Since the outbreak of the epidemic, in order to avoid the epidemic in their own countries or the collapsed medical system, the world’s billionaires and multimillionaires have begun to rush to buy residence permits in countries where the new crown epidemic is controlled And passport. This has revived the “golden passport” trading market.
In London, Konstantin Kaminsko, Aston’s deputy manager, is responsible for providing “solutions” for obtaining such golden passports or residence permits. In recent months, his phone has been ringing nonstop. “The rich people in poor countries usually go to foreign countries for medical treatment. But now because of the serious domestic epidemic, they can’t go abroad, so they all come to us for help. There are also rich people because they don’t believe in the domestic medical and health system.” Ding said.
The cancellation of commercial flights has hindered travel, and due to the epidemic, many countries have closed their borders to foreigners. In this case, private jets can no longer provide any relief, so purchasing foreign residency rights has become a plan B for the rich.
| Clearly marked price|
In the resident status trading market, there are “golden passports” suitable for all types of customers. Passports are also divided into different levels according to their “efficiency”. The so-called “efficiency” refers to these passports that do not require a visa. Number of trips to other countries. At present, the status of the US passport has declined, because the US epidemic is now difficult to control and Americans can no longer travel to European countries. The status of the Australian passport has risen significantly, because the epidemic there is not too serious, and the passport of this country can be used to travel to many countries.
Vanuatu’s passport is regarded as one of the most cost-effective passports, with a price of 130,000 euros and can be mailed in just one month. This is one of the cheapest and fastest passports available. The advantage of this passport is that it is convenient for American entrepreneurs to go to China to discuss business under the situation of increasingly tense relations between China and the United States. It can also save rich people in poor countries from spending more time going through the lengthy visa application procedures. However, the disadvantage of this type of passport is that it does not allow to stay in a country for more than six months.
Therefore, the wealthy who want to stay abroad for a long time to avoid the epidemic have turned their attention to residence permits, especially the residence permit in Cyprus (the preferred Malta residence permit quota is exhausted), because there are few confirmed cases of new crown and no hospitals there. Overcrowded. To obtain this residence permit that can be converted into a European passport in just a few months, the rich would need to spend 2 million euros to invest in real estate locally. In terms of geographic location, the Mediterranean island country close to the Middle East does not lack customers at all. Constantine said: “During the epidemic, our real estate consultants in Cyprus used their smartphones to let customers trapped in foreign countries buy luxury villas.”
For the industry of “investment in exchange for resident status”, The emergence of every new crisis heralds the arrival of business opportunities. Talko Kaukki, founder and chairman of Sununu Consulting, said: “Due to the new crown epidemic and economic depression in Lebanon, the demand for such businesses in Lebanon has increased greatly. Some families have actually been considering obtaining access to other countries. Nationality, and now they have finally made up their minds.”
| Evasion of Supervision|
In Jordan, Kuwait and other places, Sununu Consulting has established contacts with potential customers through cooperative banks. The company organized small meetings to allow diplomats from relevant countries to talk about the advantages of their respective countries, and then arranged for clients to communicate with lawyers from the relevant host country-usually former diplomats or government officials.
Obtaining citizenship is like buying accident insurance for yourself, and having such “insurance” seems more useful when you need it. Barty Brewell, spokesperson for Henry and Partners Consulting, said: “The epidemic has increased the value of foreign passports. Those who buy foreign nationalities are usually venture capital experts.” According to industry insiders, those who buy passports from other countries usually do not Will not live in that country. You can see the words on the advertising page of Astom: “Getting the citizenship of another country is a lifestyle change. With this status, you can no longer be affected by the politics of the country of your original citizenship. , Economic, social and natural environment constraints.” This is also the argument that the Netherlands holds when it promotes its citizenship. The Netherlands is promoting a “golden visa”. In order to obtain this visa, the client needs to invest 1.25 million euros in a Dutch start-up company and obtain Dutch citizenship after five years. The Orange Visa Company, which has a cooperative relationship with the Dutch Immigration Agency, told its customers: “In the face of the upcoming war, unstable political situation or radical economic changes, if you have a residence permit in another country, you can take your family to Airport, fly to your second home.” The
Caribbean island countries’ tourism revenue has plummeted due to the epidemic, and the cost of purchasing passports from these countries has also been reduced. These countries are also trying to attract those “citizenship investors” through other channels. The debt-ridden island of Saint Lucia recently issued a non-interest-bearing bond that can give a passport to the country, requiring bond subscribers to guarantee an investment of US$250,000, and the subscription period is not less than 6 years. Nowadays, Barbados is rarely visited by tourists, in order to attract those who can work remotely to travel to the country, and provide visas valid for one year to those with an annual salary of more than US$50,000.
At the beginning of 2018, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warned against the issuance of the “golden passport.” The organization is concerned that this approach will help relevant parties avoid the supervision of the automatic data exchange system established between countries to prevent tax evasion. That is to say, with a second identity, the system cannot treat a “foreigner” The total income is regulated. In 2014, the United States asked Saint Kitts and Nevis to strictly control the conditions for issuing passports and condemned the issue of passports to an Iraqi who tried to evade US sanctions.
