“Want to be a Canadian? It’s never been easier.”

2026/04/10 Leave a comment

Latest numbers and demand resulting for C-3, suggesting possible higher numbers than presented by IRCC and PBO, and a reminder how overly generous it is compared to other countries. From Washington Post, indicating interest given large numbers of American residents affected:

….Late last year, the Canadian government amended the Citizenship Act to grant Canadian citizenship to a wider pool of people seeking dual citizenship through their family lineage. Before the revised law went into effect on Dec. 15, the country limited Canadian citizenship to the first-generation children of a Canadian parent. Now, all generations who were born outside of Canada and have direct Canadian ancestry can become Canadian citizens, as long as they possess the correct documents andfall within the correct legal provisions.

“The grandkids can get citizenship, and the great-grandkids can get citizenship from Canada, even if they never set foot in Canada,” said Basil Mohr-Elzeki, managing partner at Henley & Partners, a firm that specializes in residency and citizenship planning.

The rule stems from a December 2023 decision by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that deemed the first-generation cutoff unconstitutional. The law restores citizenship to those beyond the first generation born abroad….

A surge of applications

Since the change in qualifications, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has experienced a bump in applications. In January, the agency said it received 8,897 applications, up from 5,940 a year ago. Between Dec. 15, 2025, and Jan. 31, it processed about 6,280 applications, out of 12,430 received, and confirmed 1,480 new citizens by descent under the new act.

“The IRCC said the processing period is about 10 months. Bart said more complicated cases, such as ones requiring DNA testing and assistance from the firm’s staff genealogist, can stretch for years. A straightforward application takes about a year or more, unless it is expedited, in which case it can take as little as a few weeks. Bart warned, however, that the wait time could grow exponentially with the recent high demand.

“Processing is really becoming backlogged because so many people are wanting to qualify,” she said.

The government agency, which posts the estimated processing time online, also shares the number of people awaiting a decision — 56,300 on April 7.

If Canadians are worried about an influx of new citizens, they shouldn’t be. Peter Spiro, a law professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, does not anticipate a rush of newly minted Canadians crossing the border.

Spiro, who specializes in international, immigration and constitutional law, describes dual citizenship as a form of insurance. You may never have to use your second citizenship, he said, but in case you need it, Canada will always welcome you home.”

Source: “Want to be a Canadian? It’s never been easier.”

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Canadian passport continues to plummet in power according to new global ranking. How does it compare to other countries?

2025/07/30 Leave a comment

What a silly, stupid and misleading headline, dropping one level hardly plummeting:

Over the last two decades, the Canadian passport has been one of the world’s strongest but a recent report suggests it is plummeting. 

Canada’s passport ties with Estonia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 8th place out of 199 in the world with visa-free access to 184 countries, according to the latest data from Henley Passport Index . 

The recent ranking shows the Canadian passport is down from seventh place since the last index update in January, losing visa-free access to four nations while seeing a much larger drop from Canada’s 2014 peak when it ranked second. 

Although the Canadian passport has consistently ranked within the top 10 globally, in recent years, other countries are gaining visa-free access to destinations quicker than Canada, which is among five countries to have seen the largest plunge in rankings over the past decade. 

Here’s how Canada’s passport ranks compared to other countries including the U.S. 

Which countries have the most powerful passports?

Singapore’s passport has once again topped the list allowing citizens to enter 193 destinations out of a possible 227 without a prior visa. On the other end of the spectrum, Afghanistan remains at the bottom of the list, with its passport gaining visa-free access to just 25 countries— a massive mobility gap of 168 countries compared to Singapore. 

Other Asian countries are also topping the list, with Japan and South Korea tied for second place, giving holders visa-free access to 190 countries. 

Seven European nations take the third spot with visa-free access to 189 countries, including Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Spain. The fourth and fifth places are also largely dominated by other European countries, but New Zealand is the one outlier who shares fifth place with Europe’s Greece and Switzerland. 

Since six months ago, India has seen the largest jump in ranking, shooting up from 85th place to 77th with citizens granted access to 59 visa-free destinations, but only gaining entrance to two additional countries. In the latest data, Saudi Arabian citizens can now travel to 91 countries after adding four destinations, making this the largest gain in visa-free access from all passports since the start of the year. 

