“You Can Park Your Money Here but Can’t Buy a House”: Investment Migration People in the News This Week

Investment migration people in the news this week included:

• Bettino Zanini of FiO Legal
• Varun Singh of XIPHIAS 
• Marcus Beveridge of Queen City Law
• Willy Sussman of Bell Gully
• Nick Mason of Mason McMellon
• David Cooper of Malcolm Pacific Immigration
• Min Li of AOYE Immigration Services
• Zhou Bin
• Rohit Bhardwaj of Henley & Partners
• Vishal Dhawan of Plan Ahead Wealth Advisors
• David Lesperance of Lesperance & Associates
• Marco Mesina of Move to Dolce Vita

Bloomberg – Portugal Speeds Up Golden Visa Processing After Long Delays

“This is good news for investors,” said Bettino Zanini, an immigration lawyer at Lisbon-based FiO Legal who recently participated in several group meetings with AIMA to discuss the plan.

[…]

Under the new system, AIMA will now automatically schedule biometric appointments 30 to 90 days after candidates complete their online applications, and will accept untranslated documents in English, Spanish and French, according to Zanini, the immigration lawyer.

Business Standard – Portugal Golden Visa: No more delays as digital system takes over

“About half of my clients have filed lawsuits against the Portuguese government to force a decision on their residency applications,” Bettino Zanini, an immigration lawyer at Lisbon-based FiO Legal told Bloomberg.

[…]

“Venture capital funds, especially those in Portugal’s hospitality sector, are seeing growing interest,” Varun Singh, managing director of XIPHIAS Immigration told Business Standard. “These funds are spread across multiple projects, and investors receive returns based on performance.”

[…]

“Portugal has emerged as a top destination for Indian investors seeking global mobility and long-term residency benefits. The country offers a stable political environment, tax-friendly policies, and a clear pathway to citizenship after five years. Given the increasing demand from high-net-worth individuals, entrepreneurs, and professionals looking to expand their global footprint, Portugal’s golden visa remains a highly sought-after programme,” said Singh.

The Business Times – New Zealand locks out foreign home buyers even as golden visa rules eased

“We are letting Singaporeans buy residential property here, we are letting Aussies buy residential property here and we are inviting the world to come and bring NZ$10 million (S$7.7 million) and invest it here,” said Marcus Beveridge, a business migration specialist and managing director at Queen City Law in Auckland. “We would strongly urge the government to get this issue resolved.”

[…]

The latest changes to the visa are an improvement but still fall short, said Willy Sussman, an Auckland-based partner at law firm Bell Gully who specialises in high-net-worth people and immigration. He said he was waiting to hear more about the foreign buyer ban.

[…]

“The foreign buyer ban is not just important because people would like to be able to own a home here, but even the words ‘foreign buyer ban’ are words that turn people off, that make them feel unwelcome,” Sussman said. “It’s one thing saying, ‘do not worry about the English language test’, but it’s another thing to say, ‘you can park your money here but can’t buy a house’.”

Fortune – New Zealand changes ‘golden visa’ to lure wealthy migrants

Marcus Beveridge, a business migration specialist and managing director at Queen City Law in Auckland, welcomed the changes as being well over due, and predicted they will give New Zealand’s sluggish residential property market a shot in the arm. 

[…]

“Over the last couple of decades every time we do something like this the property market picks up,” he said. “It’s not so much about huge numbers coming across the border but what happens is that the cash investment primes the pumps and our local market takes off.”

The New Zealand Herald – Government eases investor visa rules to boost foreign investment

Immigration lawyer Nick Mason told Morning Report there had always been a lot of interest in coming to New Zealand, but people were being turned away under the previous active investor category.

[…]

“There’s no guarantee that people won’t just be passive and that sort of stuff. But we can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. And so ultimately, I think it’s a great thing for the economy.”

RNZ – Investor visa: Foreign buyer ban still a ‘barrier’ – lawyer

Lawyer Nick Mason welcomed the revamp, having previously criticised the current scheme as too complicated and blocking potentially billions of dollars of investment.

