 nationalities are eligible, and local experts question the government's preparedness for processing applications.
Malaysian government overhauls MM2H program; licensing delays worry agents as new regulations aim to streamline process and curb misconduct.
Canada's government caps the number of Start Up Visa applications per designated organization to tackle a growing backlog of applications.
The Cypriot Parliament is debating the introduction of a new residency program requiring a €250,000 property investment and a €40,000 income.
He also says that if the MoA isn't enough to allay EU fears, "it will be clear that they have reasons other than national security concerns.”
A UK court has sentenced a 24-year-old Russian to seven years in prison for money laundering. Malta weighs whether to revoke his citizenship.
During Global Citizen Week, Caribbean CBI experts give their thoughts on the future of the Caribbean amid the implementation of the MoA.
MSR Media says it may also sue CBI companies that enable discounting, and claims to have new evidence of criminal financial transactions.
"Demand for the EB-5 program still sharply exceeds the limits established by the US Government, writes Varvara Latyntseva.
"A few hundred golden visas a year can hardly affect a real estate market that sees almost a million transactions annually," writes Jacinto Soler Matutes.
Foreigners bought 384,519 homes in Turkey over the last decade. In recent years, claims one newspaper, three-quarters were CBI investors.
Hong Kong authorities hope to attract 4,000 applicants a year. Hannah Ma analyzes why the first applicant gained approval in just 23 days
Who exactly qualifies as a digital nomad, how does the application work, and what are the advantages of the visa? Nicolò Bolla explains.
Do angel groups, VC funds, or incubators have the highest Canada SUV approval rates? Slava Apel's FOIA data answer the question decisively.
Allen Chastanet: "A particular developer has begun selling this option and, even more concerning, is the sub-par selling price of US$80,000.”
PM Sánchez says he is taking "measures to guarantee that housing is a right and not a mere speculative business.”
"Despite the small number, their contributions will have a huge impact on our society and the future of our country," said President Bukele.
Professionals must learn some Greek, earn €2,500 monthly, hold a degree, and have two years of relevant experience, explains Charles Savva.
50-60% of St Kitts govt. revenue from CBI. St Lucia had asked for more time to consider MoA, but other countries "went ahead and signed!"
Malaysia's PVIP flops, registering only a total of 47 applicants in over a year. Government may review the program.
"By revoking the UK non-dom scheme, lawmakers could be risking much more than the flight of wealthy families," writes Mona Shah.
Thailand's Elite Visa revamp boosts membership amid global unrest, aims for US$1.5bn revenue with a focus on new markets.
Kevin Hosam commends the Caribbean effort to harmonize CBI thresholds but argues that it will only work if St. Lucia gets on board, too.
To qualify for the program's entrepreneurship route, applicants will need a compelling business plan and endorsement from an incubator.
The CBI countries have agreed to a price floor and to make "underselling" practically unfeasible. But one country is conspicuously opting out.
Short-term rental is forbidden, but investors can qualify at EUR 250,000 throughout the country by renovating or converting properties.
Japan is courting international investors and entrepreneurs in an effort to stimulate an economy weighed down by its demographic profile.
Officials are reportedly debating whether to include a ban in the new set of real estate rules it plans to bring to parliament "next week.
Fund investments become cheaper and are likely to become more popular with the expected introduction of higher real estate minimums.
IMI Pro Csaba Magyar provides a comprehensive overview of how real estate fund investments work for Hungary's new Guest Investor Program.
If the European Council and Parliament agree on the proposal, the EU will have a mandate to suspend visa-free access for CBI countries.
Malaysia is in the midst of its third MM2H revision in as many years. Some 56,000 participants remain active, nearly half of them Chinese.
"The most likely scenario is now a EUR 400,000 threshold for most of Greece, and EUR 800,000 in places like Athens," says Alexander Varnavas.
Following the example recently set by the UK, Ireland imposes visa restrictions on nationals of CBi countries Dominica and Vanuatu.
When one door closes, another opens. As the United Kingdom shuts down their non-dom regime, high-net worth individuals will undoubtedly move themselves and their capital elsewhere. For those seeking low-tax regimes in Europe, seven European Union members offer attractive programs.
As CBI programs worldwide face pressures to root out bad actors, Malta's response signals a willingness to rescind rights when warranted.
After 225 years of helping Britain attract global wealth, the non-dom regime will end next year - ironically, thanks to the Tories.
16 countries have formal citizenship by investment programs, but hardly a dozen get any attention. Here's why we never hear about the other four.
The government has also issued detailed stipulations for how investors must allocate the HKD 30 million.
Ana Sofia Lamares explains how millions of people worldwide can proceed to claim Portuguese citizenship through their grandparents
Third-party databases are critical to the due diligence process but have limitations only human sources can help CIUs overcome, writes Fabienne de Blois.
If the court says taxing unrealized capital gains is constitutional, more Americans will give up their citizenship. Ditto if it goes the other way, says David Lesperance.
The ultimate one-stop tool for finding every path to citizenship in every country. Sort and search 843 different ways to get citizenship.
But golden visa experts question what "date of application" means in practice and whether the law will help those who have already started the process.
The news is likely to vex golden visa developers who had pivoted to neighborhoods near - but not within - Athens, like Piraeus.
Panama's retirement visas have never been this popular, while demand for the investment-based FNV remains stable despite the higher price.
- How the big entrepreneurship-based programs (Canada SUV, EB-2 NIW, and HQA) compare to each other in terms of how much hands-on involvement is required from the applicant;
- Why entrepreneurship-based programs more politically palatable than their more transactional golden visa and CBI peers;
- What kind of research investors are actually funding with the HQA program;
- Why processing for HQA visas is so much quicker than for golden visas;
- and , perhaps most importantly, how the physical presence requirements of the program actually work, and whether they really are as flexible as people say.
A Grenada government minister this week surprised the CBI market when he announced that the country's citizenship by investment program had reopened its doors to all nationalities, including Russians. The move would have marked the government's fourth shift in policy on the matter in under two years. It swiftly became clear, however, that the Minister had spoken out of turn: He later retracted his statements, and the CIU confirmed the Minister had been mistaken.
Turkey continues to reform its Citizenship by Investment program. Last week, it removed undeveloped land as a qualifying investment option. Amid rumors of more program modifications and developments, including a potential increase in the minimum investment requirement to $600,000, Siren Chen's article traces the recent history of changes to the Turkish CIP.
The 2024 CBI Transparency Index, published this week, reveals that CBI programs have become less – not more – transparent since the index was first introduced in 2022. Only 4 out of 11 citizenship by investment programs are adequately transparent, and the gap between the top and the bottom is widening as some programs show improvements while the laggards appear to have given up on transparency altogether.
El Salvador's new $1 million citizenship by donation program is overpriced and unclear, writes Brian Greco in an opinion piece this week. Questioning its competitiveness and viability in the global market, Greco - whose views are echoed by citizenship specialists Hon. Philippe A. May 梅正熙 and Parviz Malakouti, Esq. - points to three specific reasons the announcement falls short of expectations.
Hungary surprised the market by accelerating the launch of its new Golden Visa, the legislation for which is now set to take effect in January – ahead of the previously scheduled September start. Applications for the program will open in July, explains Hungarian investment migration specialist Laszlo Kiss. Detailed regulations governing the program, such as which types of property will qualify, are expected later this month.
In a startling development in the Caribbean, the proprietor of a Dominica Citizenship by Investment (CBI) property, along with an alleged accomplice from Florida, has been charged with the double murder of neighboring resort owners from Quebec. The motive for the murders, say prosecutors, may have been a dispute over an access road that crosses both properties. The suspects will remain in custody until they're due in court in March, where they face a potential death penalty.
Our guest on this episode of the Mobility Standard podcast was Henry Fan, CEO and Co-Founder of the world's biggest investment migration company, Globevisa.