Source: Canadian passport continues to plummet in power according to new global ranking. How does it compare to other countries?

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So you’re an American who now wants to move to Canada? Here’s what you need to know, American interest in moving abroad is about to ‘go into overdrive.’ These are the easiest countries to immigrate to

2024/11/07 Leave a comment

Repeat of 2016, although more words than action as there was a relatively small increase 2016 to 2019 as a percentage of all immigrants:

Immigration was one of the top issues in the 2024 United States presidential election, sparking rancorous debates between the candidates and among everyday citizens.

But now many Americans are the ones considering leaving the country, particularly for Canada, as they face another four years of Donald Trump as president.

Minnesota resident Krystal Majerus Enquist is one of those people.

She stayed up late on election night watching the results roll in, and said it was “nauseating” to learn that Donald Trump was elected president of the United States.

“Being in a country overall that has chosen someone who is hateful, spreading fear … It feels like we just keep going backwards.”

Searches for terms such as “How to move to Canada” spiked by more than 5,000 per cent over the last 24 hours, according to Google Trends, with the highest interest in the neighbouring states of Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire….

Source: So you’re an American who now wants to move to Canada? Here’s what you need to know

And for wealthy Americans, hedging their bets:

In a repeat of 2016, the re-election of Donald Trump as president of the United States has many Americans taking stock of their options to leave the country. 

Wealthy Americans have already been making the preparations, their attorneys have told Fortune—and many were doing so as a “Plan B” regardless of who won the presidency. Other surveys have found that an increasing number of Americans at all income levels want to leave the country, with political and social unrest being a top concern, followed by the high cost of living. Over the past few years, more and more Americans have been renouncing their citizenship altogether. Anti-immigrant, anti-Semitic, and anti-LGBTQ sentiment are major drivers, as is the erosion of women’s reproductive rights, say immigration attorneys and firms.

“We saw a spike in 2017 after Trump won, and then again in 2020 due to concerns about a Democrat winning and the potential for higher taxes on income, capital gains and a wealth tax, the contested election, and the January 6 riots,” says Reaz Jafri, an attorney at international immigration law firm Withers and CEO of advisory firm Dasein.

U.S. nationals now make up the largest portion of client applications at Henley & Partners, a global citizenship firm. “We expect this now to go into overdrive and increase even further following the results of [Tuesday]’s U.S. election,” says Sarah Nicklin, Henley & Partners’s head of public relations.

Most Americans moving abroad look north to Canada or across the Atlantic to Europe, where popular destinations include Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, and Spain, according to Henley & Partners. But moving to a new country isn’t as a simple as it is domestically. Most countries have stringent requirements, and Americans can only move under certain circumstances….

Source: American interest in moving abroad is about to ‘go into overdrive.’ These are the easiest countries to immigrate to

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Henley & Partners, Leader In Controversial ‘Golden Passports,’ Sets Sights On U.S.’s Ultra Rich

2023/02/17 Leave a comment

Of note:

Henley & Partners, the U.K.-based consultancy, has become the most prominent facilitator of so-called “golden passport” and “golden visa” schemes for the ultra-rich after decades of securing passports for the wealthy in Russia, India, China and more. Now it’s turning to the U.S. as its next major market, boasting an unprecedented uptick in the number of high net worth Americans seeking second citizenship.

Migration investment schemes, which effectively allow people to purchase citizenship or residency in exchange for an investment in a country, have long been controversial but came under a harsh new light after Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Forbesfound that nearly half of 35 sanctioned billionaires had a second (or even third) passport, including through European investment migration schemes. Many of the most prominent citizens by investment schemes have since moved to halt sales to Russian applicants, revoke passports or shut down altogether—including most recently Ireland, which announced abruptly on Tuesday it was shutting down its decades-old scheme. Portugal’s program, which has been one of the most lucrative for Henley & Partners, is currently being reviewed by its government.

