Attacks on Golden Visas Are “an Electoral Measure”: Investment Migration People in the News This Week

Investment migration people in the news this week included:

• Kristin Surak
• David Lesperance of Lesperance & Associates
• Amine El Ouarzazi of Henley & Partners
• Nomad Capitalist
• Sam Silverman of EB5AN
• Anthony Liew of the Malaysia My Second Home Consultants Association.
• Ryuji Ota
• Samuel Tan of KGV
• Teresa Chai of Aramaz Borneo
• Joyce Hooy Sock Kuan of First Home Properties
• Armand Arton of Arton Capital

El Confidencial – The woman who knows the most about Golden Visas: “Almost no one ends up removing them, it’s pure electoralism”

Kristin Surak’s interview below is translated from Spanish via Google Translate

Well, let’s be honest. How many countries have actually stopped the programme? The United Kingdom and Ireland did so a few years ago, Portugal announced it but has not yet approved it, and the same goes for Spain. They have been announcing it for some time because it makes a good electoral slogan, but they have not dared to do it.

[…]

Obviously the case of the Russians is complex, but again I think there is more symbolism than anything else. It is not known whether many of these Russians perhaps only want Spanish citizenship to get out of Putin’s regime , they are not defenders of his government. Then I think that in Spain there is the case of the Chinese. The majority of citizens of the Asian giant who choose this option do so because they want to diversify their businesses, they are not looking for anything else. But the case of the Goldens is so curious that the next country that buys them the most in Portugal, after the Chinese and the Russians, is the United States. And it has even reached the first place.

[…]

It is the same thing that is being seen in Portugal. It is nothing more than an electoral measure and has such a small impact that it is of no interest beyond the votes. But it is true that it has become a symbol and that is why politicians mention it.

Bloomberg – Where Rich Brits and French Might Go to Escape Higher Taxes

“There’s nothing like an election to focus the mind,” said David Lesperance, a Poland-based tax and immigration adviser to the wealthy.

[…]

Relocations can take years of planning, and the destinations depend heavily on financial and personal considerations, including schools, safety, weather and lifestyle. The United Arab Emirates is forecast to attract the most global millionaires this year followed by the US and Singapore, according to a report by Henley & Partners, which advises on setting up residence and gaining passports in countries through investment.

[…]

“There is considerable financial incentive for high-net-worth individuals to relocate” to Italy, Nomad Capitalist, a firm that advises on tax reduction and passports, said on its website.

[…]

“In addition to wanting to optimize their wealth, some French are now even looking into taking out a second citizenship,” said Amine El Ouarzazi, an adviser at Henley, pointing to factors such as a perceived increase in anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim rhetoric during the French election campaign. Options for citizenship include places like Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Lucia and Malta.

The Telegraph – Surge in super-wealthy preparing to leave UK over Labour tax fears

David Lesperance, an international tax adviser, said five of his clients had already left the country while 10 others had “plans in place”, including two who were UK-domiciled.

[…]

He warned there would be a “big increase” in the number of UK-domiciled clients quitting Britain if the Chancellor increased capital gains tax in the autumn.

Forbes – Priority Processing In Practice: Rural EB-5 To Expedite Green Cards

Sam Silverman of EB5AN drafts an article for Forbes discussing EB-5 processing.

Over the years, the static annual supply of immigrant visas has failed to keep up with the growing number of EB-5 applicants. Especially for nationals of high-demand countries like India and China, the 7% per-country cap created a bottleneck situation, with more investors waiting for visas than the yearly visa availability.

[…]

However, the enactment of RIA has provided a solution to this problem with the “priority processing” provision for rural EB-5 petitions. This means that USCIS will process rural EB-5 petitions on a priority basis over other EB-5 petitions. Combined with the rural set-aside visa quota, this priority processing advantage promises exceptionally quick approvals for rural EB-5 petitions.

[…]

The impact of priority processing has already started to become apparent, with many post-RIA rural TEA investors receiving Form I-526E approval within a year, a timeline unheard of in the EB-5 context. This has also been my firm’s experience, where we saw multiple investors receive their I-526E approvals in a matter of months. Thanks to RIA, it looks like these “new” processing times are here to stay, at least for rural EB-5 investors.

The Edge Malaysia – Making MM2H a winner

Li is one of many eMM2H applicants who are less than happy with the latest changes. To this day, he regrets rejecting the chance to join the previous programme, according to Anthony Liew Yong Huat, president of the Malaysia My Second Home Consultants Association (MM2HCA).

[…]

“At the time, he (Li) said he was in no rush to join his relative who is residing in Malaysia. He now regrets making that decision as he did not expect the threshold to qualify would increase,” Liew tells The Edge in an interview.

[…]

Japanese MM2H consultant Ryuji Ota lauds Malaysia’s decision to scrap the income requirement to qualify for MM2H. That said, he agrees that the new requirement for house purchase is not so attractive to the Japanese.

[…]

“Many Japanese live on a conservative investment plan. They can meet the US$150,000 FD amount (for silver category) or US$500,000 (for gold category), but to purchase a property especially in a foreign country like Malaysia may deter some potential applicants,” he says.

[…]

KGV International Property Consultants (Johor) Sdn Bhd executive director Samuel Tan, however, believes that applicants should be given the option of buying or renting.

[…]

“It is a noble intention to boost the local property market. However, one needs to understand the dynamics of MM2H applicants. Some of them may want to rent instead of committing to big-ticket investments, at least not at the immediate stage,” Tan tells The Edge. “Others who buy may not keep them for 10 years. Demand for housing changes over time. Ten years is a long period for foreign buyers. Hence, this requirement may become a deterrent to them.”

[…]

“The programme was relaunched in September 2020 following a revamp, and since then, we have seen a good mix of applicants including British, Americans, Australians, Chinese, Hongkongers, Japanese and Singaporeans. The majority of these applicants are retirees, while younger applicants send their children to study in Sarawak,” says Teresa Chai, director of Kuching-based ­Aramaz Borneo (MM2H) Sdn Bhd.

[…]

First Home Properties (MM2H) Sdn Bhd managing director Joyce Hooy Sock Kuan suggests caution in allowing direct applications for the MM2H programme without requiring the involvement of licensed agencies.

[…]

“The move will also have an economic impact on agencies as established MM2H agencies, which have invested significant resources in building their reputation and infrastructure, could suffer financially. This includes the potential job losses for their employees and a decrease in economic activity generated by these businesses,” she notes.

Express – Will last millionaire to flee Labour’s Britain please leave their cheque book? We need it

Young millionaires are particularly keen to look elsewhere, and Arton Capital founder Armand Arton says we can’t afford to scare them away. “The new government has its work cut out to reassure wealthy citizens that it does not wish to create a hostile regulatory and tax regime for its most upwardly mobile citizens.”