Latest / IMI Podcasts / This Week in IM - Feb 5: 🇳🇷 Slashes CBI Costs, Why 🇦🇷 Will Dominate CBI, 🇳🇿 Golden Visa Surging, ++

Transcript

This Week in IM - Feb 5: 🇳🇷 Slashes CBI Costs, Why 🇦🇷 Will Dominate CBI, 🇳🇿 Golden Visa Surging, ++ · IMI Podcasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: You're listening to IMI This Week.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: New IMI pro Pedro Pires E Borges, founder and CEO of Golden Path Investment, views consistency and disciplined execution as the foundation of long-term success.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Entering the industry through an interest in global mobility and wealth planning, Pedro defines success through tangible client outcomes, rather than scale alone.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: IMI introduces EDICR as a new official partner, highlighting its unconventional entry into citizenship investment through gaming and data analytics.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: EDICR invested deeply in Antigua due to its political stability and legal framework.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the group has diversified across industries and is launching the Long Bay Zen Resort, a luxury CBI eligible development.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Jimmy Sexton argues that Europe's obsession with regulation has eroded its relevance.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Policies like GDPR have increased friction without delivering protections, while over-regulation has driven innovation and capital to the US, UAE, and China.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: He views recent regulatory rollbacks as an admission rather than a solution, reducing the continent to a destination rather than a driver of progress.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: IMI Pro.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: Kemal Nicholson argues rising populist pressure is forcing investment migration to mature, a phase he labels CBI 2.0.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: Governments now prioritize political defensibility and national benefit over other metrics.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: Rather than declining, CBI is becoming slower and more controlled.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: Nicholson concludes that programs able to clearly justify why and who they serve will endure.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Americans now dominate investment migration demand, driven less by travel access and more by other factors.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: And Portugal, Greece, Italy, New Zealand, and Panama have emerged as preferred low physical presence backup residencies, offering flexibility without immediate relocation.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: As geopolitical tensions intensify, a select group of countries continues to pursue active neutrality.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, and Andorra anchor Europe's neutral core, while Oman, Mauritius, and Costa Rica extend neutrality into the GCC, Africa, and Latin America.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Though neutrality does not guarantee insulation from conflict, these jurisdictions have avoided military entanglements for decades.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Georgia will raise the minimum property investment for its real estate-based residence permit by 50% to$150,000 starting March 1.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Amid rising tensions with the EU, the change forms part of a broader immigration overhaul aimed at tightening compliance and formalizing an informal labor market.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Qatar plans to launch a 10-year residency program for entrepreneurs and executives, extending its five-year framework and aligning with other GCC offerings.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: The program builds on existing requirements, including incubator endorsement, a minimum 250,000 Qatari Reales investment, and at least 20% ownership in a qualifying venture.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: Noru has significantly cut total citizenship by investment costs by up to 30% and launching a limited time offer valid through June 30.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: The changes include sharply reduced application and due diligence fees, a lower promotional contribution of$90,000, and broader eligibility for family members with no age or dependency limits.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Saudi Arabia has tightened business visa approvals for UAE-based professionals amid rising tensions with Abu Dhabi.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: The enforcement targets renewable commercial visit visas and appears designed to push companies toward establishing Saudi headquarters.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Industry experts believe that the policy reflects cyclical GCC political dynamics.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Prospera has launched a$5,000 lump sum tax residency program, which may be made in cryptocurrency, aimed at globally mobile professionals without tax residency elsewhere.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: The regime offers clear tax residency with minimal physical presence, requiring only a seven-day annual visit and the creation of a local business.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: Malaysia's MM2H program generated 744 property purchases from late 2023 to 2025, led overwhelmingly by Chinese buyers.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: Despite some momentum, volumes are well below pre-pandemic levels.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: Although MM2H offers relatively low federal property thresholds, state-level foreign ownership rules frequently bar silver tier applicants from key markets like Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: Argentina's proposed citizenship by investment program would represent the most disruptive development in the industry in over a decade.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: As a G20 economy with 168 visa-free destinations, Mercosur settlement rights, and constitutionally protected citizenship, Argentina offers advantages no existing CBI jurisdiction can match.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: Could this program redefine market expectation?
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: Lump sum taxation offers wealthy individuals a predictable capped tax bill, regardless of foreign income levels.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: Switzerland, Italy, Greece, and Anguilla each provide residency paired with fixed tax regimes.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: These regimes suit high foreign earners, but carry political and policy risk.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: New Zealand's active investor plus Visa added 41 applications in January, bringing total submissions to 532 since last year's reforms.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: Americans lead demand, followed by Chinese and Hong Kong applicants.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: Committed investment has reached 926.2 million New Zealand dollars so far, with total potential minimum investment exceeding 3.1 billion New Zealand dollars.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for joining us today on IMI Podcasts.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Subscribe for free to the IMI daily newsletter for breaking news and updates from the investment migration industry.
• 6:47
  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.