Malta offers one of the most sought after investment migration options for US citizens – Henley
Malta has one of the most sought after investment migration offerings for US citizens, Henley & Partners' head of North America, Mehdi Kadiri has said.
Kadiri says the most soughtafter investment migration option for US citizens is the Portugal Golden Residence Permit Programme followed by Malta's investment offering, "which allows for the granting of citizenship by a certificate of naturalization to foreign individuals and their families who contribute to the country's economic development", Henley & Partners said.
"International real estate has always been a reliable asset class for global investors due to its long-term staying power. Real estate-linked investment migration programmes such as those offered by Portugal and Malta have the additional advantages of enhancing your global mobility through multiple passports and expanding your personal access rights as a citizen or resident of additional jurisdictions, creating optionality in terms of where you and your family can live, work, study, retire and invest. The potential gains over the lifetime of the investment include the core value of the asset, rental yields and global access as an ultimate hedge against both regional and global volatility," Kadiri said.
Portugal recently announced that it is ending its programme.
Malta's sale of citizenship has been in the spotlight of the EU.
In March last year, the country suspended citizenship applications for Russian and Belarusian nationals until further notice following the start of the war in Ukraine.
In September last year, the European Commission had decided to refer Malta to the Court of Justice of the European Union for its investor citizenship scheme, also referred to as the “golden passports”.
It was recently revealed that a total of 1,532 main applicants have had their citizenship naturalised under the Individual Investor Programme (IIP) scheme since the regulations came into force in 2014. Applicants came from Asia, Europe, North and South America, the Middle East, the Gulf, Africa, the Oceana and the Caribbean.