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Transcript

The Investment Migration Program Winners and Losers of 2025 · IMI Podcasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: The investment migration industry underwent a substantial realignment in 2025.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Programs that dominated two years ago are losing ground, while previously overlooked options are capturing market share.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: Survey data from industry firms reveal Portugal's golden visa reclaimed popularity despite processing delays stretching into years.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: Italy emerged as an unexpected winner, while Caribbean programs experienced sharp divergence in fortune.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: Market dynamics shifted as processing efficiency, pricing strategies, and regulatory stability became decisive factors in program selection.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: The findings paint a picture of an industry recalibrating after years of regulatory turbulence.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: The Investment Migration Executive Survey, the only industry-wide study of its kind, gathers data and sentiments from the heads of 40 of the largest multinational investment migration firms to help identify trends and market attitudes.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: The sample size is small, but representative of the broader market because of the selection criteria.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: Participation requires that firms meet two conditions.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: They source clients from many different countries and markets, and they help clients qualify for a wide array of investment migration programs.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: These executives are positioned to identify fluctuations and trends in their clients' preferences and in the relative demand for the programs in their portfolios.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: The corporate expansion plans and industry sentiment they reveal also provide a macro perspective on the directions in which the industry at large sees the market moving.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: Now, in its fifth edition, the 2025 survey builds on prior year's data, adding new questions while maintaining continuity for longitudinal comparison.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: Respondents represent 40 multinational firms headquartered in 17 countries, with over 250 offices and 2,600 staff worldwide.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: This year's survey was conducted in partnership with Arten Capital, an IMI official partner company.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: The headquarters and global office locations of the firms surveyed make for a representative sample of the global investment migration industry, as exemplified by the IMI Rolodex, the world's largest database of companies in the investment migration market, some 1,300 firms, which point to Dubai as the industry's de facto capital, and London, Lisbon, Malta, Toronto, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Hong Kong as major hubs.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Two years ago, in the aftermath of the closure of the Portugal Golden Visa's real estate option, no firm said the program was its best seller.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: In 2025, however, despite multi-year delays and backlogs of thousands of files, nearly a quarter of firms said the program was their customer's favorite.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: In the Caribbean, meanwhile, fortunes have changed sharply.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: The CIPs of St.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Kitts and Nevis and St.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Lucia, both cited by 27% of firms as their best sellers in 2023, saw their shares drop to just 5%.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: The St.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Kitts and Nevis CIP's decline is attributable to two factors.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: It unilaterally raised its prices relative to its Caribbean peers, who raised theirs much later, and underwent several controversial episodes.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: MSR lawsuits, refusal to repay rejected Russian applicants, demands for backpayments of discounted CBI investments, and more.
• 3:38
  unknown: St.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Lucia's case is different.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: After taking on a record number of clients in 2023 and 2024, the program has struggled to clear a backlog of thousands of files, leading to extreme delays and processing times that are now nearing two years, a crisis that shows few signs of abating.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: Questioned as to which program they expect to be their bestseller over the next 12 months, 23% of firms indicated Portugal's golden visa.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: Note, however, that the survey responses preceded Portugal's parliamentary vote, extending naturalization timelines from 5 to potentially 10 years, a legislative change that, unless stopped by the Constitutional Court, is likely to have a material impact on program demand.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: In relative terms, the big winner in this year's survey appears to be Italy's Golden Visa, which 13% of firms said they expected to be their best-selling program in the next year.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: In previous surveys, no firms said they expected this program to be a bestseller.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: 38% of responders suggested one of the Caribbean would be their best-selling program next year.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: As in previous years, the 2025 survey asked respondents to indicate which of the programs they offer had risen and fallen the most in popularity.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: 15% of respondents said the St.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: Kitts and Neva CIP had increased the most in popularity among their clients in recent years, but another 13% said it was the program that had decreased the most in popularity, showing a market that's opinion of the program was split more or less evenly.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: Italy's Golden Visa logged the highest positive net change in popularity among the surveyed firm's clients.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: 10% of firms said it was the program that increased most in popularity, while none said it had fallen out of favor, giving this program the highest net increase.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: It was closely followed by New Zealand's Active Investor Visa and Hungary's new guest investor visa, both New Look programs, which saw a net popularity gain of 8%.
• 5:47
  unknown: St.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: Lucia's CIP, unsurprisingly, recorded the largest net decrease in popularity.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: The program lost the most popularity among clients, according to 23% of firms, while just 3% said it increased the most in popularity.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: This supports the finding that few firms identified it as a bestseller.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: Executives gave Grenada's citizenship by investment unit the most votes for most efficient processing unit in 2025, up from just 5% in 2023.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: St.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: Lucia's CIU, which ranked most efficient in 2021, was only rated most efficient by a single firm in 2025.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: Processing efficiency emerged as a critical differentiator in 2025, with Grenada's handling of applications earning top marks from executives after years of middling performance.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: The data suggest agents increasingly prioritize reliability over historical reputation when selecting programs.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: Programs that maintained consistent processing times gained ground, while those struggling with backlogs saw their market positions erode regardless of past success.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: Whether Portugal's legislative changes ultimately derail its renewed momentum remains an open question.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: The Constitutional Court's decision on naturalization timelines could reshape the European residents by investment landscape for years to come.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: This episode first appeared as an article by Ahmed Abbas on IMIDaily.com.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: Subscribe for free to the IMI newsletter for breaking news and updates from the investment migration industry.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: And upgrade your membership to IMI Pro to get access to our exclusive professional community, citizenship catalog, investment migration company Rolodex, private briefings, and more members only content.