Investment migration people in the news this week included:
- David Lesperance of Lesperance & Associates
- Adalberto Pucca of Global Citizen Solutions
- Fragomen
- Marios Rafail of Henley & Partners
- Marcus Beveridge of Queen City Law
- David Ryken of Ryken & Associates
- Dominic Forde of Immigration NZ
- Armand Arton and Mo Bennis of Arton Capital
The Times – California’s billionaire tax fuels panic: some will ‘leave US tax system completely’
The Silicon Valley billionaires started calling David Lesperance after Thanksgiving. They wanted to ask Lesperance, a tax and relocation adviser, how a new California wealth tax proposed by a health union would affect them. If passed, the one-off, 5 per cent tax would hit the value of assets belonging to any billionaire residing in the state on January 1, 2026. That includes stocks, artwork and intellectual-property rights.
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His response: “Here’s how to put it in perspective … that’s going to suck liquidity out.” It’s a “5 per cent hit on your fiscal house if this ‘tax-the-rich wildfire’ hits you”.
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His answer was simple: “Well, it’s picking up and moving.” Four of his clients left the Golden State by the end of the year.
CN Traveler – Greece is Launching a New Golden Visa for Start-Up Investors
Through the new program, non-European Union citizens can invest a minimum of 250,000 euros (about $291,120) in a start-up listed on the national registry, Elevate Greece, across industries such as travel, real estate, defense, and financial technology. In exchange, they’ll receive a five-year Greek residence permit, according to Global Citizen Solutions (GCS), a residency-by-investment consulting firm. Greece introduced the program under Law 5187/2024 and included it in its draft 2025 fiscal plan, submitted to the European Commission in October. The program officially launched in November 2025, according to Fragomen, a global law firm that specializes in immigration.
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Interested investors must submit their application in person at a Greek consulate (appointments can be made online), the Consulate General of Greece in New York tells CNT. However, Marios Rafail, a Greece program specialist at investment-by-consulting firm Henley and Partners, says the visa is “not yet fully active or pursued in significant numbers.”
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“The objective behind creating the start-up investment option is to diversify investment away from real estate and direct capital into business creation and local job growth in Greece,” Adalberto Pucca, the head of global mobility solutions at Global Citizen Solutions, tells Condé Nast Traveler. “This addresses concerns about the original real estate golden visa contributing to rising property prices.”
Business Desk – Golden visa influx: Putin’s war in Ukraine driving rich to NZ
A Swedish billionaire was among seven high‑net‑worth investors who committed to New Zealand’s golden visa programme in a single week, citing fears of a potential large‑scale war in Europe. Nato chief Mark Rutte said on December 11 the alliance was Russia’s next target and urged its members to be “prepared for the scale of war our grandparents and great grandparents endured”. High-net-worth adviser Marcus Beveridge said his firm saw an influx of interest from Europeans after the speech.
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Lawyer David Ryken said he had clients with investor visas from Germany who now wanted to reside in NZ because they felt unsettled by the war in Ukraine. Previously, they had been “albatrosses”, flying back and forth. He said that when the scheme was changed, several wealthy German applicants were among the first to apply. NZ revamped its so-called golden visa schemes in 2025, reducing the number of days required to be spent in NZ and the minimum investment required for those seeking residency via the investor category.
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He said NZ’s scheme had a point of difference in its favour. “After the investment period, [the residency] becomes truly permanent with no yearly or periodic period in the country [unlike other countries]. The golden carriage does not turn into a pumpkin. ”Wealthy investors considering NZ should “walk through the open door”, Beveridge said.
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Beveridge said “a lurch to the left and hatred of the one percenters” meant there was a distinct possibility of shutting the golden visa programme. “But I’ve discussed that with a few seasoned practitioners, and we all agree that seeing as it is generally tracking well, why would any political party do so?” Ryken said his investor visa business had tripled since the changes took effect on April 1, compared with the two previous years.
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Immigration NZ operations director Dominic Forde said it had received one application for this new visa. The applicant was from China. As of Jan 5, the Business Investor Visa page on the Immigration NZ website had received 6,700 views from 4078 users. “The number of applications isn’t unexpected given the category opened on November 24 2025. Applications for the business investor visa can take time to prepare and for the applicant to meet requirements. ” Beveridge said many advisers would likely shy away from the business investor work visa, but his firm was “pumping it hard”.
Fox News – US officials sound alarm on ‘golden’ visas, citing security risks, relaxed requirements
Mo Bennis, an associate vice president at Arton Capital, a global financial advisory and consultancy firm, told Fox News Digital he is surprised to see Antigua listed.
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“The country has continuously increased its due diligence and applicant vetting to a very rigorous level, using the same types of international security firms applied across the industry,” he said.
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“This appears to be more a reflection of evolving border control policies than a failure of Antigua’s standards, particularly as similar golden visa and residency programs exist in both the U.S. and Europe,” he added.
Business Day – Diamond slump pushes Botswana to eye $100,000 ‘golden passport’
“Prospective applicants appear to be attracted by Botswana’s political stability, opportunities, and strong rule of law,” Armand Arton, chief executive of Arton Capital, a citizenship advisory firm, told the top British media company.