In this episode, we talked about:
- How Henry got started in investment migration two decades ago, and what the Chinese market looked like back then;
- His “biggest, stupidest mistake” in business;
- Why he wants Globevisa to be the Amazon of immigration, and what he means by that term;
- What Henry looks for in a local partner and an illustrative story of things going wrong;
- Why Henry considers himself more of an expert on business operations than on immigration;
- Why International investment migration firms have not been successful in penetrating the Chinese B2C market;
- Why compliance risk grows in parallel with company size, and how to mitigate that;
- Why so few of the huge Chinese immigration firms have tried to internationalize;
- Why investment migration companies going to China need to keep a low profile;
- Why the main factor motivating Chinese emigration right now is a feeling of insecurity;
- What philosophy drives Henry Fan, and how he finds happiness in everyday life.
Henry says he doesn't spend much time trying to predict what the future of free movement will look like but that he's determined to do his job to enable freedom of movement for as many people as possible:
"I will try my best to build a platform. And with that platform, maybe I can help people realize they have so many choices. You don't have to pay a huge price to do it; you don't have to have a noble prize to do it. If you want it, the Globevisa platform will help you."
He also acknowledges that he had to learn costly lessons before he was able to make Globevisa a global - rather than merely Chinese - investment migration behemoth.
"One of the biggest, stupidest mistakes I have ever made was to send my best Chinese staff to other countries," he says about his first attempt to internationalize his originally Chinese company almost ten years ago. "I wasted a lot of money and several years' time. I thought that was the way. But then I changed the strategy. Now, I just partner with the best local guys. We enter the market together, and we market Globevisa in a local way."
Talking about the current state of China's investment migration market, Henry laments the prevalence of short-term, low-integrity approaches to business:
“Right now, the competition is too hot. So, no one plays the long game. You just have to survive. And, for some programs, like EB-5 or certain golden visas, you can charge a crazy high price so that just a single client may be enough to keep a small firm alive for a whole year. So, no one is doing business in a decent way anymore. Everybody plays the short-term strategy. They try to find one rich guy, get some crazy profit, and then move on.”
Our guest in this episode of the Mobility Standard podcast is Nuri Katz of Apex Capital Partners. We spoke to him about:
- Where the EU’s paranoia around CBI programs comes from;
- Why certain industry participants’ marketing methods perpetuate misconceptions about the industry;
- Why governments blame foreign investors for problems they themselves cause;
- Why the EU’s call for expanded visa suspension powers could actually be a good thing for Caribbean CIPs;
- Why Saint Kitts & Nevis has held onto Russian applicants’ money for 18+ months; and
- Why Nuri thinks the industry needs a new regulatory body that includes all practitioners.
The European Parliament, says Katz, is “having a knee-jerk reaction to the idea of ‘selling passports’ and part of the problem is in the way that these programs are being promoted because it sounds as if we are going around the world handing out passports out of suitcases to anybody who requests them. So, in a way, we are very much to blame ourselves.”
He cites as examples the many instances of RCBI advisories marketing passports rather than citizenships:
“You’ll see people on the internet saying, ‘Hi, I’m in the business of selling passports.’ Well, that obviously makes European politicians nervous, because they just don’t exactly understand what this thing is about.”
In Europe, he points out, rich foreigners have become a convenient scapegoat for various economic ills, such as the housing crisis:
“Portugal is having all kinds of economic problems they are trying to deal with, and it’s always easier to blame the foreigners for your problems. Portugal blamed the foreigners who were investing in Portugal, creating a huge amount of employment, helping to raise the GDP, and donating and helping the economy. These people were blamed for the rise in real estate prices when for years that has not been the case anyway.”
Listen to the full episode in the player below, or search for “IMI Podcasts” on Spotify.
Our guests on the Mobility Standard podcast this episode were Mimoun Assraoui and Eric Major of the Latitude Group.
We spoke about:
- Why Mimoun is replacing Eric as CEO of the Latitude Group, and what Eric will be spending his time on going forward;
- Latitude’s quest for “world domination” and its progress toward its stated goal of becoming the world’s largest investment migration firm;
- Which markets the company is expanding into next and the ancillary services it plans on providing;
- The role Latitude hopes to play in bringing the industry together to face common challenges;
- Why the Investment Migration Council is viewed by many as, in Eric’s words, “a private members’ club” and how he plans to help change that;
- What is happening on the government advisory front? How is Latitude working to get new programs opened?
- What went wrong with the Dominica CIP for it to lose visa-free travel to the UK, and why did Saint Kitts & Nevis unilaterally raise their prices?
- +++
In this episode, IMI's editor Christian Nesheim is the guest on the My Latin Life podcast, where he and the host Vance went into great detail about the history and future of investment migration and how it all fits into our community's Weltanschauung.
We spoke about
- The philosophical underpinnings of IMI and its motto, “The World Isn’t Free, But You Can Be”;
- How the investment migration sector developed from the early days to become a major industry;
- Why Latin-American investment migration programs are becoming popular, especially with North Americans and Europeans;
- How the profile of investor migrants has changed in recent years;
- How the proliferation of sovereign, ungovernable individuals will make the world a far safer and more prosperous place for everyone;
- What the world will look like when we have competition among states for talent and capital;
- And much, much more.
Today's episode of the Mobility Standard focuses on residency, citizenship, investment, and taxation in Spain and covered, in detail, topics like:
The outcome of the recent Spanish general election and how the various alternatives for government might impact the golden visa;
Whether the Spanish government is obfuscating golden visa statistics on purpose;
How it’s possible to get a Spanish golden visa for a EUR 350,000 upfront investment;
How you can get Spanish citizenship without becoming a taxpayer in Spain;
How Spain’s Startup/Digital Nomad visa can reduce your tax bill through the so-called Beckham law;
Why Spain’s golden visa remains open to Russian applicants; and
How long it actually takes to get citizenship in Spain.
This week in IMI:
New Q1 2023 Private Briefing Available Now: Request Your Confidential CopySaint Lucia CIU Circular Says Promotion of CBI Real Estate Discounts Violate License TermsActive Investor Visas: 5 Lessons to Ensure Profitability and Client SatisfactionMalaysia M2H Applications Down by 90% Since New Rules Imposed, Says Industry AssociationThe Proposal to Close the Golden Visa is Unconstitutional And Will Not Solve Portugal’s Housing CrisisGreece Extends Golden Visa Transition Period by Another 3 Months to July 31stRecord Application Volume Sees Greek Golden Visa Authorities Struggling to Keep Up With Demand
Listen to Investment Migration This Week on Spotify.
Singapore’s Economic Development Board has decided to sharply raise the minimum investment required to qualify for permanent residency in the city-state through its Global Investor Program. The threshold will rise from investments of SGD 10m and SGD 25m in categories A and B, both of which have hitherto demanded a minimum investment of only SGD 2.5m. Even under the previous thresholds, interest was limited: By the government’s own count, the program has averaged 60 approvals a year since 2020.
Property developers, industry associations, and the governor of semi-autonomous Madeira all expressed their vehement opposition to Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa’s intention to close the country’s golden visa program. Accusing the government’s housing policy of being more “ideological than logical”, they warned the state’s moves would tarnish the country’s reputation, cause an unnecessary loss of sorely-needed foreign capital, and remove Portugal’s competitive advantages.
Madalena Monteiro, a lawyer specializing in Italy’s “Dolce Visa”, said during an appearance on our Mobility Standard Podcast that there was a “99% chance” the Senate would introduce a real estate option for the program in the coming weeks. As golden visa options in the EU dwindle following the recent closure of Ireland’s IIP and the heralded end of Portugal’s golden visa, the Italian alternative has been the subject of renewed interest. The lack of a property investment option has thus far prevented the Dolce Visa from garnering the application volume of its southern European peers.
