Latest / IMI Podcasts / This Week in IMI - Mar 27: Vanuatu Gets Bond Option, Portuguese President Could Save Golden Visa, and other stories from the past week.

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This Week in IMI - Mar 27: Vanuatu Gets Bond Option, Portuguese President Could Save Golden Visa, and other stories from the past week. · IMI Podcasts

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: You're listening to This Week in Investment Migration.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Vanuatu has unveiled an Australian dollar-denominated bond scheme for its citizenship by investment program, offering a$100,000 pathway to citizenship.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: As government CBI revenues have dwindled after the suspension of the Visa Waiver Agreement with the Schengen area, the new bond option, which a yet-to-be-appointed master agent will market globally, may signal that the island nation has pressing cash needs.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: The UK Home Office's newly introduced innovator founder Visa, IFV, intended to streamline the immigration process for entrepreneurs, may face serious bottlenecks due to its reliance on only three endorsing bodies.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: While the IFV aims to attract overseas entrepreneurial talent by eliminating the£50,000 minimum investment requirement and allowing secondary employment, the limited number of endorsing bodies could hinder the scalability of the new visa category, say experts.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa deemed the controversial More Housing Bill, which, among other aims, seeks to end the country's golden visa inoperable and unfeasible.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: He suggested the government may have proposed the bill more to highlight the party platform than to create viable legislation.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Porto based lawyer Inez Costamura emphasized the importance of the president's opinion and noted that his public comments support the bill's detractors.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: She believes a challenge to the bill on constitutional grounds is likely.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Meanwhile, the president of Autonomous Madeira, Miguel Albuquerque, said his region would refuse to adopt the measure.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: In Panama, where one in six immigrants is an investor, the approval of independent means visas reached its highest level in over a decade last year.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: The strong upward trend continues in 2023.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Investment-based visas, however, have not followed the same trajectory, primarily due to a decline in demand for friendly nations visas.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Excluding this outlier, the broader investor visa trend in Panama remains positive.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: In an opinion piece, Kamal Nicholson discusses the six provisions Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Programs, CIPs, must now follow after a U.S.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: Caribbean conclave resulted in a regional accord.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: The changes, believes Nicholson, could be positive for the industry, and he suggests CIP agents can contribute by streamlining the interview process, enhancing their understanding of due diligence, and providing constant feedback to Caribbean CIUs.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: Don't forget, tickets for IMI Connect, our upcoming event in Malta this May, are now for sale.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: At IMI Connect, you'll meet IMI contributors, partners, and readers like yourself who come to talk frankly and off the cuff about the challenges and opportunities facing RCBI professionals, all in a series of informal and comfortable venues.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: You can read more about the event by Googling IMI Connect Malta.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: To book your tickets, contact Alexandra at emmydaily.com.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening.