Wooden benches in Waterfront Park, overlooking the modern Auckland skyline. (Representative)
The next time the world‘s rich are forced into seclusion, they would love to have an escape to a secluded, sunny beach. Or maybe New Zealand, one of the few countries to have eliminated Covid-19.
They are prepared to pay for this privilege, of course.
They can turn to programs that guarantee citizenship or residency in exchange for an investment in the host country, using specialist firms such as Henley & Partners, the world‘s largest citizenship and citizenship consultancy. residence in the world. With the lingering threat of viral infections and sudden lockdowns, the company is helping people with deep pockets buy access to a safe haven.
For example, you can acquire the right to live, work, and study in New Zealand if you part with NZ $ 3 million ($ 2 million) or NZ $ 10 million, depending on the type of investor resident visa that you choose. About 1.2 million euros ($ 1.4 million), including the purchase of a property, will obtain the citizenship of a married couple in Malta.
“They are realizing now: let’s put the contingency plan in place,” Dominic Volek, Henley’s sales manager, said of his potential customers. “That’s why we’ve seen a spike now, not only in inquiries, but also in families who sign up and say, ‘Let’s start the process.'”
New inquiries have jumped 49% in the first four months of this year, compared to the same period in 2019, according to the company. There was a 22% increase in the number of those who wanted to apply for a new citizenship or residency right.
The wealthy are not only interested in the Caribbean islands where they can seclude themselves on the sandy beaches. They are looking to Australia and New Zealand, countries which have impressed with their management of Covid-19.
Nadine Goldfoot, managing partner of law firm Fragomen, said the pandemic had pushed the wealthy to act. “What is becoming and will continue to be very important now in the process of selecting people is how the country behaved during the pandemic and how the government approached it,” she said. declared.
Plus, people see moving as a wealth management tool as much as a way to travel visa-free, according to Henley. Interest in Portugal’s residency-by-investment program has increased in recent months, attracting clients hoping to invest in the country’s stable real estate market and profit from its relatively low number of coronavirus cases.
Certainly, even the richest in the world cannot escape immediate quarantines and travel bans. Receiving a second passport or right of residence takes time – at least three months for Caribbean programs and much longer for European Union programs.
Yet even though travel-related businesses suffer, Henley is growing. The company recently opened an office in Nigeria and will soon open another in India, where soaring virus cases and border tensions with China have increased the number of wealthy Indians planning a potential escape.
Since the virus and associated lockdowns are “a risk that people are going to live with right now, they want to be somewhere where it’s a manageable experience,” said Goldfoot of Fragomen.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