In an impassioned opinion piece, Martin St-Hilaire and Philippe May May argue that Vanuatu might as well give up on meeting the EU’s ever-shifting standards for citizenship by investment programs to retain visa-free travel to Schengen. Instead, they propose the pacific nation target the mid-market, focusing on citizenship investors motivated by factors unrelated to travel to Europe. Specifically, they propose reducing the program’s asking price from $130,000 to somewhere between $75,000 and $95,000.
Stephane Tajick, another IMI columnist, asks whether there’s still hope for investment migration in the EU and whether the industry itself could have done more to avert Brussels' ongoing - and recently successful - anti-RCBI campaign.
Our guest this week on the Mobility Standard podcast was Madalena Monteiro of Magwind. She came to talk about the Italian "Dolce Visa", one of Europe's remaining golden visa programs.
We spoke to Madalena about:
- What happened in Portugal last week, and whether the Italian investor visa stands to benefit;
- Why the Dolce Visa has a "99% chance" of getting a real estate investment option in the next few months;
- Why so few investment migration companies have historically marketed the program, and why that is about to change;
- How the upcoming bill in the Italian senate would make the program far more attractive;
- What the drawbacks of the Italian program are;
- How to be a tax resident in Italy but still pay a low tax rate;
- How the Italian government is taking its EU competitors into account when improving their own golden visa program;
- And innumerable other topics.
Listen to the episode with the player below or find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and most other podcast platforms by searching for "IMI Podcasts".
Investment migration remains a small-firm industry because, in this market, scale offers few benefits and several disadvantages.
The most eventful week in the history of investment migration is drawing to a close.
One major golden visa closed outright when Irish Justice Minister Simon Harris unceremoniously announced that his country’s Immigrant Investor program would be closing with immediate effect. Last year, rumors of the program’s potential closure drove a surge in applications, almost entirely from Chinese investors. The program received 1,316 applications in 2022, more than five times the number received in the preceding year. While giving no concrete reason for his decision, Harris hinted that pressure from the European Union had played a role.
The really big news this week, of course, was Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa’s announcement that Portugal’s golden visa, widely regarded as one of the world’s leading RBI schemes, would be closing. A few days before, rumors of the program’s imminent closure had surfaced in Portuguese news, but most industry observers had anticipated a more nuanced approach from the government, one that would leave some categories of the program open. The PM, however, indicated he would scrap the program altogether. Questions now remain as to whether there will be a transition period, what will happen to those who invested in something other than real estate, and whether the announced measures are even constitutional.
In Spain, meanwhile, leftist parliamentarians submitted a bill that seeks to remove the real estate option from Spain’s golden visa program, which they said was driving up property prices in the country and “expelling the local population.” The draft bill aims to leave the golden visa program open only to those who invest at least a million euros in business or bank deposits or 2 million euros in government bonds.
Market commentators questioned what level of demand we might expect for Russia’s new golden visa program, which will provide permanent residence to applicants - and five generations of their family members - who invest in Russian real estate, companies, or social projects. Minimum investments range from about $200,000 to $680,000.
The Saint Kitts & Nevis Citizenship by Investment Unit issued a new set of regulations for the Caribbean’s most popular CIP merely seven weeks after its first raft of changes. The new regulations reverse some of the regulations introduced in December, which had, among other things, prohibited the re-sale of CBI real estate.
Finally, IMI this week announced that IMI Connect - our bi-annual landmark event for investment migration practitioners - would take place in Malta between the 18th and 20th of May. A wide array of industry leaders have already confirmed their attendance, and tickets will open for sale to the public in the coming weeks.
Malaysia now has four separate residence-by-deposit programs after Sarawak - one of two Malaysian states that control their own immigration policies - introduced its own version of the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) program. Sarawak’s program offers essentially the same benefits as its federal counterpart - the right to reside for 5+5 years anywhere in Malaysia - but at one-fifth of the cost.
This week on the Mobility Standard podcast, David Lesperance and Melvin Warshaw discussed the persistent uptick in American interest in investment migration and renunciation, the tax pitfalls American expats need to avoid at all costs, and the three positions American HNWIs take on the expatriation question.
Our new report - Low-Tax Living in High-Tax Europe - provides a guide to 11 special tax regimes in eight Western European countries that enable individuals to pay a single-digit tax rate in otherwise high-tax countries. It covers regimes that are particularly favorable to those who receive high passive incomes such as dividends, capital gains, rental income, royalties, and similar, as well as those with high professional incomes. If you, or your client, is attracted to Western Europe for its lifestyle proposition but deterred from residing there full-time by high levels of taxation, this guide will show you how to have your cake and eat it too.
The European Council has agreed to give Vanuatu another 18 months to reform its program before it implements a full suspension of the country from the Schengen area’s visa-waiver agreement. Vanuatu has agreed to work with full transparency during the reform, inviting the EU to observe and advise the process. Theoretically, at least, we may soon see a CIP that’s not only approved by the EU but partially devised by it.
2022 was the year Grenada’s Citizenship by Investment Program joined its peers in Saint Kitts & Nevis and Dominica to become the third Caribbean CIP in history to receive more than a thousand applications in a single year. Q4 2022 statistics released by the country’s Finance Ministry last week reveal Grenada’s program broke a wide array of its own records: All-time highs were set for applications, approvals, revenue, and per-applicant investment. The backlog, unfortunately, has reached unprecedented highs as well.
Lawsuits against Portugal’s SEF from golden visa applicants - some of whom have waited for more than two years to get an appointment - are multiplying. What began with a handful of successful and highly publicized cases last summer has, by the SEF’s own count, mushroomed to 63 suits so far. Industry observers expect a deluge of suits as delays persist.
True Blue Development, the company behind the Kawana Bay resort project in Grenada, this week issued a press release in which they confirmed the international arbitration proceedings against the government are moving ahead. While the developers
Our guests this week on the Mobility Standard were David Lesperance, Managing Partner of Lesperance & Associates, one of the world's leading experts on international tax and immigration, and Melvin Warshaw, a US-based cross-border tax and private client lawyer with more than 40 years of experience in the field.
Lesperance and Warshaw are also the authors of our American Exceptionalism column, where they explore investment migration questions that uniquely impact Americans.
We spoke to them about:
- The bump in American interest in investment migration we saw during the pandemic has persisted even after the end of the crisis. What's driving Americans out the door in 2023?
- The three types of approaches American HNWIs take with regard to investment migration.
- The tax pitfalls Americans moving abroad need to avoid at all cost and the harsh penalties for non-compliance.
- How you can set things right with the IRS if you discover you're not in compliance.
- Why the IRS is ramping up its enforcement of tax reporting non-compliance among expats, and how US expats can get out ahead of it.
- A status update on the long wait lists for expatriation appointments among US consulates.
Lesperance: "Mel and I have a client for whom taxes would clearly be one of the reasons to consider moving abroad. But, he said: 'Well, I'm a hedge fund manager I understand statistics. I know that my children statistically won't be victims of a mass shooting event. But I know with 100% certainty that they are going to go through active shooter drills at school, and I know that every time they go to play soccer with their friends, or go to the movies, or go to Mcdonald's, they're going to be thinking about that and I just don't want that for my kids."
Globalization is reversing, history is returning, and the world is becoming a perilous place again. The Western hemisphere will be an exception.
This opinion piece from IMI's editor first appeared on imidaily.com on March 6th, 2019.
Citizenship by investment has granted small, developing countries in the Caribbean and Pacific the means to fund public spending independently rather than rely on outside aid or loans. That financial autonomy reduces the influence developed countries have in these jurisdictions, which is one of the reasons they seek to restrain such programs.
Our guest this week on the Mobility Standard podcast was Slava Apel, CEO of Startup Visa Services, who came to talk about Canada's Startup Visa. The episode covers practically all facets of the program, including (but far from limited to):
- Is it true that the Canada SUV can be a passive-investment program if you plan the right way?
- "Residence by investment, minus the investment": With no minimum investment, no performance requirement, a direct path to PR and eventual citizenship, isn't the Canada Startup Visa program too good to be true?