Despite the crackdowns in Europe, Henley & Partners says business is better than ever—and not for the reasons many may expect. On Wednesday, at a glitzy private luncheon at the Lotte New York Palace, a five-star hotel in Manhattan, the firm’s leaders, including CEO Juerg Steffen, touted the record number of inquiries and applications received by Henley & Partners in 2022, with the highest number coming from a somewhat surprising market—the U.S.—which Steffen claims is about 20% of the firm’s citizenship investment business in 2022, followed by India.

Overall, Henley & Partners’ business grew 25% last year, and another 35% the year before, Steffen told Forbes in an interview before the event. The company would not share revenues for “competitive reasons” but it takes a cut out of every visa or citizenship application, with higher charges for applications with multiple people (70% of applicants are families). The migration firm also runs a government consultancy business advising countries on how to start and run investment migration programs, which Stefan said makes up about one third of the group’s total business. The firm saysit helped set up “many” of the 30 residence and/or citizenship programs it facilitates, such as St. Kitts & Nevis, which it helped relaunch starting in 2006. Steffen claims the investment migration industry is now worth some $30 billion, including the amount invested, though others have pegged it closer to $3 billion.

According to a “USA Wealth Report” published in conjunction with the event, the number of Americans making inquiries to Henley & Partners about citizenship investment and residency options has increased more than four fold since 2019 (the company did not share exact numbers for either data point). The firm claimed it received more inquiries from wealthy Americans than any other nationality last year. That includes Russians and Chinese, though the former is likely explained by many of these programs halting Russian applicants, and the latter by China’s strict coronavirus-related travel restrictions; Steffen said there has been an uptick in interest from wealthy Chinese since the country’s borders reopened in January.

To accommodate the new levels of interest, Henley & Partners announced the opening of three U.S, offices in New York, Los Angeles and Miami. Steffen also said the company is planning to expand its workforce from 300 to 400 people by the end of the year. Previously, the company’s office in Canada handled all inquiries from Americans. One employee of the newly formed New York office said it is already working with 200 clients.

As for why wealthy Americans would be interested in getting another passport, Steffen claims that a number of U.S. billionaires started approaching Henley & Partners after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. “From our perspective it has probably to do with the political environment but also how the government handled Covid at the beginning. They realized, we have a private jet but we can’t just leave and go to another country even if it’s perhaps more secure. Then they realized how important it is to have more than one residence and citizenship,” he said.

But the U.S. is politically and economically stable relative to some of the countries where Americans are reportedly seeking access. According to the report, the most sought after programs among Americans were Portugal’s Golden Residence Permit Program, which requires a minimum real estate investment of nearly $300,000 and can take up to 18 months to process, followed by Malta’s, a program that requires its applicants to live in the country for 36 months and make a minimum investment of about $790,000. Also commonly pursued was Caribbean citizenship through St. Kitts & Nevis, which requires a significantly smaller $125,000 investment and can take less than half a year, according to the firm.

Critics have long pointed to the schemes as a vessel for potential corruption, money laundering and tax avoidance. “We consider that the sale of citizenship through ‘golden passports’ is illegal under EU law and poses serious risks to our security,” Didier Reynders, the European Commission’s commissioner for justice and consumers, saidlast March as the commission escalated its campaign against citizenship by investment schemes by calling an end to the programs.

In an April 2022 interview with Forbes, ” Eka Rostomashavili of the anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International acknowledged that while there are “legitimate reasons for wanting to have a second passport,” she argued. Many wealthy Russians sanctioned for their connections to the Kremlin have EU passports “because they probably don’t want to live in the mess that they helped create.”

As the biggest player in the investment migration industry, Henley & Partners has landed in the hot seat more than once in recent years after a slew of reports raised questions about some of people it has helped get passports. The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) published a report in March 2022 detailing how the firm helped a “bevy of high-risk clients” gain citizenship, including some individuals with questionable backgrounds who were later sanctioned or convicted of crimes.

Henley & Partners has repeatedly responded to these allegations asserting it follows all local and international laws and regulations. In his interview with Forbes, Steffen echoed these points, saying that while the industry is largely unregulated, Henley & Partners follows an extensive due diligence process that involves looking at a person’s criminal record from everywhere they’ve lived in the past 10 years and consulting with external investigative companies that write reports ranging from 30 to 70 pages on each potential client. “For us, it’s of course, very important from a reputational perspective,” said Steffen. He said that it took a year to move through all the regulatory hurdles required to start its business in the U.S.

