Latest / IMI Podcasts / This Week in IM - Dec 5: St Kitts: “Pay Up or Lose Citizenship,” Greece Shrinks Processing, Sierra Leone Launches Residency, ++

Transcript

This Week in IM - Dec 5: St Kitts: “Pay Up or Lose Citizenship,” Greece Shrinks Processing, Sierra Leone Launches Residency, ++ · IMI Podcasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: You're listening to IMI This Week.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Investment migration people in the news this week included Henley and partners Graham Salt of Frank Salt Real Estate, David Lesperance of Lesperence and Associates, Richard Huller of Sable International, Sophie Barrett Brown of Laura Devine, Amanda Klikowski von Koppenfels, Arton Capital, Anthony Liu of MM2, H Consultants Association, Piosh Gupta of Canaam Enterprises.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: San Marino has significantly raised its minimum annual income requirements from€50,000 to€120,000 and the movable assets requirement from€300,000 to€500,000 for foreign retirees seeking residency.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: The new regulations, effective for the 2025 tax year, introduce stricter rental agreement rules and are expected to reduce residency applications by 30 to 50%.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Despite these changes, the program still offers a preferential 6% tax rate on pension income for retirees and a path to permanent residency, notes Valentino Coletto of Reframed.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Greece has significantly improved its golden visa processing time from 20 months to just three months by opening an Athens office and distributing applications across the country.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: Investors are now encouraged to submit applications through regional authorities like Alexandrupoli to avoid delays.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: The strategy not only streamlines the application process, states Katarina Soranti of MIBS, but also supports broader urban renewal goals by incentivizing investment in underutilized former industrial areas.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Latvia's Golden Visa program approved 30 investor visas and 53 dependent visas in the first half of 2024, with the€50,000 business investment option, 74% of all applications, emerging as the most popular choice.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: The program shows a trend of investors relocating with small families, averaging 1.8 dependents per applicant, and demonstrates a significant shift in investor demographics, with Chinese investors now leading at 37% of applications.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: Sierra Leone has launched the Go for Gold Investment Migration Program, offering lifetime residency in exchange for gold investments, with three package options ranging from$65,000 to$100,000 plus gold bullion requirements.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: Designed by Stephen Barnes of the Hong Kong Visa Center, the program features a 40-day approval process, no in-country residence requirement, and automatic membership in the GFG Club.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: Endorsed by the government, the initiative will attract investors with a fully remote application process and position Sierra Leone as an innovative destination for investment migration.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: Spain's Senate has vetoed a bill containing measures to terminate the Golden Visa program, a temporary setback for the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party that cannot permanently block the legislation.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: PSOE and its coalition partners hold a congressional majority and therefore can override the Senate's veto in upcoming plenary sessions, with expert Dr.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: Jacinto Soler Matutz predicting the program could be phased out as early as April 1st.
• 3:16
  unknown: St.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Kitts and Nevis has issued a warning to a citizenship by investment applicant, alleging that he invested less than the lawful amount through the public good infrastructure project and risks the loss of his citizenship.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: The letter provides the investor with an ultimatum, provide documented evidence of full payment, pay the remaining amount, or face potential citizenship revocation by Prime Minister Terence Drew before the end of December 2024.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: If the investor fails to respond or prove the full investment, the government may revoke his, his dependents, and his co-applicants' citizenships.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: The Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited is seeking fund managers to oversee its capital investment entrance scheme investment portfolio, projecting a portfolio value of$300 million Hong Kong dollars by 2025.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: Fund managers must meet stringent criteria, including a five-year operational history, Securities and Futures Commission Type 9 licenses, and experience raising institutional capital.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: The submission process is open until December 10, 2024.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for joining us today on IMI Podcasts.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: Subscribe for free to the IMI Daily Newsletter for breaking news and updates from the investment migration industry, and consider upgrading your membership to IMI Pro to get access to our exclusive professional community, industry events, data, and members only content.