- How is the Canada SUV different from the provincial entrepreneur visas? How does the SUV compare to Portugal's HQA, the US E2, or the UK's Startup and Innovator visas
- What are the precise steps of the application process, and what are the critical junctures?
- What is the real rejection rate of the Canada Startup Visa?
- What is the role of incubators, angel investor groups, and the "business institutions"?
- What kinds of people should apply for the Canada Startup Visa? Experienced entrepreneurs? Tech graduates? What about teachers or construction workers?
- Why doesn't Canada's Startup Visa require exhaustive source-of-funds documentation?
- What share of businesses originating in the Canada Startup Visa go on to become financially successful in the long run?
- What do agents, brokers, and introducers get paid when they help a client get the Canada Startup Visa?
Slava also tells the story of what happened when he flew to Dubai and confronted the company engaged in false advertising of the program.
"Canada Startup Visa is the most profitable program for immigration firms," said Apel. "They typically make double what they make selling Portugal Golden Visa, EB-5, or Malta, or any other program."
he also pointed out that "anyone can become [a Startup Visa permanent resident], as long as they have the drive to bring - or to do - something that's new in Canada. "I've seen housewives come up with great concepts and products; I've seen farmers come up with better processes and technologies; I've seen teachers come up with new software for e-learning; I have seen people come through this path from every walk of life and from every country."
Listen to the full episode using the player below, or find the Mobility Standard on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and most other podcast platforms.
Our guest on the Mobility Standard podcast this week is Andrew Henderson, founder of Nomad Capitalist.
In under a decade, Andrew has built the world's most recognizable brand in the "global citizenship" space. The firm, which now has more than 50 employees, helps hundreds of clients each year to design and implement a global diversification strategy that includes not only residence and citizenship by investment but also tax optimization and wealth protection.
We spoke to Andrew about:
- Growing up in Ohio, starting a business at a young age, and becoming disillusioned over the erosion of freedoms and confiscatory levels of taxation.
- The communication errors the investment migration practitioners are committing, and how it affects their relations with the powers that be.
- What he thinks are the reasons he has a social media following that's an order of magnitude greater than any other brand in RCBI.
- Why he rejects the vast majority of prospective clients and why he thinks free consultations are not helpful for industry practitioners or clients.
- What personal characteristics he shares - and does not share - with Donald Trump.
- Why he maintains permanent homes in six different countries on three different continents, why he picked those destinations to begin with, and where he's looking at for his next home.
- Which solutions for low-tax living in high-tax EU countries he thinks are the best.
If you'd like to meet Andrew Henderson in person, you'll have the chance during IMI Connect Istanbul on Nov 2-4, where Andrew will be participating and speaking.
Our guest on the Mobility Standard podcast this week was Benjamin Lodmell of asset protection specialist firm Lodmell & Lodmell.
Lodmell has spent the last several decades working on more than half a dozen countries and, together with his father and brother, has built the world's leading asset protection firm serving several thousand clients.
We spoke about
- His global journey and what it was about Lisbon and Portugal that made him remain here;
- What asset protection is and who needs it;
- What lessons the investment migration industry can draw from the development of the asset protection industry, namely, how to go from having an image problem to being widely acknowledged and how to grow from being a service for just a small segment of society to reaching the mainstream;
- Why asset protection and investment migration go hand in hand.
Lodmell: "30 years ago, it was only really high-risk professionals like medical doctors and dentists and others who were sensitive about being sued who were our client base. Now, it's just anyone with a net worth because we're in a system where anyone can sue anyone for any amount of money, they don't have to prove why, they can get an attorney for free on a contingency, they don't have to pay your legal bill if they lose the case against you, so […] anybody who has a net worth of more than half a million qualifies."
Our guest this week on the Mobility Standard is Jeremy Savory, founder of Dubai-based Savory & Partners.
Topics of discussion in today's episode include:
- The road from growing up in Southwest London to running a Savory & Partners in Dubai;
- What it's like to run a CBI business in the hyper-competitive Dubai market and whether it has hardened him as a businessman;
- Why he chose to become a resident of Portugal and how it's been helpful for business;
- How the continually evolving "golden visa" of the UAE has made life simpler for expats;
- The degree to which there are economies of scale in investment migration;
- Whether Turkey, and Istanbul specifically, has the potential to compete with Dubai as an investment migration hub, and why the country’s two-way CBI market is so unique;
- And what potential Latin America has as an inbound or outbound RCBI market.
Our guest on the Mobility Standard podcast this week is Mr. Titus Gebel, a German-born lawyer and entrepreneur who is now dedicating his life to the development of Free Private Cities, jurisdictions embedded within conventional states but operated by private companies for profit; a peaceful and voluntary alternative to the coercion-based systems of government we have today.
"The defining feature of a Free Private City is that it's run by a for-profit company that acts as a government service provider, so to speak," says Gebel. In this capacity, he explains, the private company - the "operator" - offers citizens "the protection of life, liberty, and property, services that include both internal and external security, a pre-defined legal and regulatory framework, and independent dispute resolution."
Interested individuals and companies enter into a citizen's contract with the operator and pay a fixed annual fee for the operator's services, instead of paying taxes.
"Within that framework, which is relatively limited," continues Gebel, "a spontaneous order can develop, which emerges from the voluntary activities of the citizens."
Crucially, the operator cannot later unilaterally make any changes to the citizen's contract but would need the permission of the individual citizen concerned.
A citizen's contract, he explains, gives the individual far better legal protections than, say, a constitution, because "there is no third-party like a majority or a parliament or a government that could infringe upon your contract."
In the podcast, we also went into detail about:
- The latest developments in the field, with an emphasis on the ZEDE projects in Honduras;
- The historical precedents for Free Private Cities;
- The long-term ramifications of successful Free Private Cities;
- Technology’s role in the decentralization of political power and the rise of sovereign individuals; and
- Why the European Union, which is totally opposed to special economic zones, is unlikely to survive the next three decades.
Listen to this illuminating and heartening episode in its entirety by clicking the player below, or find the Mobility Standard on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
This week, our three guests on the Mobility Standard podcast were Matthew Galati, Principal of The Galati Law Firm, Ishaan Khanna, President of the American Immigrant Investor Alliance, and EB-5 expert, business plan writer, and author of the world's leading EB-5 blog, Suzanne Lazicki.
In this episode, the three EB-5 experts engaged in an in-depth discussion of the recently passed EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act, which Galati referred to as "the most fundamental visa reform we have seen in the American immigration system since at least 1990."
Topics under discussion included:
- Who is happy about how the bill turned out, who isn't, and why;
- Why the new bill could create a great deal of chaos in the absence of further guidance and regulations;
- What is necessary to get the program up and running again, and how long it will take;
- How the reserved visa categories - or set-asides - will work and whether they are fair to existing applicants.
"So much needs to be done here in order to get the program off the ground again for new filings," says Galati about the consequences of the comprehensive and complex new legislation. "[...] It'll take a long time for this new program to be stable. I don't know if that gets done before 2027, frankly."
Lazicki agrees with Galati's five-year horizon for program stabilization:
"Just based on how much is going to have to be figured out, and who has to figure it out […] the policy manual will need to be revised, we'll need some new regulations, we'll need all new forms for all of the form types, the Investor Program Office […] are going to have to get their people trained in the new law. All of those things take a long time to do."
Independent means visas (IMVs), such as Portugal's D7, Greece's FIP, and Italy's Elective Residency have rapidly gained attraction in a post-pandemic mobility market, where those who might previously have opted for a golden visa (which doesn't demand physical presence) are increasingly willing to relocate.
In this episode, we spoke to Andre Bothma, founder of D7visa.com and an expert on independent means visas more broadly, to learn what's driving growth in the IMV market, why IMVs are - as Bothma has claimed - an existential threat to golden visas, and why it behooves investment migration firms to include IMVs in their program portfolios.
