Brexit Represents “Greatest Loss of Rights in Memory”: Investment Migration People in the News This Week
Investment migration people in the news this week include:
- Luiz Felipe Maia of Maia International Properties
- Oliver Banks and Kate Everett-Allen of Knight Frank
- Andres Gutierrez of CSB Group
- Alejandra Vanoli of VIVA Sotheby’s International Realty
- Niko Laković of Montenegro Sotheby’s International Realty.
- James O’Brien of International Realty Group Ltd.
- Richard Barrett of Bartra
- Dimitry Kochenov of University of Groningen
“It’s inevitable that the programme will become less attractive as Lisbon and Porto are major cities,” said Luiz Felipe Maia, managing director at Maia International Properties, which has offices in Lisbon and Hong Kong.
If applicants need to invest the same amount for a property in rural areas and not in cities, it might be deemed as an unattractive investment, Maia said. Besides getting a residency, investors also look for good properties whose capital value is likely to rise to recover their investment, he added.
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“There is a pent-up demand particularly from international purchasers and those wishing to relocate to Portugal who haven’t been able to in the past 12 months given travel restrictions,” said Oliver Banks, senior negotiator for international residential development at Knight Frank.
Mansion Global: With New Limits on ‘Golden Visas’ in Portugal, Buyers May Look to Other Markets
“Clients are diversifying,” said Andres Gutierrez, an investment immigration consultant with CSB Group in Malta. “In a pandemic, clients have realized that [citizenship by investment regulations] give an edge against geopolitical risk and volatility. They want investment stability, they want options for their children.”
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“Portugal’s appeal and why it’s done so well is partly lifestyle and culture that’s particularly appealing, and values in Lisbon were pretty competitive compared to other European markets,” said Kate Everett-Allen, the head of international residential research at Knight Frank. “In terms of other markets, it’s quite striking how many there are.”
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“Outside of Lisbon and Porto, we’re talking about small cities with not very good [transportation] connections,” said Alejandra Vanoli of VIVA Sotheby’s International Realty in Spain. “In Spain, you have excellent connections flying to Madrid, or on the coast, Levante, Seville or Andalucia.”
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“Life costs are much cheaper here than in the European Union, and you’re getting a lifetime citizenship,” said Niko Laković of Montenegro Sotheby’s International Realty. “It’s a very beautiful lifestyle and we’re a maximum two-hour flight from major European cities. And you’re getting an actual passport three months after starting the process.”
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“There’s no restriction at all to foreign ownership of land here, whereas there is some in European nations,” said James O’Brien of International Realty Group Ltd., an affiliate of Luxury Portfolio International in the Cayman Islands. “And obviously there’s no direct taxation at all, whether that’s property taxes, personal income, inheritance. It’s very difficult to find any jurisdiction that ticks all the boxes that the Cayman Islands does.”
Irish Times: 1,088 Chinese citizens pay up to €1m each for residency in the State
Under the IIP, non-EU citizens and their families get the right to live in the Republic in return for investing €1 million in companies operating in specified industries, or donating six-figure sums to charity.
The department did not name any organisation that benefitted from the scheme. However, property business Bartra, controlled by developer Richard Barrett, recently confirmed that it has raised cash for social housing and nursing homes through the IIP, aiding 200 Chinese citizens to gain residency rights.
Alberto Alemanno and Dimitry Kochenov pen an op-ed for France’s leading newspaper, in which they liken the status of British citizens in the EU after Brexit as on par with that of Chinese tourists.
Le 31 décembre 2020, 67 millions de ressortissants britanniques ont perdu le droit de s’installer et de travailler au sein de l’UE et dans d’autres pays. De la même façon, les citoyens de l’UE ont perdu ces droits sur les territoires du Royaume-Uni. C’est la plus grande perte de droits dont on se souvienne.
En effet, cela faisait plus de quarante ans que les citoyens britanniques en voyage d’affaires ou touristique ou encore établis en Europe continentale bénéficiaient du statut de ressortissants européens dans leurs pays d’accueil. Il en allait de même pour les citoyens de l’UE qui s’étaient installés au Royaume-Uni au fil des ans. Il s’agit de l’essence même de la citoyenneté européenne : le droit de ne pas être discriminé et partant traité comme un ressortissant national dans chaque Etat membre de l’Union, quelle que soit sa nationalité.
Christian Henrik Nesheim is the founder and editor of Investment Migration Insider, the #1 magazine – online or offline – for residency and citizenship by investment. He is an internationally recognized expert, speaker, documentary producer, and writer on the subject of investment migration, whose work is cited in the Economist, Bloomberg, Fortune, Forbes, Newsweek, and Business Insider. Norwegian by birth, Christian has spent the last 16 years in the United States, China, Spain, and Portugal.