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6 Latin American Plan B Programs: Ranked by a Local · IMI Podcasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Fast pathways to naturalisation, tax exemptions on foreign income, a real quality of life on the ground, and geopolitical neutrality.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: This is what a real Plan B looks like.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: My name is David Lincoln.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'm the CEO and co-founder of Lincoln Global Partners.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: I've been living across Latin America now for the past 10 years, and I genuinely believe that this region offers by far the most compelling Plan B residency pathways.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: In this video, we will take a deeper look into the investment migration programs on offer in the region, explore why Latin America is receiving such an increase in interest.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: Pre-pandemic, most clients were focused on one thing: global mobility.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: Those days are long gone.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Now there's been a huge increase in demand from North America, from Europe, and this clientele that is taking up a significant amount of the market share, they're seeking something different.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: They're seeking a real plan B.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: A country they can live in, a country they can school their children in, potentially a country they can do business in.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: The reason global stability has cracked.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: There are now two wars, one in the Middle East and on European soil.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: On top of that, major Western capitals in Europe and North America are not the same as they used to be with regards to safety.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: The very cities we used to take for granted for being safe are now suffering from increased crime, unrest, and migration pressure.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: And as Western cities feel less safe, the perception of Latin America is shifting.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: There is a realization that many parts of Latin America are actually very safe.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: Uruguay is one of the safest, most stable, and least corrupt countries in the world.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: And the place I choose to live, Florianopolis, as well as Paraguay, are also particularly safe areas.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: In the south of Brazil, a part of the southern cone that is underpromoted, in my opinion.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: You have the state of Santa Catarina, Parana, where you have very good levels of education, safety, and general stability.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's take a look at the destinations in Latin America that have launched investment migration programs recently.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: A few years ago, El Salvador launched the Freedom Visa, a donation-based citizenship by investment program.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: It is very expensive.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: It comes in at 1 million and it requires a donation in either USDT or Bitcoin.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's very niche, but it's something quite unique in the fact that this is the first program of its kind.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: And El Salvador has a very unique story, gone from being the most dangerous country in the Western Hemisphere to one of the safest.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: So if that can be achieved, what else is possible for El Salvador?
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: Next up, we have Paraguay.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: Paraguay recently launched the Investor Pass with three different investment options.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: First of all, you have the real estate option of$200,000.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: And what's interesting about this option is it requires just a 30% down payment in order to be eligible to apply for the program.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: The rest can be financed by a developer, and usually developers give you around two to five year payment plans.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: The second option in Paraguay is to invest enlisted securities on the Paraguayan Stock Exchange.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: And the final option is to invest just$150,000 into a touristic project.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: Personally, I think this option is very interesting.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: I live in Paraguay and there's not actually that much to do from a tourist perspective.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's a great base to visit other countries in the region, Brazil, Argentina, just a couple of hours away.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: But in terms of tourism, it's very underdeveloped, especially considering the amount of digital nomads relocating to Paraguay and also the influx of Brazilians coming to the country.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: Paraguay is the fastest growing economy in South America.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: And if you look at the real estate prices in Asunction compared to other capital cities, the prices are significantly lower and very reasonable.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: The big one, Argentina, due to launch their citizenship by investment program later this year.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: There's been some delays, but when this program launches, I think this will be a pivotal moment in the industry.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: This will be by far the strongest passport that you can acquire by investment.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: Not just on paper with the visa-free travel, but the fact that this is a G20 country, it's a place that people genuinely like to live in, like to travel to.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: And it's also very geopolitically neutral.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's located far away from the rest of the world's problems.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: The expectation is the price will come in at$500,000.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: We don't know the exact investment criteria right now, but in the case of a worst-case scenario, World War III, for example, there's pretty much nowhere better you could be than Argentina.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: Argentina has abundance of natural resources.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's away from the rest of the world's problems.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: And in comparison, the only other place that perhaps second to only New Zealand, where the minimum investment just for residency would cost you$3 million.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: But it's not just new programs.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: There's plenty of existing programs like Panama's qualified investor visa, which has gained momentum recently.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: You can invest$300,000 in real estate.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: It will be increasing in October to$500,000.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: And there's the possibility of acquiring citizenship after five years of residency, immediate permanent residency for your investment.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: Panama is a strategic hub.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's very well located in between two continents.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: It's the gateway to North and South America, similar to how Istanbul is with Europe and Asia.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: We also have the Dominican Republic, and I've been very surprised that this one stayed off the radar for so long.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: The Dominican Republic has the fastest pathway to naturalization anywhere in the world.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: The standard pathway to naturalization is just two years, and investors and retirees can apply after the two years.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: However, if you invest through a company, you can apply for citizenship after just six months.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: The Dominican Republic is also a hugely popular tourist destination for North Americans and Europeans.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a small island.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: There's plenty to do.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: You have incredible beaches, and it's also a fantastic lifestyle destination.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: Finally, we have Brazil.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: In my opinion, the most vibrant country on the planet.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: A place that I choose to spend a lot of my time.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: Brazil is obviously an enormous country.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: It varies greatly from region to region.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: But in the south of the country, Santa Catarina or Parana, I think I mentioned it earlier on, it's a very, very safe part of the country.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: You have great education.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: It's a genuinely fantastic place to be.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: If you invest anywhere in Brazil with 1 million reais into real estate, you can apply for residency in Brazil.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: And if you invest in the northeast of the country, the minimum investment drops to just 700,000 reais.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: The Brazilian coastline, particularly in the northeast, has many areas that are untouched.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I think there's huge potential in the northeast.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's certainly an overlooked part of Brazil for investment purposes.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: There is also the business investment option in which you can acquire permanent residency straight away.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: This requires a minimum investment of 500,000 reais, that's about$100,000, or$150,000 reais, around$30,000 if you invest into a business in the tech sector.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: The Brazilian Golden Visa is quite off the radar still, but it's become particularly popular with Russian nationals.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: For me, there's two main regions of interest the Southern Cone for stability and Central America for connectivity.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: And if these regions are not on your list, now they should be.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: Latin America is the new frontier in the investment migration space.