Bothma, a South African national, explains that when he was exploring ways to move to Europe eight or nine years ago, "there was a dearth of options available to South Africans. [...] The only thing I could find at the time was the golden visa program in Portugal. That was the one that was known and being actively marketed, as well as some hybrid, informal programs in Slovenia and Hungary. So, effectively, there was a very limited range of options and they were all very pricey."
For years on end, he says, the only thing those who wanted to relocate to Europe were the golden visas because the independent means visas, while they already existed, were not marketed and remained largely unknown.
The reason IMVs have gained tremendous popularity since the pandemic are three-fold, he says:
- Investors became more open to physical relocation, especially because of the rise in remote work;
- Investors couldn't travel and were, therefore, more hesitant to buy golden visa real estate;
- Investment migration companies began to actively market IMVs as a way of pivoting during changing market conditions.
"I now frequently talk to people who have the means to get a golden visa but who are now more interested in D7 visas. Because they don't necessarily need all of the flexibility anymore."
The top two applicant nationalities, he says, are Americans and British, i.e., not your typical investor migrants. For the British, he postulates, it's about regaining access to the Schengen area, while for Americans, the appeal of D7 is the Portuguese lifestyle proposition.
"Many are looking to settle in a place with less political polarization than the US."
Our guest on the Mobility Standard this week was Nuri Katz, founder of Apex Capital Partners. We spoke to him about a range of current events, including Vanuatu's possible suspension from the EU visa-waiver scheme, Montenegro's last-minute CBI extension, and the industry's apparent failure to effectively lobby the European Commission.
Timestamps:
- 02:15 - Introduction to Nuri Katz and his backstory.
- 06:00 - Why the regulatory situation in investment migration today is reminiscent of that of Canada's immigration market in the late '90s.
- 17:04 - What are Nuri's main business concerns at the moment, and what's keeping him up at night?
- 22:53 - The three main criticism against CBI, with a focus on the one that has merits.
- 26:31 - As Europe threatens to revoke Schengen access for Vanuatu, what are the implications for the Carib 5?
- 37:14 - Why industry efforts to lobby Brussels appear to have been ineffective.
- 51:19 - Montenegro's CIP extended in the nick of time - What happened in those final days?
Discussing the merits of the European Commission's claim that a lack of due diligence in CBI gives rise to security threats, Katz dismisses the notion.
"The due diligence on candidates for citizenship in CBI countries is the best due diligence known to man," says Katz. "It's certainly much better due diligence than the US does on its EB-5 applicants or the one the Canadian government does on its own its investor immigration clients, not to mention the UK."
The chief problem, he indicates, is related not to the vetting procedures but to fly-by-night companies.
"It's a jungle out there. I've seen so many companies that, because there was no regulation, were able to open up for a few years make a bunch of money, get in trouble, and then disappear. I've seen that over and over and over and, so, that for me is the weak link of this industry."
He also believes European regulators either don't understand or don't want to understand, the degree to which CBI jurisdictions engage in screening of applicants.
"I think the people in the European Commission who are looking at this industry are taking a very superficial look. They're thinking 'oh, money is being exchanged for citizenship and that means that it's dangerous'. In all honesty, yeah, money is being exchanged for citizenship. But before the exchange happens the money goes through the most serious type of due diligence checks."
Reacting to Montengro's last-minute extension of its CBI program, Katz hinted the perceived urgency had been good for business.
"It actually all worked out well for us because, as we know through our experience in Quebec and in Saint Kitts and in lots of different countries, the threat of a program ending leads to everybody who's sitting on the sidelines to come to decisions faster. So, it was very good for our firm and, I'm assuming, good for the other firms as well."
The Mobility Standard podcast this week hosted John Hanafin, chief executive at Huriya Private, who spoke with us about the complementarity of investment migration and financial planning, both of which are fields in which he has extensive experience.
Timestamps
- 00:30 - Who is John Hanafin and what is Huriya Private?
- 05:45 - The complementarity of investment migration and financial planning: Can you plan for one without also planning for the other? Are the two realms best kept separate or will more firms begin offering these services in conjunction with each other?
- 17:04 - Balkan countries planning for CBI and which of them are really closest to EU membership.
- 19:57 - Why Ireland should have a CIP, why and how it should reform its IIP, and which other programs it should be modeled on.
Investment migration and financial planning: Joined at the hip
Many firms in the investment migration market choose to steer clear of providing advice on tax and estate planning, partly because they don't have the necessary training but also to avoid becoming subject to the stricter regulations pertaining to such practices. Questioned as to whether he thinks RCBI practitioners should also help clients plan for the tax and estate implications of partaking in investment migration programs, Hanafin indicated they were essentially two sides of the same coin:
"I think it’s mandatory [to plan for both together]. It shouldn’t even be a consideration […] I don’t understand how it can be just a transaction. […] There are people in the industry who are very good at what they do and who purely want to do [RCBI] and that’s it. And I’ve worked for people who have had that attitude, shall we say. "
"In Dubai, you can be selling bananas on Friday and passports on Monday."
"Maybe the guy comes to my office and says 'I own the office tower next door,' to which I might say 'oh great, how do you own it? In your individual name? Okay, well you understand this is a civil law country, not a common law country, and you have sharia implications of having assets over here. Perhaps that's something we can discuss alongside your passport,' and so on."
Hanafin comments that Dubai, in particular, is a place where clients can easily end up with advisors who are too narrowly focused on RCBI and who don't give due consideration to possible tax and estate implications.
"The issue with Dubai as a jurisdiction is that you can set up a specialist immigration firm in about 48 hours. You can't do that in the UK, for example, where you need to be a qualified immigration lawyer. You can't do that in most European countries. In Dubai, you can be selling bananas on Friday and passports on Monday."
North Macedonia and Albania "about five years ahead of Montenegro" on EU accession
"There are rumors about Serbia, there are rumors about Croatia, there are rumors about Albania," he says, but adds that there are some misconceptions as to which Balkan countries are closest to EU accession.
"Montenegro promoted themselves as the next EU country. But if you read the statutes and the laws, North Macedonia and Albania are about five years ahead of Montenegro."
Where would John Hanafin most like to see a new CIP open? In his native Ireland, he responds without hesitation. For now, however, he says there are still too many uncomfortable memories from the Bertie Ahern years, when Ireland operated a citizenship by investment program (of sorts). He does, however, lobby the Irish government from time to time, urging them to at least reform their Ireland Immigrant Investor Program and make it more attractive.
Kenneth Green of Advance Global Partners joined us on the Mobility Standard podcast this week to talk about:
03:32 - The latest news on Dominica's planned Entrepreneur-visa, which will offer a two-year path to citizenship starting at US$50,000:
"The CBI citizens don't want to reside here, they don't want to come here, they don't even want to visit during the application process. [For the Entrepreneur visa] we've got people that want to come and live here [...] Those are people who are committed to coming to live in Dominica and who are looking to change both their way of life and their operating base for themselves and their families."
- What type of interest is the program getting and from whom?
- Why wouldn't someone who wants Dominican citizenship just apply under the CIP instead?
- Who will be the accredited agents of the program?
30:00 - An update on the Curaçao Investor Permit Program, which is, curiously, an EU golden visa program - in the Caribbean.
"Your qualification period can be served in any of the Dutch territories. […] So, you can get your permit in Curaçao, and then decide that you want to spend your time in Sint Maarten and qualify, at the end of the fifth year, after taking the Dutch language test, and get Dutch citizenship. And the Dutch passport is now rated third in the world, so it's extremely attractive."
- The new securities investment option;
- How to get Curaçao residence, and a 5-year path to Dutch citizenship, for US$280,000 - or even less;
- On spending your qualification period anywhere in the Dutch Kingdom and qualify for Dutch citizenship in five years;
39:31 - The growing number of firms entering the RCBI government advisory field.
