Latest / IMI Podcasts / This Week in IM - Dec 25: 🇨🇦 Suspends Startup Visa, 🇮🇹 GV Applications Double, 🌐 IMI’s Top 10 Stories in 2025, ++

Transcript

This Week in IM - Dec 25: 🇨🇦 Suspends Startup Visa, 🇮🇹 GV Applications Double, 🌐 IMI’s Top 10 Stories in 2025, ++ · IMI Podcasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: You're listening to IMI this week.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: In this 10-on-the-weekend feature, new IMI pro Ali Bayat of Nila Global describes investment migration as moving into a more competitive, credibility-driven phase, with a surge of new programs raising the stakes for trust.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Bayat's focus for 2026 is to deepen client value through future-proof decision-making, expand his role as an educator, and build scalable platforms that integrate mobility with wellness and preventive health.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: New Zealand's revamped Active Investor Plus visa has attracted 491 applications worth nearly 3 billion New Zealand dollars since April 2025.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: Americans lead demand, followed by Chinese and Hong Kong investors, signaling broad international confidence in the program.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: The redesign has shifted capital toward productive ventures, with most applicants choosing the$5 million New Zealand dollars growth pathway.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: Belize is preparing to introduce a$500,000 investor fast track to permanent residency, following approval of a new proposal.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: The route would allow qualifying investors to bypass the usual one-year residency requirement while preserving the five-year path to citizenship.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Strong political backing and a parliamentary supermajority suggest swift implementation.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: Canada will suspend startup visa intake by January 1st, ending a program with processing times beyond a decade.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: Ottawa has signaled a strategic reset rather than a quick reopening, and an entirely new entrepreneur pilot for 2026 as Canada shifts founder immigration toward provincial programs.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Italy's investor visa program is experiencing rapid expansion, with applications doubling over the past two years as investors seek alternatives to slower and more politically uncertain programs in Portugal and Greece.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: Italy's ability to deliver decisions within 60 days, flexible investment options, and no physical presence requirement have strengthened its appeal.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: EMI Pro Dario Montagnese now projects that Italy is Europe's leading destination in 2026.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: Antigua Barbuda has secured limited relief from visa restrictions, ensuring that citizens holding valid visas issued before December 31st, 2025, retain access to the United States.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: The agreement does not reopen visa eligibility for future applicants, leaving the U.S.'s broader restrictions in place.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: Moreover, the Caribbean Island government is considering increasing its residency requirement to 90 days to satisfy American security concerns.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: Italy has confirmed that its lump sum tax regime for new residents and the Impatriati Inbound Workers regime can be used in the same tax year, provided they apply to separate categories of income.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: The clarification confirms that the two regimes serve complementary policy goals rather than conflicting ones.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: While this does not create automatic dual benefits, it opens a meaningful planning opportunity.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: The investment migration industry has entered a trust-driven era in which reputation consistently outperforms advertising spend.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Notes IMI Pro Alatin Kilich.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: As investors become more informed and risk-aware, education now determines which firms succeed.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Those that align public messaging with advisory behavior build reputational equity.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: IME Daily's most read stories of 2025 show an investment migration industry undergoing a shift.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: Governments across Europe and North America increased scrutiny on citizenship and residency pathways, while visa-free access and passport utility became less predictable.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: Read about the trends here.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: Greece plans in January 2026 to resolve a long-standing issue in its golden visa program by ending the practice of backdating residence permits to the application date.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: If adopted, residence cards would carry their full five-year validity from issuance, preventing applicants from losing time due to processing.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: Other measures are expected to streamline renewals and family reunification.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: Bulgaria has launched its first digital nomad residence permit, offering remote workers a one-year renewable status with access to the Schengen area.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Applicants must earn at least 31,000 euros annually and work exclusively for non-EU employers or clients.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: The visa does not lead to permanent residency or citizenship unless holders transition to another legal status.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for joining us today on IMI Podcasts.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: Subscribe for free to the IMI Daily Newsletter for breaking news and updates from the investment migration industry.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: And consider upgrading your membership to IMI Pro to get access to our exclusive professional community, industry events, data, and members only content.