Whether the demand is as high as it claims, moving into the U.S. market seems to offer another important benefit to Henley & Partners, which is a shot at building legitimacy for an industry that has been delivered significant blows over the past year. Steffen says he isn’t worried. While some programs have tightened their application criteria or even closed, he said the firm has been conversing with many new governments open to launching programs. “It’s getting mainstream and most of the countries actually have these programs now,” said Steffen.

Source: Henley & Partners, Leader In Controversial ‘Golden Passports,’ Sets Sights On U.S.’s Ultra Rich

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The world’s most powerful passport for 2023 revealed

2023/01/12 Leave a comment

The usual marketing by Henley & Partners. Bit of a silly list as visa free travel is not the only reason the rich and ultra rich choose to obtain citizenship-by-investment:
A trio of Asian passports offer their holders greater global travel freedom than those of any other countries, according to a new quarterly report released by London-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners.
Japanese citizens enjoy visa-free or visa-on-demand access to a record 193 destinations around the world, just ahead of Singapore and South Korea whose citizens can freely visit 192.
And now that Asia-Pacific is opening up post-Covid, its citizens are more likely to be making use of that travel freedom again.
Global travel is now at around 75% of pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest release by Henley Passport Index, which is based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Below the Asian top three, a glut of European countries sit near the top of the leaderboard. Germany and Spain are tied on 190 destinations, followed by Finland, Italy, Luxembourg on 189.
Then there’s Austria, Denmark, Netherlands and Sweden all tied in fifth place, while France, Ireland, Portugal and United Kingdom are at No. 6.
New Zealand and the United States make an appearance at No. 7, alongside Belgium, Norway, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
Afghan nationals sit at the bottom of the index once again, and can access just 27 countries without requiring a visa in advance.

Other indexes

Henley & Partner’s list is one of several indexes created by financial firms to rank global passports according to the access they provide to their citizens.
The Henley Passport Index ranks 199 passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. It’s updated in real time throughout the year, as and when visa policy changes come into effect.
Arton Capital’s Passport Index takes into consideration the passports of 193 United Nations member countries and six territories — ROC Taiwan, Macau (SAR China), Hong Kong (SAR China), Kosovo, Palestinian Territory and the Vatican. Territories annexed to other countries are excluded.
It’s also updated in real time throughout the year, but its data is gathered by close monitoring of individual governments’ portals. It’s a tool “for people who travel, to provide accurate, simple-to-acess information for their travel needs,” Arton Capital’s founder Armand Arton told CNN in December.
Arton’s Global Passport Power Rank 2023 puts the United Arab Emirates in the top spot, with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 181.
As for second place, that’s held by 11 countries, most of which are in Europe: Germany, Sweden, Finland, Luxembourg, Spain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and South Korea.
The United States and the UK are at No.3, alongside Denmark, Belgium, Portugal, Norway, Poland, Ireland and New Zealand.

The best passports to hold in 2023, according to the Henley Passport Index

1. Japan (193 destinations)
2. Singapore, South Korea (192 destinations)
3. Germany, Spain (190 destinations)
4. Finland, Italy, Luxembourg (189 destinations)
5. Austria, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden (188 destinations)
6. France, Ireland, Portugal, United Kingdom (187 destinations)
7. Belgium, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, United States, Czech Republic (186 destinations)
8. Australia, Canada, Greece, Malta (185 destinations)
9. Hungary, Poland (184 destinations)
10. Lithuania, Slovakia (183 destinations)

The worst passports to hold in 2023, according to the Henley Passport Index

Several countries around the world have visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 40 or fewer countries. These include:
102. North Korea (40 destinations)
103. Nepal, Palestinian territory (38 destinations)
104. Somalia (35 destinations)
105. Yemen (34 destinations)
106. Pakistan (32 destinations)
107. Syria (30 destinations)
108. Iraq (29 destinations)
109. Afghanistan (27 destinations)

Source: The world’s most powerful passport for 2023 revealed

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US billionaires’ demand for ‘golden passport’ schemes rockets by 337% in three years

2022/05/09 Leave a comment

Yet more demand by Americans, with interesting reasons stated by consultants (suggesting a mix of right and left leaning ultra wealthy):

Soaring numbers of wealthy Americans are buying ‘golden passports’ that grant them citizenship to New Zealand, Portugal and other ‘safe’ countries over fears of impending civil war in their home country.