[…]

“Let’s say we all have $15 million and I choose to invest that in New Zealand and I can get permanent residency. That’s great, I can stay in New Zealand as long as I like but I can’t own my own house until I’ve spent at least six months of a 12-month period there.

[…]

Mason said repealing the foreign buyer ban for homes worth more than $2 million, as proposed by National on the 2023 election campaign, was “a no brainer”.

[…]

Malcolm Pacific Immigration’s CEO David Cooper said the offshore market was ready for the changes and the timing “couldn’t be better”, given the political uncertainty around the world.

[…]

“We’ve got a lot of interest coming in from Germany, the United States, Japan and Korea, people who are worried about the situations in their country and they’re looking for other options.

SBS News – The $5 million option to settle in Australia which could make a comeback

However, footage of Dutton speaking to migration agent Min Li suggests it could make a comeback under a Coalition government.

[…]

“We stopped for three years, everyone ask me when is coming back?” Min asks at the Liberal Party fundraiser.

SBS News – Should Australia bring back the Significant Investor Visa?

After Labor axed the visa last year, debate has reignited following a private pledge made by Peter Dutton in a conversation with immigration agent Min Li [[lee]] last week.

[…]

But Zhou Bin, an immigration consultant, defends the stream. “The investor doesn’t buy the visa, they really put money into Australia to make contribution to Australia.”

[…]

“As long as you put all the people in their home country, and not allow them to travel, then maybe you will solve this problem.”

Money Control – New Zealand revises ‘golden visa’ rules. Do wealthy Indians stand to gain?

“The government has now added bonds and property development as permitted investment avenues to the balanced category,” said Rohit Bhardwaj, Country Head India, Henley and Partners.

[…]

“One of the goals is international education for kids. With some countries clamping down on employment opportunities for international students, it might make sense for wealthy Indians to obtain residency by investment and facilitate their children’s education and security in those destinations,” Bhardwaj said.

[…]

“Even if a family of, say, four members, were to spread out the investments across financial years, they might fall short (of NZ investor visa requirements) as the requirements over multiple years for the visa may not cover the minimum amount needed. Only families who have planned to move out of the country over a period of time and have been creating assets accordingly could find this feasible. If someone is going to start now, then it will be an immediate challenge,” said Vishal Dhawan, founder, Plan Ahead Wealth Advisors.

Wealth Briefing – Who Is Winning The Wealthiest – And Who Is Driving Them Away?

The following article is from David Lesperance and Marco Mesina (more details on the authors below). This publication has spoken to Lesperance before on expatriation, tax and the issues facing those seeking to head to new countries. In the article below, they talk about what countries such as the UK are doing to drive wealthy individuals out, or at least that’s how their actions are portrayed. They also examine how nations such as Italy have been throwing down the red carpet for such footloose HNW individuals. 

[…]

The UK is a prime example of a government dismantling a long-standing system designed to attract global wealth. The UK has abandoned its centuries-old policy of welcoming the world’s wealthiest individuals through the Remittance-Based Non-Domicile (non-dom) regime. At the same time, it has changed trust rules to apply inheritance tax to non-UK situs assets. These changes are sending a clear message to wealthy residents: they are no longer welcome. The impact of these policy shifts is already visible. The UK’s previous non-dom system was not merely an incentive – it was a significant revenue tax and economic generator. Wealthy non-doms contributed, on average, six times more in taxes than the typical UK taxpayer. More importantly, the wealthiest among them, the “Super Golden Geese,” contributed disproportionately high amounts.

[…]

The maths is simple: these individuals contribute around ten times the tax revenue of an average Italian taxpayer, without placing significant strain on the country’s resources. But the benefits don’t stop there.

Coin Telegraph – US lawmakers propose stablecoin bill to boost dollar dominance

In a recent Cointelegraph interview, attorney David Lesperance said the executive order was designed to position the US as a leader in digital asset development. Still, he said this support would end if developments threatened the dollar’s position as the world’s reserve currency.