Successful applicants to Malta’s citizenship-by-investment program prefer to rent property rather than buy. Of 143 people given a passport until the end of April, 116 of them signed a five-year rental contract worth an average €21,000 a year. Under the terms of the program, applicants can choose to either invest in property worth at least…
Hungary has streamlined the process by which it grants permanent residency to investment immigration applicants. The European nation will cut waiting times from eight months to 30 days for the Hungary National Permanent Residence Program. The program will also be opened to offspring of the main applicant who are over 18, and to dependent parents,…
One of the major recipients of investment through the US EB-5 program has been fined more than $1.2 million for facilitating payments using unlicensed advisers. American Life with a long standing history in the industry has received more than $1 billion in 2,200 separate investments for a range of projects including offices, retail, hotels and…
The popularity of the UK’s Tier 1 Investor visa has plummeted since the threshold was raised as the world’s wealthy look elsewhere for residency and citizenship programs. Just 192 visas were awarded through the program in 2015, compared to 1,172 the previous year, a fall of 84 per cent. The trend looks likely to continue,…
Politicians should not be responsible for running citizenship-by-investment programs if they are to thrive, according to the Maltese prime minister. Joseph Muscat says the success of Malta’s program is down to handing decisions over to technical experts instead of elected individuals. The country’s CIP remains the only program fully approved by the European Commission. Investment…