"What we are finding is that [governments] are wary about companies doing 5, 6, or 7 jurisdictions because they are worried about them having the ability to actually craft something specifically suited to their circumstances and needs. […] If you look at the Caribbean; I mean, if one player has four or five different islands, how do you differentiate them?"
- Virtually a duopoly just a few years ago, the RCBI government advisory market has seen 8-10 new entrants recently. What's behind this proliferation of firms seeking government mandates to launch programs?
- How can the new market participants contend when they don't have the track record of the early movers in the government advisory field?
- What are the new programs Kenneth - and others - are working on right now?
- Though no region has longer experience with CBI than the Caribbean, the design and implementation of programs are typically left to European firms. Why is that and is it changing?
Our guest this week on the Mobility Standard podcast was Mohammed Asaria of Range Developments, the Caribbean CBI market’s leading property developer. The agenda during this episode included
- a progress report from his third project in the region, the Six Senses in Grenada;
- the scourge of illegal CBI discounting and how it’s being dealt with;
- why most developers don’t have what it takes to finish their projects; and
- where Range Developments are planning their next projects.
Our guest on the Mobility Standard podcast this week is Philippe May, until recently the Managing Partner of Arton Capital in Singapore who is now a free agent with big - although secret - plans, and strong opinions on current events in the investment migration market.
EPRS report on EU investment migration programs "a fringe issue"Commenting on the European Parliament Research Service's recent report, which proposed five different policy options the EU could use to "take action" against investment migration programs in Europe, May dismissed the study as inconsequential.
"First of all, it was not even the European Parliament. It was only a research group of the European Parliament. What competencies does the European Parliament have? Unlike many national parliaments, the competencies of this Parliament are very limited. And their research group? Well, most people in the EU probably don't even know that such a group exists and its competencies are certainly of a consultative nature only. So I'm not too concerned about what it's saying."
EU campaign against CBI is "driven by ideology"He's also disappointed in Malta's recent decision to share tax residency information on CBI investors with the individual's most recent jurisdiction of tax residency. May surmised that what motivated that decision, which he indicated made little practical sense, was meant to "appease some of those troublemakers in Brussels who always make noise about CBI programs."
If appeasing the EU was Malta's goal, he says, it was unsuccessful because "these people are driven by ideology. They will never give up."
Firms openly offering illegal discounts: "They are not hiding" and "must be exposed"
In an IMI article featuring Philippe May and Sam Bayat last month, the two industry veterans expressed dismay at the continued presence of illegal discounting among CBI agents internationally. In an exclusive interview with Les Khan, head of the Saint Kitts & Nevis CIU, last week, we took the opportunity to ask what was being done to counteract such practices. Khan stated categorically that when evidence of illegal discounting is incontrovertible, the offending firms will get blacklisted.
We asked May what he thought of Khan's statements in the interview.
"I was very happy to hear him say that. One of the major issues we face in our industry with RCBI agents is that we have too many crooks. We have too many unregulated and, I would say, almost unsavory, sometimes criminal elements in the industry. Especially in Red China and in the UAE, you find a lot of rogue agents who lie, who cheat, and who don't give a damn about minimum amounts, about CIUs, who just want to defraud their clients or to undercut prices to make a quick buck. These kinds of actors have to be weeded out and blacklist is one way to get rid of them."
Portugal changes will have negligible effect but Latvia is the world's most underrated golden visaAs the European golden visa market awaits Portugal's upcoming program changes with bated breath, we asked May what effects the reforms would have on the program's competitive position in Europe, as well as on the balance of investor preferences within Portugal's program.
Our guest on the Mobility Standard podcast this week was Mr. Matt Galati, an American immigration lawyer who has made a big name for himself as one of the world’s foremost EB-5 litigation attorneys. We spoke to him about how, and why, he sues various departments of the US government on behalf of his EB-5 clients, as well as why he’s been so successful at it.
We also had Matt explain, in layman’s terms, what’s been going on with the EB-5 regional center program over the last couple of years. Why does the price keep switching back and forth? Why was the regional center program not reauthorized? What legal or regulatory events and dates should we be keeping an eye on to understand what might happen to the program in the next few months? What if there isn’t any reauthorization?
We also spoke about the nature of the dissonance between the EB-5 program’s two main lobby groups, the IIUSA and the EB-5 Investment Coalition. What, specifically, do they disagree about and will they eventually be able to coordinate their work for the benefit of the program?
Now that there’s no regional center program, what are American EB-5 attorneys doing to fill their time? Are they pivoting to other programs? Focusing on different types of visas?
"We're a nation of laws, in the United States. Litigation is quite common. And while it might seem a little new to immigration, there is an enormous amount of case law […] We've seen an explosion in lawsuits. Not just for myself and my practice but across the board. […] One of the tactics of the previous administration was to purposely slow down the awarding of immigration benefits."
Matt says he believes it was the work of immigration lawyers like himself and his colleagues in suing the government was what made processing times recover last year.
"By filing numerous lawsuits because the agency wasn't doing anything in 2019 throughout most of the year, we finally got the agency moving again."
Katie Ananina, better known by her Twitter handle "Katie the Russian", takes a marketing approach that's different from almost all other investment migration consultants:
Focusing the entirety of her customer acquisition strategy on Twitter, she finds 100% of her clients through that platform. Addressing an audience almost exclusively composed of relatively young, freedom-loving, government-skeptic crypto-enthusiasts, she's not afraid to employ verbiage that would mortify her typically more punctilious peers in the investment migration industry.
Her uninhibited and audacious style has allowed the 26-year-old entrepreneur (and former professional sailboat racer who grew up in Chelyabinsk, thousands of miles from the ocean) to quickly build out her company's customer base and her personal brand: Over the last few months, she's made appearances on Fox, CNBC, and a host of other mainstream outlets, and has built a Twitter following of more than 35,000, virtually overnight.
When we asked Katie whether she was being provocative on purpose as part of a PR strategy, she indicated she had not even thought of her marketing approach in those terms, let alone that it was different from that of virtually every other industry service provider.
"It's definitely not some kind of clickbait. It's just how I see my business."
Katie says her tech-team continue to attempt to persuade her to invest in non-organic marketing methods like SEO or pay-per-click marketing, but that she resist such calls:
"I don't want that. I love my audience. I know my audience. I know their pain points, I know their goals, I know their needs. And they trust me because, I believe, I am the most educated on bitcoin-stuff in the migration space. So, when they come to me, I understand their problems. [...] So, I want my audience to be the way they are. It's bitcoiners, it's people who believe in sovereign individualism, who speak the same language, who are comfortable with each other, who trust each other. I don't want cold leads."
Katie also told us her backstory, from growing up in Russia with liberty-minded parents, to joining the Russian national sailing team at the tender age of 11, dropping out of her elite university, experiencing ruble-hyperinflation, having trouble traveling on her Russian passport, to investing in bitcoin, planting flags, buying new citizenships, and eventually helping kindred spirits to do the same.
Many Bitcoin maximalists who have made windfalls from early investments have the lion's share of their portfolios allocated to cryptocurrencies. Because we are still so early in the transition to the new monetary system, however, these investors are loath to exchange their crypto-holdings for other types of assets - such as alternative citizenships - because they consider the opportunity cost to be too high. To address this common quandary in the crypto-community, Katie offers crypto-collateralized loans to provide liquidity to clients who want to avoid liquidating their crypto assets.
"When [my clients] are trying to figure out whether they should go for the real estate or donation option, for my clients, it's 95% donations because of the opportunity cost. For them, freezing $250,000 in real estate for five years instead of buying Bitcoin is like 'what are you talking about?'"
We pointed out that Katie, like Andrew Henderson of Nomad Capitalist, has built a personal brand. Other industry participants typically build the brands of their companies. We discussed some of the pros and cons of building personal brands, such as the ability to gain client trust more rapidly but at the price of losing much of your anonymity.
