Latest / IMI Podcasts / This Week in IM - Feb 26: 🇺🇸Negotiating EU Citizens’ Data, 🇵🇹 Moves GV Renewals Online, 🌍 Ranking CIPs in Family Costs, ++

Transcript

This Week in IM - Feb 26: 🇺🇸Negotiating EU Citizens’ Data, 🇵🇹 Moves GV Renewals Online, 🌍 Ranking CIPs in Family Costs, ++ · IMI Podcasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: You're listening to IMI This Week.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: In this edition of 10 on the Weekend, new IMI Pro Ana Ibanez Lario of Movingto discusses scaling a global relocation platform amid rising regulatory complexity and surging U.S.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: demand.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: She highlights the importance of trusted partnerships and her long-term vision of building a tech-enabled advisory platform.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: Only a small group of countries still taxes wealth directly, but wealth tax can mean very different things.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and Colombia levy broad net wealth taxes with varying thresholds, rates, and valuation discounts.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: France targets real estate, Italy taxes foreign-held assets, Belgium taxes large securities accounts, the Netherlands will tax unrealized gains from 2028, and Uruguay taxes mainly domestic assets.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Citizenship has long rested on soil, birth, blood, descent, and money, investment.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: But only one is expanding.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Birthright citizenship has narrowed across Europe and may soon face limits in the US, while Italy and others have tightened dissent rules.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: Meanwhile, citizenship by investment is generating billions in revenue and attracting new entrants each year.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: After abolishing its 226-year-old non-Dom regime, the UK replaced it with a narrower foreign income and gains exemption, prompting capital flight.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: However, non-DOM concepts remain alive across Europe.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Ireland, Italy, Greece, Malta, and Cyprus offer incentives for internationally mobile individuals.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Senator Moreno's Exclusive Citizenship Act would force Americans to choose a single nationality, but it runs counter to six decades of global liberalization.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: Today, roughly 76% of countries permit dual citizenship, driven by gender equality reforms, diaspora politics, regional diffusion, and post-Cold War stability.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Dual citizenship has a clear historical trajectory that shows little sign of reversing.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Portugal's AMA has launched an online renewal portal for golden visa holders, limiting in-person visits to biometric collection.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: While the move aims to streamline procedures and reduce backlogs, IMI Pro Madalena Montero notes that technical glitches currently prevent some submissions.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Across 12 CBI programs, headline donation figures obscure wide variations in true per passport costs.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: Suntimay currently offers the lowest entry price for most family sizes, while Caribbean rankings shift depending on household composition.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: Ultimately, the cheapest option depends less on the sticker price and more on family structure, fee layering, and capital recovery potential.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: Canada has paused intake for the startup visa after backlogs ballooned past 43,000 cases and processing times exceeded 10 years.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: But it has not abandoned entrepreneur immigration, says IMI Pro Slava Apple.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: He lays out three business immigration options that work in 2026.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Uruguay has sharply tightened its tax holiday regime, raising the investment threshold to 2 million US dollars, and expanding a 12% tax to most foreign sourced capital income.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: The 60-day residency shortcut is gone, and new transparency rules close offshore exemptions.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: IMI pros.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: Philippe May and Francisco Litve warn the higher barriers, and political optics may drive investors toward regional competitors like Paraguay.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: A second passport is not the only way to expand global mobility.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: For example, Schengen residence permits allow travel across 29 European countries for up to 90 days in any 180-day period, regardless of passport strength, and can unlock simplified access in parts of Europe, the Middle East, the Americas, and Asia.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: Income-based visas, digital nomad permits, and investment routes make this accessible beyond the ultra-wealthy.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: The EU is negotiating a data sharing deal with the U.S.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: that would give American border authorities access to EU citizens' fingerprints, facial scans, and sensitive personal data in exchange for continued visa-free travel.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: Both sides of the Atlantic are expanding biometric border systems, and this agreement would formally link them.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for joining us today on IMI Podcasts.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: Subscribe for free to the IMI Daily Newsletter for breaking news and updates from the investment migration industry.
• 4:43
  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.