Hong Kong Golden Visa Rush “Increasing Rapidly”: Investment Migration People in the News This Week

Investment migration people in the news this week include:

• Patricia Casaburi of Global Citizen Solutions
• João G. Gil Figueira of GFDL Advogados
• Dominic Volek of Henley & Partners
• Arthur Sarkisian of Astons
• Pedro Cortés of Rato, Ling, Lei & Cortés – Lawyers.
• Jeffrey Ling of Bartra Wealth Advisors
• Tina Cheng of Midland Immigration Consultancy
• Ana Vukovic of Collier’s

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New York Times: House Hunting in Portugal: A Light-Filled Retreat Near the Atlantic Coast

In the downtown area, homes in the priciest areas — specifically the neighborhoods of Baixa and Chiado — sell for an average of 6,575 euros a square meter ($727 a square foot), said Patricia Casaburi, the CEO of Global Citizen Solutions, an investment migration consulting firm. “Prices are rising fast. Rent prices in this area are also very high, making it an ideal location for investment,” she said.

She also pointed to two “up-and-coming” districts, Marvila and Beato, onetime industrial areas that now have “a number of creative spaces and industries, as well as microbreweries, and can be a good choice when it comes to investing in property in Lisbon.”

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Property ownership by foreigners is not restricted in Portugal, said João G. Gil Figueira, a partner with the Lisbon-based law firm GFDL Advogados.

“Legal fees, notary and registration fees for a typical residential property transaction are in the 1 to 2 percent range,” he said. Buyers also pay a stamp duty of 0.8 percent of the purchase price and a property transfer tax, which varies depending on whether the property is a first or second home.

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Henley & Partners’ Passport Index featured in a wide range of mainstream outlets this week, including:

• The (UK) Independent: Japan Has World’s Most Powerful Passport in Post-Pandemic World
• Forbes Africa: What Travel Freedom Looks Like In The Pandemic World
• Finews.Asia: Henley & Partners: Unpredictable Patterns of Migration Post-Covid
• The Express: Most powerful passports in the world mapped – how strong is the British passport?
• New Zealand Herald: Covid 19 coronavirus: New Zealand passport equals US and UK in post-pandemic power rankings
• The (Irish) Independent: Irish passport now sixth most powerful in the world –index
• The Straits Times: S’pore passport remains 2nd most powerful in the world, behind Japan

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The Week: Landmark living: how much do properties cost near famous icons?

“The global property market is wonderfully diverse and allows many investors to build a wide portfolio based on their personal criteria and requirements,” said Astons managing director Arthur Sarkisian. “Of course, investing in the global go-to destinations of Paris, New York and London will come at a considerably higher cost, but even these premier locations will offer a range of investment opportunities at varying price points.” 

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BBC: Covid accelerates India’s millionaire exodus

“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.

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The Portugal News: Golden visas: Asian demand increases with law change

“We have felt in the last few months and also felt last year, until the beginning of the pandemic, a greater demand from investors”, said one of the partners of the firm Rato, Ling, Lei & Cortés – Lawyers.

“This is part of the strategy of having an office in Macau that gives us access to the Chinese market, Hong Kong and the market here in South Asia, and we feel that these markets have a greater appetite to invest in Portugal”, while the office in Portuguese territory has received most of the requests, underlined Pedro Cortés.

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SCMP: Some Hongkongers are arbitraging between city’s record home prices and cheaper listings overseas as they head for the exit

Ireland and Portugal, among the most popular destinations for Hong Kong emigrants looking to qualify for residency in the European Union, offer particularly attractive bargains, according to investment advisers. Ireland is popular among parents, professionals and emigrants seeking to fast track their residency, with its offer of a good living environment and low-risk investments, according to consultancy Bartra Wealth Advisors.

“We see strong demand for emigration and it’s likely to continue,” said Bartra’s regional director Jeffrey Ling in Hong Kong. “People in Hong Kong who [are] eager to move abroad with an immediate need or with less than a year’s time frame have strong buying intention towards overseas residential properties.”

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“We foresee the immigration policy will have more restrictions in European countries, that’s why the number of Hongkongers using immigration investment programmes through buying property is increasing rapidly” before the gateway closes, said Tina Cheng, associate director of Midland Immigration Consultancy.

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Greek Reporter: Greek Real Estate Market Set to Rebound in Post-pandemic Greece

Ana Vukovic, the Managing Director for Collier’s Greece and Serbia, who also covers the markets of Cyprus, FYROM and Montenegro, has successfully led a number of large-scale mixed-use properties and portfolio projects from concept stage to completion.

The stability in the Greek real estate market became evident after a significant increase in investment volumes over the past years, with prices gradually reaching pre-crisis levels and a rise in construction activity in all sectors by the end of 2020. Demand in all real estate sectors resulted in a significant compression of yields for prime investment products, Vukovic tells Greek Reporter.