We also touched El Salvador's new Bitcoin-denominated residence by investment program, which Katie says she hopes the country will turn into a citizenship by investment program.
Our guest this week on the Mobility Standard podcast was Sam Bayat, founder of Bayat Legal Services, one of the Middle East's foremost investment migration firms.
Sam has been active in the investment migration market since the very beginning and we took the opportunity to raise a number of questions best answered with the benefit of three decades of hindsight.
Though he's been nearly three decades in the UAE, Sam's investment migration adventure began in Montreal. That's an origin he shares with many of his peers: Why is it that so many of those company founders who today are big names in the investment migration market all got their start in Montreal? In other words, why is Montreal, in particular, the birthplace of so many leading investment migration firms?
Sam says he’s concerned that the industry as a whole doesn’t have adequate “representation or a more active think-tank to give our perspective on different issues.” But isn’t that what the IMC is doing? Well, Sam has a different take on that and new ideas around what needs to change in investment migration industry associations for them to be truly effective, ideas on which he elaborated during the show. He also explained why he has decided not to join any industry associations for the moment.
“We are more concerned with setting up seminars and talking among ourselves rather than talking to people who are not part of our industry. [...] If Henley and Arton would agree to work together to represent the interests of the industry, and if there were one entity, then I would be a member."
Sam is closely involved in the promotion of North Macedonian citizenship by investment throughout the MENA region. Considering the conspicuous absence of any official mention of the program, we asked him whether we can be confident that there is a government-sanctioned EUR 200,000 citizenship by investment program in North Macedonia. Why is the government not saying anything?
“We have received the first ten approvals, and two of them are my clients," Sam responds. "[…] The biggest problem the promoters of this program have is, basically, the government’s attitude,” he adds, pointing out that the government has been hesitant to adopt best-practice recommendations from seasoned CBI advisors. “It’s Eastern Europe, things are not moving fast and they are not really inclined to change.” Nonetheless, he says he believes that once we see the first several citizenships formally granted, the government of North Macedonia is likely to also become more proactive in their promotion of the program.
Timestamps:
- 02:37 - Why did it all start in Montreal?
- 18:42 - Industry representation and the role of associations like the IMC
- 37:03 - Updates on citizenship by investment in North Macedonia
We had the pleasure of hosting Nestor Alfred, the CEO of Saint Lucia's Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) on the Mobility Standard podcast last week. We covered a wide range of topics, including (timestamped):
- 01:11 - Who is Nestor Alfred? Nestor told us about how, from humble beginnings as the middle child among seven siblings, he was able to rise through the professional ranks in both the public and private sectors thanks to his emphasis on education. He also explains why he chose to leave a successful career in the banking world to help his country run a CIP.
- 11:34 - Now that Saint Lucia has had a change of government, what can we expect to happen to the CIP? What plans does the new administration have for the program? And does Nestor feel comfortable that he'll be able to continue to lead the CIU?
- 19:53 - What are the latest trends for the Saint Lucia CIP? What's happened to application volumes and investments in the last year? Are approvals up? What's changed in terms of applicant nationality distributions?
- 26:02 - How was the Saint Lucia CIU able to go from one of the Caribbean's slowest CIUs to its most efficient? We asked Nestor about what has changed in the CIUs work to bring about the turnaround.
- 39:32 - What's happening with CIPA? Nestor's peers elected him chairman of the Citizenship by Investment Program Association nearly three years ago. He made a number of attempts to more closely integrate the five Caribbean programs, such as regards sharing of information and due diligence work, but also in terms of pricing. Few tangible results from these efforts have materialized, however, and we questioned Nestor as to what's holding CIPA back.
Some highlighted excerpts from Nestors answers:
- On whether he worries for the future of the program under the new government:"At this stage, I don't have that kind of fear, no."
- On whether he will stay on as the head of CIU: "This is not within my purview but within the purview of the new government and, therefore, I would not want to speculate on this and there's not really much I can say about it at this point in time."
- On recent trends in the program's application volume and nationality distribution: "It has been, absolutely, our best year in regard to application growth. And, surprisingly, though the Middle East and China have always held the top two spots in terms of applicant nationalities, as of now, the US has actually taken over the number two spot."
Ashish Saraff says he's confident both that India will soon allow dual citizenship and that the Indian investment migration market will become the world's largest within a decade.
In this episode of the Mobility Standard, we spoke to Ashish Saraff of Aretha Capital Partners. Himself an Indian by birth, Ashish has, for many years, been intimately involved in developing the Indian investment migration market, initially focusing on EB-5 and more recently on investment funds in European golden visa jurisdictions.
We raised a number of questions we had about what Ashish says he is confident will become the single largest investment migration market in the world within the next decade, including:
- Why isn't India a bigger market for investment migration? On a per-capita basis, RCBI participation in India is far lower than among the other subcontinental economies, like Pakistan and Bangladesh. Why aren't Indians equally interested?
- Indian outbound investment grew 10x in the six years to 2019. Why didn't investment migration grow at a similar clip?
- What's the right way to enter the Indian IM market? An enormously diverse, regionalized country means that few one-size-fits-all solutions are available for those who wish to penetrate the market. What works in Mumbai may not work in Bangalore, and vice versa. Should you focus on a B2B strategy that involves building relationships with local service providers and institutions, or are you better off going directly to market with a B2C approach?
- What are the push factors motivating Indians to invest in second residencies and citizenships? Is it true that the prospect of taxing non-resident Indians are driving demand? What about pollution and health concerns?
- How does the restriction on dual citizenship quell demand? Is it possible we'll soon see dual citizenship legalized in India?
- The Indian Supreme Court has ruled that foreign lawyers cannot give legal advice in India. What constitutes legal advice? Can foreign RCBI specialists still operate legally in India?
Our guest this week was Micha-Rose Emmett, long-time CEO of CS Global Partners.
We started off on a personal level, by asking questions designed to tell us more about who Micha-Rose is. She answered questions about how she got started in investment migration and the road to where she is today. We discussed some of the issues closest to Micha’s heart - global citizenship, freedom, female empowerment, and so on. She also talked about what it was like becoming a mother while being the CEO of a major company and how she handled that transition.
Micha’s been in investment migration for 15 years already and we wanted to hear if this opportunity for longitudinal observation of the market had led her to draw any conclusions about what macro trends characterize the current chapter of investment migration’s history, and what’s different in the market now compared to in previous chapters.
Born and raised in Namibia and commercially active in Africa for a long time, Micha understands the continent better than most in this business. We wanted to take advantage of that to raise some of the questions we have about investment migration in Africa. What's next for investment migration in Africa? Is it really the next big market for investment migration or will it remain a continent that just has great potential?
We questioned Micha about how we might promote the maturation of the investment migration market. Ours is still a relatively immature line of business. It has low barriers to entry, it's mostly unregulated, and isn't capital-intensive. There's no shortage of practitioners who cut corners or tell half-truths to close a deal. Are there any industries that are similar to, but ahead of, investment migration that we could use as a model or template for industry development? Perhaps one that has had to overcome similar obstacles in the past?
How has Micha’s own company changed as a consequence of the pandemic?
What lessons did the pandemic teach her and her colleagues at CS Global? What pandemic impacts, negative and positive, drove organizational changes? Are more of her colleagues working remotely and, if so, does Micha expect them to return to the office? Does she think the world of business travel and conference circuits, as we knew it, will return?
Finally, Micha answered a number of questions from the audience, including whether she will consider entering the Turkey CIP market, what junior career paths are available for those who want to get a start in the investment migration business, and whether dropping company margins and lowered program prices will squeeze companies out of the industry.
Our guest this week is Yuri Lau, a Dutch national who has been living in Argentina for the last 16 years and who is now working on investment migration solutions tailored for crypto-investors through the company he co-founded; Citizens of Bitcoin.