Henley & Partners, a firm that helps the wealthy shop around for citizenship across the globe, said sales to American nationals worth between $50 million and $20 billion have shot up more than 337 percent since 2019, Business Insider reported.

Countries involved – including Portugal, Malta, New Zealand and Austria offer citizenship or visas that lead to citizenship in return for heavy investment in the host national, and a visit of just a few days there each year.

Latitude Residency & Citizenship and Dasein Advisors, two other citizenship firms, said they too have seen more inquiries from American clients over the past three years than in the previous 20 combined.

‘We’ve all lived through the past two and a half years,’ Reaz Jafri told Insider, referencing the pandemic and the civil unrest that followed.

‘It all just reminded us how vulnerable and frail we are, and people who have means are accepting that it will happen again — and they don’t want to be caught off guard.’

Other issues said to have seen the demand for foreign passports spike include the likely end of Roe V Wade, which legalized abortion across the US, Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Bill – better known as the Don’t Say Gay Bill, as well as fears for the future of America’s democracy following the Black Lives Matter and January 6 riots.

Dominic Volek, head of private clients at Henley & Partners, said clients were worried over the ‘four Cs: COVID-19, climate change, cryptocurrency and conflict.’

Volek told Insider his firm saw an uptick in clients during the Trump administration, and once the pandemic hit, wealthy Americans were hit by the realities of their country’s COVID restrictions.

‘In the very strict lockdowns there was a point where if you only had an American passport, you could not enter Europe,’ Volek said. ‘I think that made a lot of particularly ultra-high net worth individuals realize that they’re potentially a little bit more fragile than they thought.’

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt was one of the rich elites seeking a ‘golden passport’ in 2020 as he applied for European citizenship in 2020 through Cyprus’s now defunct program.

Along with fears of another pandemic, worsening storms fueled by climate change and worries over an economic collapse, the billionaires are also afraid of civil unrest from a divided nation that only seems to be getting worse everyday.

In the past three years, America saw nationwide protests over pandemic restrictions, the Black Lives Matter movement, laws restricting abortion which have gained new steam as the Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe V. Wade, voting rights and Critical Race Theory in schools.

The country also received a shock on January 6, 2021, when supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol in a deadly riot to attempt to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s victory.

In 2022, Americans continue to be divided over these issues as well as Florida’s so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill and nationwide police reform efforts, where liberal cities that embraced the new laws are experiencing surges in violent crime.

Jafri said the issues plaguing America have caused billionaires to share a single concern, a fear about the future of American society.

Among the most popular countries billionaires are seeking citizenship for is Portugal, which offers a five-year residency permit that allows visa-free travel to 26 countries in the European Union.

Portugal’s program requires a minimum investment of $200,000 in real estate and an average stay of just seven days a year in the country. After the permit expires, individuals can apply for full-time citizenship, which takes an additional three years.

New Zealand, another popular country for ‘golden passports,’ grants permanent residency status to those investing in residential or commercial property, as well as high growth investments and government bonds.

The country’s Investor 1 visa asks for about $6.5 million in investments over three years and requires applicants to stay in the country for 88 days over that timespan.

The Investor 2 visa asks for about $2 million in investments over four years and requires applicants to be 66 or older and to stay in the country for 438 days over four years.

New Zealand golden passport holders include PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, who’s worth an estimated $5 billion.

Malta offers European citizenship to those who contribute more than $740,000 to the national development fund, more than $860,000 into real estate investment, more than $12,000 to charity, and provide proof of at least 36 months of residency in the country.

The nation also offers an expedited process that only calls for proof of 12 months of residency so long as the applicant contributes more than $925,000 to the national development fund.

Austria provides ‘golden passports’ through investment directly, asking foreign applications to invest more than $12.3 million into a business or make a $3.7 million contribution to the government development fund.

Alternatively, applicants can make a nearly $50,000 contribution to the government fund for residency approval and then apply for full citizenship after 10 years.

