NEWS

Three investors had their Cypriot citizenships revoked. Additionally, the passports of the individuals' wives and children were also taken away, according to government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis. This action was taken following a thorough investigation conducted by the government.   In the same cabinet session, a bill for 2023 was approved. This bill pertains to the issuance of court orders aimed at safeguarding the collective interests of consumers. Its purpose is to modernize the existing institutional framework that protects consumers' collective interests.   With the new legislation, courts are granted the authority to intervene and halt any behaviors that violate consumer...

IMMIGRATION BY INVESTMENT NEWS 2023

Portugal and Ireland recently made an announcement regarding the cessation of their "golden visa" initiatives. Armand Arton, the CEO of Arton Capital, believes that this decision represents a missed financial opportunity. Instead, he proposes that countries modify the investment requirements to cater to the interests of local residents.   Armand Arton, who refers to himself as the "Chief Global Citizen" rather than CEO, possesses a remarkable collection of eight passports. This assortment is befitting for the head of a company that assists extremely affluent individuals in acquiring second citizenship. The passport business experienced significant growth during the pandemic, particularly among...

IMMIGRATION BY INVESTMENT NEWS 2023

The regulation of foreign direct investment (FDI) is gaining more significance in the field of investor regulations. While FDI restrictions are on the rise globally, the extent and characteristics of these regulations differ greatly across jurisdictions. In the following sections, we will outline the key elements of FDI regulation in the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), France, and Germany.   TYPES OF TRANSACTIONS SUBJECT TO REVIEW   US: The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has the authority to review: "Covered Transactions," which encompass any transaction that could grant control of a US business to...

CORPORATE & FIDUCIARY NEWS 2023

Despite the minimum investment threshold for the Golden Visa Program in certain regions of the nation being raised from €250,000 to €500,000, Greece is observing a considerable influx of applications from affluent foreigners. As per data released by the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum, there has been a striking 252 percent surge in requests for the Golden Visa Program in the initial two months of this year, amounting to 1,446 applications compared to 411 applications during the corresponding period last year, as reported by SchengenVisaInfo.com.   During January and February of this year, a total of 574 golden visas were...

IMMIGRATION BY INVESTMENT NEWS 2023

After a successful decade of Portugal's Golden Visa scheme, the government has confirmed its termination. The scheme brought in billions of growth for the national economy, but the Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa, believes that no special regime justifies the golden visa. As of February 16, new applications for golden visas are no longer valid, but residence permits for investment will remain effective. The majority of residence permits were exclusively for real estate purchases, with only a small number of investors creating jobs. Therefore, the permits granted under the scheme will be converted into normal residence permits. However, golden visas...

IMMIGRATION BY INVESTMENT NEWS 2023

Matthew Collin, David Szakonyi, and Florian M. Hollenbach   Leading up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the U.K.’s real estate sector had built up an unsavory reputation for being a great place to stash your illicit cash. Government risk assessments repeatedly flagged the sector as being a high risk for financial crime, in part due to improper implementation of due diligence checks by estate agents. Investigations by civil society organizations have revealed that a sizable chunk of high-value British real estate is owned by oligarchs, autocrats, and heads of government from around the world—typically through shell companies set up in tax havens with the explicit...

CORPORATE & FIDUCIARY NEWS 2023

The Hong Kong SAR government announced that it will soon relaunch its residency-by-investment scheme. The government suspended the scheme in 2015 to focus on attracting talent instead of investments, but is now relaunching the program to help economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Successful applicants will be eligible to apply for permanent residence after seven years of status under the program. Although the government has not officially announced the amount required for the relaunched investment scheme, Hong Kong SAR’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan expects this to be more than HKD 14 million (USD 1.78 million), which is up from HKD...

IMMIGRATION BY INVESTMENT NEWS 2023

The two cities have set up new fund structures to lure wealth away from traditional offshore financial centres   In 2020, the pandemic halted travel and shut borders. But at the same time, two of Asia’s biggest financial hubs saw an opportunity to shift the global centre of gravity for hedge funds and the world’s wealthiest families. Singapore established the “variable capital company”, a fund structure that allows a wide range of potential users to shelter large pools of capital in discreet, lightly taxed wrappers domiciled in a well-regulated financial centre. Hong Kong made enhancements to the “open-ended fund company”,...

IMMIGRATION BY INVESTMENT NEWS 2023