We spoke to Yuri about Citizens of Bitcoin and how he aims to tailor mobility packages specifically suited to crypto-investors. We also discussed how the increasingly large share of global assets that are non-tangible and geographically non-fixed opens up opportunities for sovereign individuals to bargain with states and to make countries compete for them.
Ahmad Abbas brought up a potential new incentive scheme for high-performing employees of multinationals: Company sponsorship of CBI applications through the bond investment options of the Caribbean. We explored the feasibility of such solutions and how they would work in practice.
Citizenship by descent solutions is becoming an increasingly recognized - and utilized - avenue to enhanced freedom of travel and settlement. We ask: Why is that market only now getting so much attention and does it represent a threat or an opportunity to investment migration?
Finally, Rogelio suggests DNA test-kit companies, like 23andMe, should become RCBI-introducers by informing their users, whenever European ancestry is discovered during analysis, that they may qualify for citizenship in the EU.
All of that, and a great deal more, in today's episode of the Mobility Standard.
Timestamps
- 06:30 - Citizens of Bitcoin
- 08:10 - The virtualization of assets and how it enables sovereign individuals
- 13:00 - The complementarities of monetary and physical mobility
- 14:20 - Competition between states for the best citizens and free individuals bargaining with states
- 19:00 - Citizenship as employee performance bonus: Companies sponsoring CBI applications through the bond route
- 26:05 - Tailoring investment migration to crypto-investors; What are their pain points?
- 29:00 - Citizenship by descent/ancestry: Why is this market only now growing quickly and is it a threat or an opportunity for the investment migration industry?
- 37:45 - Rogelio gives away his best business ideas for free.
In this fourth installment of the Mobility Standard, we spoke to Murat Coskun of Get Golden Visa, a man who's been closely involved with the Portugal Golden Visa's fund investment option since the very beginning. We asked him a range of questions about RCBI fund options, including:
- Which investment migration programs out there, beyond Portugal, have a fund option, either explicitly in their regulations or as a hypothetical possibility under their legal frameworks?
- Why don’t any of the Caribbean CIPs have such fund investment options?
- Now that Portugal has decided to raise the minimum investment for the fund category from 350,000 to half a million euros starting next year, will the funds struggle to attract investors?
- In the last several years, only a double-digit number of golden visa investors have picked the fund option, but there are already more than 20 funds available. With such an unfavorable ratio, how can fund managers expect to raise enough capital?
- Portugal has proven that there’s an appetite for investment fund options among investor migrants. Which other programs are likely to take advantage of this market next?
- What are the common pitfalls of fund investment? Which factors should you take into consideration when evaluating a fund?
- What are the tax advantages that fund investment has over real estate?
In this third episode of the Mobility Standard, we had the pleasure of hosting David Lesperance, an internationally recognized expert on what he himself calls “backup plans”, by which he means comprehensive structures aimed at protecting your person, your family, and your assets from anything from black swan events and natural disasters to avaricious politicians and criminals.
We asked David about a range of his favorite subjects including:
- US expatriations
What’s really going on with Americans renouncing their citizenships? Some say the numbers falling, others insist it’s at all-time highs but that the real numbers are obscured. What’s the reality? - Wealth taxes
What are the latest developments around wealth taxes around the world? How are the rich protecting themselves against quickly rising tax burdens by investing in alternative citizenships and residencies? - The bulletproof backup plan
As globalization increasingly goes into reverse and a more regionalized, geopolitically less stable world emerges in the wake of COVID, what does a bullet-proof Backup plan look like? If you want to keep being able to enjoy global freedom to travel, trade, and settle, what flags do you need to plant and where? - Citizenship-based taxation during the remote-work era
At the very same time that the highest earners have discovered they can work remotely, the states and countries in which they live have decided to raise taxes drastically. A lot of them will be asking, “why shouldn’t I move to a lower-tax jurisdiction”. What will the political reflex in rich countries be? Is it a proliferation of citizenship-based taxation?
Below, you’ll find an excerpt of some of the more salient moments of the episode:
US missions “refusing to schedule” renunciation appointments
Questioned as to the true levels of Americans giving up their citizenship, David Lesperance offered a detailed account of the disparity between the number of Americans trying to renounce, the number that is able to, and the number of renunciations that are reported.
“You have a huge backlog,” commented Lesperance. “In fact, the US embassy in Bern is reporting they have 400 people on their waiting list to schedule appointments for renunciation. And you have to remember: That’s just one of 307 US missions abroad.”
The reported numbers don’t reflect current demand, explains Lesperance, first because there’s a 12-18 month lag between the renunciation and the publishing date of that event, and second because many US diplomatic missions downright decline to take renunciation appointments, ostensibly out of public health concerns.
The press, he adds, were quick to attribute record renunciations in late 2016 to Trump’s election, and the even greater numbers in early 2020 to COVID, neither of which were related events.
“COVID wasn’t even a twinkle in a bat’s eye at the time those [renunciations] that were only now getting reported actually took place.”
See also:
- Yes, American Citizens Can and Will Leave to Avoid Wealth Taxes
- Record Numbers of Americans Renouncing Citizenships Has Nothing to Do With The Pandemic
For investment migration, 2020 was a year of both setbacks and of considerable advances. While the pandemic brought record global awareness of the usefulness of alternative citizenships and residencies, it also made putting investment migration plans into practice far more difficult.
Some programs have seen record application volume while others have seen it collapse. Service providers speak of a sharp rise in demand, but also difficulty in catering to it.
In this second episode of our new podcast, the Mobility Standard, we discuss how different investment migration programs performed in 2020, and ask which lessons may be gleaned from those observations.
We’ll try to explain the divergence in performance during the pandemic between Greece and Portugal, and why the Caribbean was able to carry on with business as usual. We want to know whether there is something besides the pandemic that explains the sharp decline in EB-5 applications over the last year, and also try to map out the regional center program’s future beyond its June 30th expiry date.
Ahmad wants Stephane Tajick, our guest in this episode and the designated Canadian, to explain why Canada, an ostensibly immigrant-loving country, keeps making it harder to immigrate.
We want to know if 2020’s reportedly sharp rise in inquiries will translate into actual applications in 2021, and also try to understand which markets will be the biggest sources of investors in the next few years.
Finally, we have to talk a little bit about the biggest news story this week; the heralded opening of a North Macedonian CIP, and what effect that will have on the competitive balance of European CIPs.
Timestamps:
- 02:16: What explains the sharp divergence in performance between the Greek and Portuguese golden visas in 2020?
- 07:36: Why were applications and approvals for the Caribbean CIPs relatively unaffected by the pandemic?
- 11:31: What, except the pandemic, explains the sharp downturn in applications and approvals for the US EB-5 program in 2020?
- 13:00: Moment of Truth for the EB-5 program. What happens after June 30th?
- 19:46: Why does “immigrant-loving” country Canada keep making it harder for people to immigrate?
- 24:43: Many firms have reported tremendous increases in the number of inquiries about investment migration programs in 2020 but, so far, this hasn’t translated into a corresponding increase in applications. What’s behind this schism?
- 32:03: Which are the next big source markets for investment migration?
- 36:52: A small crisis in the Vietnamese investment migration market
- 39:06: Which programs will absorb the strong demand that existed for the now-closed Cyprus CIP?
- 44:57: How will the increasingly likely prospect of a North Macedonian CIP affect the competitive position of other CIPs in Europe and the Caribbean?
2020 has seen a surge in investment migration among applicants from countries we tend not to think of as typical outbound investment migration markets and we ask:
- Is this just a flash in the pan that will revert to normal when the pandemic is over?
- If not, what does it mean for investment migration programs, service providers, and applicants?
**We discuss how different citizenship and residence by investment programs have evolved to cater to the preferences of non-Western applicants, and how they might need to change to start attracting a Western audience.
We also ask: Now that the pandemic has kickstarted awareness of investment migration products among Americans, how can the industry capitalize on this unique historical period to make sure that awareness remains and even grows?**