“The Very Notion of Citizenship […] Needs a Fundamental Rethink”: Investment Migration People in the News This Week – IMI

Investment migration people in the news this week included:

You are viewing: “The Very Notion of Citizenship […] Needs a Fundamental Rethink”: Investment Migration People in the News This Week – IMI

• Matt Anderson of Anderson West
• Armand Arton of Arton Capital
• Golden Partners
• Cristina Céspedes of Balearic Legal & Tax
• David Lesperance of Lesperance & Associates
• Dr. Christian H. Kaelin and Dr. Juerg Steffen of Henley & Partners
• Nicholas Mastroianni of U.S. Immigration Fund 
• Ignacio A. Donoso of Donoso & Partners
• Manoj Dharmani of DUDigital Global.  

“It’s been non-stop requests,” said Matt Anderson, an American who works as a real estate agent in Mallorca. He said there was a 12% increase in US buyers on the Spanish island over the last year and cited the quality of international schools and warm weather as key reasons driving many Americans to relocate.

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But as the program ends, there’s been a race against time for Americans who still want to take advantage. Armand Arton, chief executive officer of investment consultancy Arton Capital, said his agency saw a “noticeable uptick in inquiries” in recent months. And Golden Partners, a luxury real estate investment firm in Spain, reported seeing demand “skyrocket” in recent days after the new policy passed.

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Cristina Céspedes, a lawyer at Balearic Legal & Tax, said Spain’s policy of processing the documents in 20 days — unlike Portugal’s months-long backlog — has encouraged many to give it a try even as time runs out. But many clients who haven’t yet bought a €500,000 property have started seeking out alternatives to gain residency, she said.

Henley & Partners, which helps wealthy investors to move overseas, estimated that Britain was on track to lose a record 9,500 millionaires in 2024, more than any country except China.

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David Lesperance, the founder of tax and immigration advisory Lesperance and Partners, said enquiries about leaving the country doubled when it became clear that Labour would win the election in July.

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‘Ever since Rachel Reeves started talking about a ‘fiscal black hole’, my wealthy UK non-dom and domiciled clients have been looking anxiously at the exit door,’ he told MailOnline.

Dr. Christian H. Kaelin, Chairman of international investment migration advisory firm Henley & Partners and the inventor of the passport index concept, says “the very notion of citizenship and its birthright lottery needs a fundamental rethink as temperatures rise, natural disasters become more frequent and severe, displacing communities and rendering their environments uninhabitable. Simultaneously, political instability and armed conflicts in various regions force countless people to flee their homes in search of safety and refuge. The need to introduce Free Global Cities to harness the untapped potential of displaced people and other migrants, transforming them from victims of circumstance into architects of their own futures has never been more pressing or apparent”.

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US nationals currently constitute the single largest cohort of applicants for alternative residence and citizenship, accounting for a staggering 21% of all investment migration program applications received by Henley & Partners in 2024. CEO Dr. Juerg Steffen says the firm has more American clients than the next four biggest nationalities — Turkish, Filipino, Indian, and Brits — combined. “Faced with unprecedented volatility, investors and wealthy families are adopting a strategy of geopolitical arbitrage to acquire additional residence and/or citizenship options to hedge against jurisdictional risk and leverage the differences in legal, economic, political, and social conditions across countries to optimize their personal, financial, and lifestyle outcomes.”

The Henley Passport Index is the original ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. The ranking is based on exclusive data from the IATA, which maintains the world’s largest and most accurate database of travel information, and is enhanced by ongoing research by the Henley & Partners Research Department.

According to Henley & Partners’ latest update, two African countries have recently been added to the list of destinations offering citizenship by investment programs.

According to a report published in Henley and Partners, it will be one of the largest wealth migrations. 

According to Henley & Partners, individuals and their immediate family members can become Spanish residents (via a temporary residence permit) in less than a month thanks to the residence by investment program.

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Nicholas Mastroianni and Ignacio A. Donoso write a piece exploring visa retrogression and how it affects EB5 investors.

Visa retrogression occurs when demand for immigrant visas in a specific category exceeds the annual supply, causing delays for applicants. In the EB-5 program, retrogression happens when the U.S. State Department sets a cut-off date on the Visa Bulletin. Only investors with a priority date—the date their I-526E petition was filed—earlier than the cut-off date can proceed with their applications.

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Visa retrogression creates significant legal hurdles for EB-5 investors, especially those currently in the U.S. on H-1B or F-1 visas. Even with an approved I-526E petition, retrogression can delay key milestones in the immigration process.

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The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) allows dependent children’s ages to be “frozen” at the time of filing an AOS. However, if retrogression delays the ability to file AOS, children who turn 21 before filing could “age out” and lose eligibility for a green card as dependents. For many families, this is one of the most critical risks of retrogression.

“Previously, employers had to pay at least the median wage to hire foreign workers. This requirement is being removed, giving employers more flexibility when hiring. They still need to offer competitive salaries, but this change makes it easier for them to find workers,” said Manoj Dharmani, CEO of DUDigital Global.  

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Dharmani added, “These reforms show that New Zealand is keen on attracting skilled workers and addressing labour shortages.”  

Ahmad Abbas is the Editor of IMI Daily, IMI’s flagship news publication.