INTRODUCTION
This 3-part HLG article series will provide a comprehensive overview of dominant trends of immigration and detail the growing trend toward residency and citizenship-by-investment programs (“RCBI”).
Immigration is a global phenomenon. People from around the world take different routes to migrate to countries with better prospects.
A UN report puts the total number of international immigrants at 272 million or over 3.5% of the global population, with three out of four international migrants belonging to the working-age group.
These migrations have created the revolutionary concepts of ‘Residency-by-investment’ and ‘Citizenship-by-investment’ (or “RCBI”) under an Investment Immigration industry that is well worth over 3.5 billion dollars in 2020.
The investment immigration industry is gaining popularity across the world. Some of the most popular investment immigration programs have witnessed double-digits growth over the last decade.
For individuals interested in fast tracking a foreign country’s citizenship or residency and obtaining a second passport, this guide will clarify the concept of investment migration, leading trends in the international immigration industry, and tips for securing you and your family’s future residency or citizenship through investment immigration investor programs.
What is investment immigration?
Investment immigration -sometimes known as immigration investor program- is the process in which countries raise capital from foreign immigrants, designed to grant them residency or citizenship in exchange for the investment. It allows countries to raise funds for different public programs and attract foreign capital. The foreign investors, on the other hand, can legally live in the invested country, obtain fast track residency or citizenship, and gain many benefits through their newfound second passport.
What are the benefits of acquiring a second passport?
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Access to better healthcare:
Immigrants get access to a superior healthcare system across high-income regions, such as North America, the UK, the EU region, or Australia. However, it is critical to choose an immigration destination that accommodates immigrants within its healthcare system instead of providing basic cover only.
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Better employment opportunity or career prospects:
A growing number of migrant workers, career aspirants, and even investors are coming to the US, Canada, or the UK for better employment/business opportunities.
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Access to higher educational standards:
Children can benefit from high-quality education standards in destination countries. It is critical to understand that over 3 million students seek a visa to different countries for higher education. In fact, most of these aspiring students work with an immigration lawyer or consultancies to go through the process.
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Relief from additional factors (climate-driven, socio-economic reasons):
High net worth individuals are increasingly concerned about climate and political stability.
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Freedom in Mobility:
Most of the countries that offer citizenship-by-investment programs have strong passport rankings. Investors who receive a citizenship, receives a second passport that allows travel visa-free to over 100+ countries. They are given the choice to be wherever they want to be when they want to be.
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Tax Benefits:
Stable business environment and tax policies, are favourable and attractive factors.
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4 Interesting trends related to investment immigration
- The top markets for investment immigration in terms of the highest number of prospects are China Mainland (2.02 million), India (438,779), Hong Kong (280,374), Russia (198,524), and Mexico (192,393).
- The global investment migration market might grow into a $100 billion (USD) industry by 2025.
- The top investment immigration programs by revenue are US EB-5, and UK Tier 1.
- Over 750 million people across the world are willing to migrate to a new country if they could.
SUMMARY
The entire immigration journey, whether to be in a Residency by Investment or Citizenship by Investment program, takes a significant amount of time, resources, and focus over an extended period.
Most people may find it challenging to navigate through the entire procedure. Working with a professional immigration lawyer with a government-appointed immigration firm only improves your chances of successfully completing the process and approval, but it also protects you from any kind of immigration frauds.