Investment migration people in the news this week included:
- Madalena Monteiro of Liberty Legal
- Gilda Pereira of EI Migration Agency
- Armand Arton and Mo Bennis of Arton Capital
- Eric Major of Latitude Group
- David Lincoln of Lincoln Global Partners
- Paula Carello
- Steven Bostock of Mishcon de Reya
- Alaattin Kiliç of Visa Franchise
- Joe Rice and Liana Simonyan of Global Citizen Solutions
- Isobel Neilson of Fragomen
- David Lesperance of Lesperance & Associates
DW News – Portugal’s ‘golden visa’ delays spark legal fight
According to immigration lawyer Madalena Monteiro, around 12,000 other golden visa applicants are in the same situation as the American.
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“Many people feel they’ve been cheated by the change in the law,” she says. “They want to take legal action against the state. We’ve already collected more than 500 signatures from people affected.”
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“That’s simply not true,” counters immigration lawyer Gilda Pereira, who heads one of the agencies marketing golden visas.
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“The Portuguese government itself advertised the prospect of citizenship for golden visa holders in its consulates, using promotional posters.”
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Those posters have since been taken down, she says. “And now the government is trying to pin the blame on us.”
Finacial Times – Argentina plots ‘golden passport’ scheme to pay down debts
Thiel is “a great ambassador for the programme before launch”, said Armand Arton, founder of Arton Capital, a consultancy that advised the government on the scheme and is marketing it to clients.
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“There is simply nothing else like Argentina in the citizenship-by-investment market,” said Eric Major, chief executive of Latitude Group, which also advised the government, comparing the scheme to those of small island nations in the Caribbean and the south Pacific.
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David Lincoln, founder of consultancy Lincoln Global Partners, said wealthy clients had expressed interest in Argentina’s “strategic location” far from conflict zones. “Concern about the way the world is going is an ever bigger driver of our industry,” he added, noting that Argentina’s citizenship scheme would be cheaper than the NZ$5mn ($3mn) investor visa offered by New Zealand, another country often cited as a refuge from global instability.
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Paula Carello, an immigration lawyer and former official at Argentina’s citizenship-awarding office, said the “many risks” of citizenship-by-investment around Argentina’s security and reputation probably “outweigh the benefits for a country of its size and profile”.
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She added, “Given it affects central aspects of nationality and citizenship, it is worrying that an initiative of this magnitude is moving forward without a broader political, academic and institutional debate.”
UPI – Argentina bets on citizenship-by-investment program
Paula Carello, president of the Migration Law Institute at the Rosario Bar Association, told UPI that the so-called “golden passport” would create a pathway for foreigners making significant investments in Argentina to obtain citizenship through naturalization without meeting the usual requirement of two years of residency.
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“For the program to have a positive impact, it should not be limited to a simple transfer of money or passive investments. It should be linked to genuine investment, employment, innovation, regional development or the strengthening of strategic sectors,” she said.
Financial Times – UK government split over new ‘golden visa’ scheme to woo super-rich
Steven Bostock, partner at Mishcon de Reya , said that the firm had seen “consistent client desire for an investor visa since the last scheme ended”.
Kiplinger – Want to Get in on the Golden Visa Trend? Here’s How
Alaattin Kiliç, Investor Migration Branding Expert at Visa Franchise, cautions that the sticker price is just the beginning. “There are also legal fees, taxes, and in some cases, property registration or VAT costs. A good rule of thumb is to budget at least 10%–20% above the official investment amount to cover all ancillary expenses.”
Business Standard – Tax planning to impact investing: World’s golden visa programmes go green
“The framing is shifting from ‘we want your capital’ to ‘we want your contribution’,” Joe Rice, Head of Citizenship Programs at Global Citizen Solutions, said in the report.
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“The programs we analyzed fall into two almost equal groups: those structured around sustainability and measurable development outcomes, and those designed purely as fiscal instruments. That divide is the defining feature of the sector right now,” said Liana Simonyan, Researcher at GCS’ research arm, the Global Intelligence Unit.
The New York Times – Want to Live Abroad? You Can Still Find a Great Golden Visa.
Mo Bennis, senior vice president at Arton Capital, which assists clients with second residency and citizenship in 20 regional programs, said the microstate is becoming attractive for Americans thanks to its lower-cost and straightforward path to citizenship. “For investors looking at where the world is heading over the next 20 years, it is a peaceful, strategically located island nation that offers mobility diversification beyond the usual Caribbean options,” he said.
Wealth Briefing – The End Of The Golden Visa?
Whatever the state of the sector, Isobel Neilson (pictured below) of global mobility advisory firm Fragomen takes us on a tour of the terrain.
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The era of passive investment, such as purchasing property or maintaining a bank deposit, has given way to an emphasis on active and meaningful contribution.
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Where golden visas have disappeared, applicants increasingly turn to passive income and digital nomad routes, particularly when the objective is lifestyle relocation rather than passive residence rights alone. Talent-based and entrepreneurial visas are also capturing a greater share of the market. The UK’s Global Talent visa is a prominent example, attracting increased interest since the closure of the Tier 1 Investor visa. France and Australia offer similar routes that prioritise expertise, innovation and achievement over capital investment alone.
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Citizenship-by-investment programmes tell a similar story. Demand for second citizenships remains strong as wealthy individuals seek greater optionality during a period of geopolitical uncertainty, but scrutiny continues to intensify.
New York Post – Mastermind behind California billionaires tax makes absurd claim: ‘Entirely fabricated’
Tax adviser David Lesperance previously said he personally helped four billionaire clients terminate their California residency before the Jan. 1 deadline, while wealth managers have warned that another 15 to 20 billionaire families could leave if voters ultimately approve the measure.
Bloomberg – City of London Braces for Burnham Government’s Chancellor Pick
David Lesperance, a Poland-based tax and immigration adviser to the ultra-rich, is also preparing for an increase in taxes that pushes wealthy residents out of the UK. “Whoever the chancellor is, is even more desperate than Rachel Reeves was in the last two budgets,” he said.
Business Insider – The California billionaire tax is headed to the ballot. The ultrawealthy are bracing for what comes next.
“The cat’s out of the bag,” David Lesperance, a lawyer who advises the ultrawealthy on immigration, citizenship, and taxes, told Business Insider.
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Lesperance said he had seven clients move out of California before January 1, 2026, as the measure is written to retroactively apply to billionaires who were living in the state as of that date. Several high-profile billionaires made moves to reduce their California ties ahead of that deadline, including Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page.