Source: US billionaires’ demand for ‘golden passport’ schemes rockets by 337% in three years

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New Research Reveals Best Real Estate Investments for Residence and Citizenship Rights

2022/02/09 Leave a comment

More from the citizenship-by-investment industry with focus on real-estate (rather than more productive investment):

Henley & Partners in partnership with Deep Knowledge Analytics has launched the Best Investment Migration Real Estate Index — a unique new analytical tool to assess investment migration programs offering real estate investment as a pathway to residence rights or citizenship acquisition.

The leading international residence and citizenship advisory firm saw an 80% increase in enquiries over the past 12 months off the back of an already record-breaking year in 2020 as wealthy investors scrambled to diversify their domiciles at the same time as their investment portfolios in a bid to secure greater global access and optionality as a hedge against unrelenting market and political volatility.

The Best Investment Migration Real Estate Index is a first-of-its-kind metric for those in the market for a secondary residence or citizenship. It considers over 30 parameters and over 300 data points to score and compare 16 program options worldwide according to key considerations such quality of life, GDP, minimum real estate investment amount, potential rental income, associated property costs, the real estate holding period, residence requirements, and saleability, as well as crypto-friendliness, which is gaining importance among global investors.

Henley & Partners Group Head of Private Clients, Dominic Volek, says the Covid-19 pandemic has convinced even those investors from wealthy nations with premium passports of the benefits of alternative residence and/or citizenship. “International real estate has always been a reliable asset class due to its long-term staying power. Real estate–linked investment migration programs have the additional advantages of enhancing your global mobility through multiple passports and expanding your personal access rights as a citizen or resident of additional jurisdictions, creating optionality in terms of where you and your family can live, work, study, retire, and invest.”

The Emirate of Dubai claims 1st place overall on the new index, scoring highly for rental income potential, and the price of property per square meter which is lower than other major international centers. Spain comes in 2nd, bolstered by its economic strength, with the highest score in the GDP parameter. The 3rd spot is occupied by Montenegro, which has emerged as a key second-home and property-investor market in the Mediterranean, and transcontinental Turkey is placed 4th overall, with high scores for its relatively low investment amount and minimal residence requirements. Sharing 5th spot with Thailand, the Portugal Golden Residence Permit Program continues to outstrip all others in terms of demand. With high scores for its low investment amount, saleability, and crypto-friendliness, investing in real estate in this EU member state is a move many global investors, particularly those from the USA, have already made over the past 12 months.

Commenting on the Best Investment Migration Real Estate Index, CEO of the international Engel & Völkers Group, Sven Odia, says the premium segment has seen a sharp increase in demand during the pandemic. “We recorded a 97% rise in residential property transactions in the EUR 5 million to EUR 10 million segment last year compared to the previous year, and an increase of 90% in the top segment of properties valued over EUR 10 million.”

Group Head of Real Estate at Henley & Partners, Thomas Scott, says “aside from potential gains over the lifetime of the asset, an additional property can provide rental income in a strong and stable currency and geographical diversification via permanent residence or another citizenship, while at the same time as offering distinct lifestyle or business advantages.”

Source: New Research Reveals Best Real Estate Investments for Residence and Citizenship Rights

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Covid accelerates India’s millionaire exodus

2021/04/14 Leave a comment

Of note:

India’s wealthy have topped a list of people seeking to relocate abroad through visa programmes that offer citizenship or right of residence in other countries in return for investments.

There was very little Rahul (name changed) didn’t have going for him, when he made the tough call to leave India six years ago. He is the second generation scion of a well-heeled Delhi-based family. They have a flourishing exports business with a monopoly in what’s typically called a ‘sunrise sector’- an industry that has great future prospects.

But he left it all behind and moved to Dubai in 2015, to look after the company’s overseas expansion. He also got a citizenship by investment in one of the Caribbean nations. Harassment by tax authorities in India’s Enforcement Directorate was a key reason, he says.

“I could see it becoming a problem for someone who had businesses spread across the world,” he told the BBC. “With a foreign passport, the red-tape has reduced substantially. I am less worried about being slapped with a random tax demand.”

