Latest / IMI Podcasts / This Week in IMI - Nov 8, 2023: NHR Likely to Survive as Govt. Falls, St. Kitts to Refund Russians, Grenada Sets Records Again, ++

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This Week in IMI - Nov 8, 2023: NHR Likely to Survive as Govt. Falls, St. Kitts to Refund Russians, Grenada Sets Records Again, ++ · IMI Podcasts

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: You're listening to This Week in Investment Migration.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Portugal's non-habitual resident regime looks likely to survive for at least another year following the resignation of Prime Minister Antonio Costa yesterday.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: Under Article 167 of the Portuguese Constitution, the annual budget proposal is rendered void if the elected government that presented it resigns, explained Madalena Montero.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: A new government will have to submit a new state budget for 2024, which will not happen before the end of this year, she added.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Responding to mounting pressure over its 18-month delay in refunding applicants from sanctioned countries who had received approvals but not citizenship, the St.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Kitts and Nevis CIU has confirmed that it has begun the process to return donation money to the affected applicants.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Prime Minister Drew, moreover, admitted during a press conference that the St.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Kitts and Nevis CIP had seen a sharp reduction in new applications following its price increase earlier this year.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: Last month, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service issued guidance stating EB5 investors could liquidate their qualifying loans to EB5 projects after just two years.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: In an opinion piece, Siren Chen says robust EB5 projects take much longer than two years to complete, and warns investors to proceed with caution with projects that are happy with such a short-term lending period.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: The Granada CIP's performance data for this year's third quarter shows the program continues to set new records.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: The program received 621 applications during the period, an all-time high.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: The CIU, meanwhile, is struggling to keep up with the unprecedented application volume.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: In the three months since the last statistical release, the program's backlog of unprocessed applications has grown by nearly 20% to 1679.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: Presuming average per applicant investment remains stable, that backlog is worth at least$450 million.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Vanuatu, which already has at least three separate CBI programs, last week launched a fourth, a revived version of the erstwhile CIIP that offers citizenship in exchange for investment in a coconut oil-focused fund.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: Starting at an investment of$138,000 for a family of four, the fund promises to return at least$70,000 after five years.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: Our guest, in this week's 10 on the weekend interview series, Chris Lennon, says he is surprised demand for EB5 remains so strong despite the long processing time, high cost, and uncertainty of approval.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: He also considered geopolitical turmoil his biggest business concern at the moment.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: See more in IMI.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening.