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Dubai is No Plan B Haven, But These 4 Countries Are · IMI Podcasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Dubai Golden Visas, Singapore Residency, Monaco cards.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of people think these are great plan B's, but that's not the case.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: There are three critical factors why these jurisdictions are vulnerable in the long term.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Philip May from EC Holding Singapore and I will tell you which four destinations make great plan B's for entrepreneurs, high network individuals and investors.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Three critical reasons why those countries don't make a great plan B.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: First, it's very hard to get permanent residency in most of them, and it's near impossible to get citizens in at least two of them.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: Singapore, you may get citizenship if you manage to get a VR, but it's still subject to approval.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: In the UAE we have a few very prominent cases.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: Got citizenship, but that's just a handful.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: No permanent residency.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Monaco decades to citizenship and approval is subject to an arbitrary decision.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: These three countries don't give you the legal safety and security that you want from an immigration perspective.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: Second reason, these countries are very small.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: They are vulnerable.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: We don't know whether they can survive.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: They are city-states.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: If you look back in the history a few hundred years, we look at city-states, the history wasn't buying to them.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Venice.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: They rose to great heights and they fell.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: Venice is just the tourist spot.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: Third reason the countries are wealthy.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: So wealthy people, wealthy countries, they have enemies.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: There is people who are jealous of them, their money and wanted their wealth.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: We want to get the piece of the cake.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Then there is anti-rich sentiment.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: There is trends, Europe in the US, which haven't arrived in those countries yet, folks.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe we will see those dangers as well for the wealthy.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: So therefore, avoid Monaco, avoid Dubai, avoid Singapore if you are looking for a plan B.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: Singapore makes a great plan A, but Dubai, Monaco, not even that, because you don't pick out citizens.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Never add that.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: So what makes a good plan B?
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: First, you must be able to get permanent residency and ideally you must be able to have citizenship.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: If that's not available, then it's not a plan B.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: Then it's temporary.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, the absence of taxes.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: It must be a tax-friendly environment.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: If there is high taxes, why one wealthy person know why you want to say that?
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: Why do you want to build wealth?
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: Third, the country must have a certain size.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: It must be I wouldn't say self-reliant, but it must be able to feed itself to some extent.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: It cannot depend entirely on everything imported.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: And last but not least, the country shouldn't be too exposed geopolitically.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: You can't be in a war zone.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: You can't be surrounded by enemies if you want to make a good plan D destination.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: So what are the good plan B destinations?
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Let me present you four.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: First, Uruguay.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: Uruguay is four times the size of Switzerland and South America.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Very safe country, no wars for many decades, financially stable, very well educated population, huge agriculture, they have three million people, but they could feed dirty easily.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: Residency is available, can get the permanent residency if you show a certain income.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: You can apply for citizenship after three years if you're married or after five years if you're single.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: Uruguay is a perfect spot, especially for Europeans, and so is Paraguay also in South America.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: Very similar situation to Europe wide.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: And in between, interestingly, we have Archikihau, which is talking about CBI program that they announced will be available, so we believe next year you can get citizenship in Argentina.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: That will be another one.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: Outside South America, look at Vanuatu.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Vanuatu is offering permanent residency to foreigners which can become citizens after holding it for 10 years.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: And you don't, then you'll be physically living in the country to fulfill these 10 years.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: You can get citizenship directly.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: And many people don't know Vanuatu is not the small, small island somewhere out in the ocean.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: Vanuatu is a relatively sizable country with big islands and a small population of just about 300,000 people.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: So they do have farming, they do have cattle, they do have agriculture, they do have fishery, they can feed themselves.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: There is no tax at all in Vanuatu.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's like what I call Porta Bahamas.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: So Vanuatu can make a great plan B.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: And Vanuatu does have a sizable population, an immigrant population, naturalized egg, some eat with foreign origin already born there.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: So Vanuatu cannot be underestimated as Plan B.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: And it's definitely one of the most friendly places in the Pacific for foreigners to go and stay.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: The pushback on Vanuatu may be that it's very remote, but that can be a plus or a minus.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: What you can seriously consider as a downside on Wanuatu is the lack of educational medical facilities.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: You have these things, but only to a certain degree.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: The University of the Pacific has a campus there, but you don't have as many universities there as you have, say, in Urugua.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: For certain medical treatments, you need to leave the island.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: So this is a downside, but still, it's a plan B, it's not a plan A, you're not living a full time.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's a plan place where you can go stay if need be.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: So in my opinion, in spite of the limitations, still good enough.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: The last jurisdiction for plan B is Panama.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: The refugee different from South America, in Central America, more drop-of-the-climate, small country, but still sizable.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: A financial international financial center, very tax-friendly.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: And Panama has been very open for immigration.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: They have offered residency to foreigners for a long time.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: But until recently, it was very difficult to naturalize in Panama.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: Convert that permanent residence into citizenship was not easy.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: Now that is changing.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: So Panama is at crossroads, and with a more resident-friendly naturalization policy, the term is always five years, that hasn't changed.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: Look with that policy change, you can become a citizen of Panama, and that will make it definitely a very good plan B.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: If you think about the plan D and Monaco, Singapore, Dubai, Capcura May, keep in mind, remember.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: These places are greatly hyped on social media.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: You have a lot of people posting on Instagram.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: But nowadays on Pic X, some still on Facebook about these places.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, they are great tourist estimations.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: They have many photographic spots, but they are not a plan B.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: Think about South Pacific, think about the southern cone in South America, think about Central America, think about places that can feed themselves and that have a long-term perspective for immigrants that are not closed, where citizenship can deal.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: So think of Paraguay, Uruguay, Hanama, Guanuar, and soon Argentina.