‘Tax terror’ has been a routine gripe among Indian corporate tycoons. When the founder and owner of India’s largest coffee chain, Cafe Coffee Day died in 2019, he accused a former director general of the income tax department of harassing him. But the government has continued to tighten its noose around business owners in recent years.

According to one report, tax searches by India’s income tax department have more than trebled in the last few years.

The government has argued this is being done to eradicate “black money – illegal cash, hidden from the tax authorities – and improve tax compliance. But critics say the overreach is also often on account of pressure on bureaucrats to meet revenue targets.

But hounding by the taxman was just one reason for his move, says Rahul. His decision was also prompted by a growing trend of “divide and rule politics” in India, he told us. He didn’t want his kids to grow up in India’s increasingly polarised environment.

Many others in his circle of wealthy friends were also renouncing their citizenship or resident status, he added.

These claims are borne out by figures from the wall-street investment bank Morgan Stanley. A 2018 bank report found that 23,000 Indian millionaires had left the country since 2014.

More recently, a Global Wealth Migration Review report revealed that nearly 5,000 millionaires, or 2% of the total number of high net-worth individuals in India left the country in 2020 alone. And Indians topped a list compiled by the London-headquartered global citizenship and residence advisory Henley & Partners (H&P), of those seeking citizenship or residency in other countries in return for monetary investments.

Covid-19 has been a big driver of what was an ongoing trend of wealthy Indians seeking to “globalise their lives and assets” according to H&P. So much so that the firm set up its office in India in the middle of the lockdown last year to cater to growing demand.

“I think they [clients] are realising they don’t want to wait for the second or third wave of the pandemic. They want to have their papers now that they are sitting at home. We refer to this as the insurance policy or Plan B,” Dominic Volek, Group Head of Private at Henley & Partners told the BBC on a video call from Dubai.

According to Mr Volek, the pandemic could be a game changer, because it is making the wealthy think about migration in a more holistic fashion. It is no longer just about visa-free travel, or ease of access to global markets, but about wealth diversification, better healthcare and education, to protect against the uncertainties brought about by the pandemic.

Countries like Portugal, which runs a ‘golden visa’ programme as well as countries like Malta and Cyprus are preferred destinations for India’s well heeled, according to H&P.

This exodus of big money is not necessarily permanent in nature – people merely invest money in another country as a fall-back option rather than take out all their money from their home country and cut business ties. But it doesn’t bode well for a developing nation like India, say experts.

“When this happens, they remove themselves, their entrepreneurial ability and their income and wealth from the tax base. This is likely to be detrimental in the long run. Their exit sends a poor signal about the ‘doing business climate’ in India,” says Rupa Subramanya, Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.

Andrew Amoils, Head of Research at New World Wealth, a Johannesburg-based wealth intelligence group, told the Business Standard newspaper: “It can be a sign of bad things to come as high-net-worth individuals are often the first people to leave – they have the means to leave unlike middle-class citizens.”

Source: Covid accelerates India’s millionaire exodus

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These are the countries you can ‘buy’ citizenship to – Business Insider

2017/03/20 Leave a comment

Another good overview of the various schemes, and the relative advantages for those shopping for citizenship:

Most countries offer citizenship (passports) the hard way. But 7 sell them outright, and 3 have “powerful” passports. “Citizenship Planning” is a thing.

For people who need a second citizenship and passport to dodge the long arm of their government, there is something called “citizenship planning,” similar to “financial planning.” But when it comes to just outright buying a citizenship and passport without having to languish for years as mere non-citizen resident, the Huddled Masses need not apply. And not any passport will do. In fact, there are only three for sale that are really good.

Which are the best passports to get?

There are quality standards for everything, especially if it’s costly. The most powerful passports are those that allow visa-free travel to the most countries.

There are other considerations, for example those that drive US citizens nuts when they live overseas, due to the US government’s onerous reporting requirements on them and on banks that do business with them, and due to US taxation of their worldwide income no matter where they live. Few other governments treat their citizens that way.

In terms of visa-free travel, here are the 25 countries with the most powerful passports, according to a new ranking by Henley & Partners, which is into “citizenship planning.” But among them is only – Austria – one whose citizenship can be bought (more on that in a moment):

  1. Germany: visa-free travel to 176 countries.
  2. Sweden: 175 countries
  3. Denmark, Finland, Italy, Spain, and the US: 174 countries.
  4. Austria, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, UK: 173 countries
  5. Republic of Ireland, Japan, New Zealand: 172 countries
  6. Croatia, Greece, Portugal, Switzerland: 171 countries
  7. Australia, South Korea: 170 countries
  8. Iceland: 169 countries.

And how do you get one of those passports?

In most countries, the hard way: Legally immigrate and obtain residency, and then fulfill the residency requirements to get citizenship and that second passport, which takes years. Most countries, including the US, have special programs for “investors” to obtain residency, such as a green card, essentially on the spot, but even then it takes years to obtain citizenship and a passport. If it’s possible at all, such as in Germany.

Then there’s the direct way: Buy a citizenship and the passport that comes along with it. These citizenship-by-investment programs are not for folks on a tight budget. According to Henley & Partners, only seven countries offer this convenient route, only three have powerful passports, and only one is in the top of the heap above.

Passports from EU countries are the best. If you’re from Russia or China or Iraq and become a citizen of one of the 28 EU countries, you’ll get a country-specific EU passport that allows you to live and do business anywhere in the EU. There are all sorts of offshore benefits. And travel around the world is a breeze.

But citizenship in most EU countries is not for sale. You can buy only residency, similar to programs in the US. But there are three exceptions:

Austria

Citizenship is almost impossible to get for normal foreigners already legally in Austria. But the super-rich and famous have a way. The government, through paragraph 10, section 6 of the Citizenship Act, can confer citizenship “because of the services already provided by the foreigner and the extraordinary achievements still to be expected of him in the special interest of the Republic.” This usually involves a big direct investments of unspecified magnitude plus some other “extraordinary” contribution, such as being famous or creating jobs. Few succeed. In some years, none succeed.

They’re playing hard to get. But the rewards are huge for the few that succeed, including an impeccable EU passport with visa-free travel to 173 countries.

Cyprus

In 2012, as the EU-part of the divided island was veering toward bankruptcy, it offered citizenship through a “fast-track” scheme to dodge the normal residency requirements. But the price tag was €10 million in direct investment. Too expensive for the average oligarch.

In 2013, Cyprus became desperate. Its offshore financial industry, the main breadwinner of the economy, had collapsed in a cesspool of corruption. The banks had taken much of the foreign money – particularly Russian money – down with them. Cyprus needed some moolah. It slashed the price of citizenship to €3 million of direct investment. Russians who’d lost at least €3 million in the collapse would also be eligible for citizenship.

Since then, the price was further slashed, to as low as €2 million. And it’s fast: about three months for citizenship and an EU passport, with visa-free travel to 159 countries. And that €3-million investment can be sold after three years. An adequate house would likely do.

Malta

The tiny EU member state with 417,000 residents spread over three islands is convenient for foreigners, with English being one of the two official languages. In 2013, during the still rough waters of the euro debt crisis, Parliament passed legislation that put Maltese citizenship up for sale at €650,000. A spouse costs another €25,000; unmarried children between 18 and 25 and dependent parents cost €50,000 each. There are no residency or investment requirements. The money goes into government funds.

This citizenship is a product to be marketed. If it sells 100 per year at €650,000 a pop, it would generate annual revenues of €65 million – or 1.75% of total 2016 revenues (€3.7 billion). Given the limits on budget deficits under EU Treaties, everything counts.

This Maltese product includes an EU passport with visa-free travel to 166 countries. Folks can stop by, jump through some bureaucratic hoops, pay, get their citizenship and passport, and settle in Germany or wherever. At the time, Simon Busuttil, leader of the opposition Nationalist Party, warned that Malta could end up being compared to shady tax havens in the Caribbean. And that’s our last stop.

Source: These are the countries you can ‘buy’ citizenship to – Business Insider

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Could Caribbean Economic Citizenship Programmes Cash In On Donald Trump’s Election Victory? | Caribbean360

2016/11/15 Leave a comment

Not only interest in Canada:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: Could Caribbean Economic Citizenship Programmes Cash In On Donald Trump’s Election Victory? | Caribbean360

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