Historically, being able to buy your way into another country (quite simply put, the definition of both Citizenship & Residence by investment programs) was known for society's elite. A symbol of status and wealth that never had a functional use to it, apart from that of assisting one's ability to keep their Instagram feed looking top notch.
The world's top residence and citizenship programs have over the last 10 to 15 years found a favorable place on "tangible assets" section of many multinational corporations' balance sheets. It is far much easier to execute business in a country that you have citizenship or at minimum permanent residence in. Many firms have expanded this way, by having one of their executives purchase citizenship and move to the chosen country, and grow the subsidiary there. Really nice, really convenient, but still expensive; you want to have several ducks in a row before considering purchase.
For example, one of the most popular Citizenship-by-Investment programs amongst the Caribbean islands is that of St. Lucia, requiring a non-refundable contribution to the country's National Economic Fund of USD 100, 000 for a single applicant. There are alternatives to this contribution into St. Lucia, such as an investment into an non-interest bearing government bond with a minimum value of USD 250, 000 during the COVID pandemic, and USD 500, 000 after the "COVID Relief" period has passed from 31 December 2022. Both these bond options have a minimum holding period of 5 years, before any kind of return can be paid out to you. Quite the commitment.
Australia's verbiage in their "Global Talent Independent Program" really tickles me. For a minimum capital contribution of AUD 25.4 million, with proven business success of churning over AUD 750, 000 worth of turnover over the last five tax years, within the "ten future-focused" sectors of shortage such as tech and and energy, you get the full monty on Aussie citizenship. Just goes to show, how prepared we are as humans to reward richly for what we need.
Generally clients go for the USD 100, 000 deals out there, usually in the Caribbean, as its a nice holiday destination and some countries such as Antigua are one of the world's top tax-havens for businesses to find taxation relief in. Being a multi-citizenship or multi-residency holder is a real asset if you're in business, and really, in my personal opinion, wine down the drain if you just have it cause it looks sexy on your Instagram.
Comments