‘Citizenship by investment’ programmes

Countries that are seeking investments from potential migrants look at the UAE as a major hub for attracting capital as well as new citizens

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Some of the most exciting changes are occurring in the international business migration segment, with countries – ranging from the United States to small nations on both sides of the Atlantic – offering ‘citizenship by investment’ programmes.

Interestingly, many of these countries that are seeking investments from potential migrants look at the UAE as a major hub for attracting the capital and also the new citizens.

And there has been a significant increase in the response of residents to acquiring new citizenships, and possibly having two passports.

According to AAA Associates, a leading, Dubai-based business migration consultancy firm, the demand for Caribbean citizenship among UAE residents has increased by 51 per cent.

This is mainly for citizenship in St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda and St. Lucia. “HNI residents from Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, India and Pakistan are keener to avail themselves of the opportunity to obtain strong second passports for travel convenience, which is crucial for their business expansions, timely visa-free travel to Europe and other important countries of the world, and also for hassle free international excursion trips with their families,” says a firm spokesperson.

Imran Farooq, CEO, AAA Associates – which is part of Samana Group – met heads of states and top executives of Citizenship by Investment Units (CIUs) on a recent trip to the Caribbean.

At a meeting with Dr Roosevelt Skerrit, the Dominican Prime Minister, he discussed industry best practices, regulations and growing investment opportunities in the Caribbean, especially in the Commonwealth of Dominica, which has the most popular Citizenship by Investment programmes in the region.

“The purpose of the visit to the Caribbean region and meeting the Heads of States along with the Heads of Citizenship by Investment Units was to set up strong connectivity among all stakeholders for smooth and fast process,” said Farooq, who is also CEO of the newly-established AAA Associates Dominica.

Dominica offers an attractive Citizenship by Investment package, which includes a $100,000 government donation programme and a $200,000 investment in real estate, enabling investors to get Dominican citizenship. The Dominican passport enables visa-free travel to more than 120 countries.

According to Farooq, Dominica citizenship by investment programme is legally entrenched in law. “Obtaining second citizenship by investment in the country is a confidential and trustworthy process that does not require a person to renounce their existing citizenship.”

For potential migrants to the US, there has been some good news of late, with the US Congress extending the EB-5 (Employmentbased fifth-preference category) immigration investor visa programme, in a bid to generate new jobs in the country.

“The US Congress passed a reauthorisation of the EB-5 program until December this year that will help the residents of the UAE and the Gulf to avail Green Cards without the delays facing investors from other countries,” says Stephen Strnisha, a board officer of Invest in the USA (IIUSA), the EB-5 industry trade association, and CEO, Cleveland International Fund (CIF). “The EB-5 program has become more popular in countries where the number of immigrants has historically been low – such as the Gulf countries.”

The EB-5 program was launched in 1990 to boost US employment through immigration. Foreigners could obtain a Green Card after investing $500,000 in projects that generated a minimum of 10 jobs. The investor would get the green card on maturity and also the total investment after a few years.

“This is a positive development for all interested individuals in the Middle East, where there is no retrogression and experienced regional centres like CIF providing strong offerings with some of the best economic terms available for investor consideration,” says Strnisha, who addressed potential investors in Dubai.

The US administration is focused on generating new jobs for Americans and is also keen on attracting job-creating (not job-seeking) immigrants. According to Strnisha, the move has wide support from both Republicans and Democrats in the US Congress.

The US offers up to 10,000 Green Cards every year under the EB-5 Investor Immigration Program. Of course, with 10,000 potential investors, it could result in the creation of 100,000 new jobs and investment of over $5 billion.

The CIF has over the last eight years raised over $240 million for 10 different development projects, which have generated over 14,000 new jobs in the US.

“This track record has made CIF a critical player in advancing economic development in Northeast Ohio, so much so that our regional Chamber of Commerce sought an ownership interest in our enterprise,” adds Strnisha. “Our success has also led us to expand our focus to two other States and six other metropolitan areas resulting in CIF now serving a significant portion of the US Midwest between Chicago and New York, comprising a population of over 13 million people.” The other side of the Atlantic also has a lot of exciting offers for those seeking opportunities.

“Montenegro is aiming to develop a sustainable economic model by offering investment opportunities across various trade and investment sectors,” says Marco Gantenbein, a member of Henley & Partners’ Global Executive Committee and Managing Partner of Henley & Partners Dubai.

The leading global investment migration firm is launching a Montenegro citizenshipby-investment programme in collaboration with the government of Montenegro.

This follows the recent decision by another European nation, Moldova, to award Henley & Partners the mandate to design, implement, and promote its new Moldova Citizenship-by-Investment (MCBI) programme.

“We believe this latest citizenship-byinvestment programme is a step in the right direction,” says Gantenbein. “We foresee significant interest from expats in the UAE seeking citizenship by investment opportunities in jurisdictions such as Montenegro.”

Last October, the UAE and Montenegro extended their mutual visa exemption deal to ordinary passport holders. Montenegro citizens have visa-free access to more than 120 countries including the UAE.

With many nations relaxing their migration norms for affluent folk, there is likely to be a spurt in the number of people holding dual passports and working from different geographies.

The US administration is focused on generating new jobs for Americans and is also keen on attracting jobcreating (not job-seeking) immigrants.