Citizenship by Investment Program : A Comprehensive Guide

As a privileged opportunity for enthusiastic entrepreneurs, professionals, investors, and HNWIs based across the world, Residency by Investment casts a hassle-free simple path for obtaining the residency and ultimately citizenship of the world’s most developed countries like the U.S. and Canada. Due to several pervasive economical, environmental, political, cultural, and social reasons, migration has been a putative practice across the globe since ancient times. Demographic pressures and the impact of climate change on vulnerable societies have further encouraged the people across the globe to opt for the course of migration. In this respect, Residency by investment is a unique and opportune solution as it promotes multifold objectives. Generally, the Residency by investment process is mechanized to attract foreign investments in order to bolster the domestic economy of the nation, and in return for this investment, the Residency status is legally bestowed to the investors and their families along with special entitlements and benefits. It is a mutually beneficial scheme adopted by some of the world’s most advanced countries for their holistic growth and development. On one hand, this allows the investors to enjoy the special privileges and benefits provided by the country for the overall betterment and security of its residents and/or citizens, and on the other hand, the huge inflows of foreign capital as a result of these investments benefit host countries significantly. In addition to direct financial benefits, such foreign investments play an imperative role in benefiting the economy far beyond the impact of the initial investment. Such a Residency by investment programs significantly supports the country in meeting its job creation goals for its own native-born people. Benefits of Residency by Investment for investors: Residency/ citizenship of economically and politically stable nations have enabled individuals and families to secure the highest levels of life satisfaction, financial security, personal safety, and health. A wealth of natural resources, aerospace, IT, tourism, real estate, hospitality, infrastructure, and automobile manufacturing industries in these multi-cultural developed nations like the U.S. and Canada provide an abundance of business, investment, and employment opportunities to investors/ prospective immigrants. Although there is an extensive list of benefits attached to Permanent Residency in any of these developed countries, most of these privileges and benefits are based on principles of universal human rights. These privileges and benefits are common in nature to almost all these developed countries like easy accessibility to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities (jobs and business). There are several pull factors manifesting the benefits of migrating to one of the developed nations like the U.S and Canada. Such factors are driven by several inline motivations like career objective, aspiration, goal, abundance in the food supply, a better environment, social and economic security, more freedom, etc. Some of these factors are briefly discussed below: Security: Residency or citizenship status in a developed nation like the U.S. and Canada can provide social and financial stability and security especially for the investors who face some of the below scenarios in their native countries:

• lack of infrastructure
• lack of job opportunities
• low standard of living
• economic downturns
• natural calamities like cyclones, floods, earthquakes, etc.
• war or political unrest
• discrimination and bigotry

Economic opportunities: It opens a gateway to the new lucrative markets which are far more developed and cash-rich. It significantly increases economic opportunities in terms of job-oriented career prospects for the professionals on one hand and business success and higher returns for the entrepreneurs on the other hand. Mobility: It eases the mobility status, as the acquired residency/ citizenship status of such developed nations enables the investors to travel freely to and within the country. Also, once citizenship is acquired ultimately, the second passport can entitle the investors to visa-free and visa-on-arrival travel to hundreds of foreign countries. Standard of living: Residents/ citizens of the developed nations like the U.S. and Canada enjoy a very high standard of living due to the strength of their economies. These countries deliver superior quality of life relative to most of the other countries and rank above the average in housing, subjective well-being, personal security, health status, social connections, environmental quality, jobs and earnings, work-life balance, education and skills, civic engagement, income and wealth, thus, improving the overall standard of living. Glimpse of North America’s most popular Residency by Investment programs:  U.S. EB-5 Visa Program: The Employment-Based Fifth Preference (EB-5) visa category is a government residency program intended to encourage the flow of capital into the U.S. economy and to promote the employment of workers in the United States. Foreign nationals and their families are eligible to become permanent residents of the United States in exchange for investing in a business that creates jobs for U.S. workers.

U.S. E-2 Visa Program: The E-2 Investor visa category is a government residency program mechanized to attract foreign investments in order to bolster the domestic economy and to promote the employment of workers in the United States. To accomplish these goals, the United States government has allowed the citizens of the countries which have a Treaty of Trade and Commerce with the United States to enter and work inside the United States based on a substantial investment made into a bona fide enterprise.

U.S. L-1 Visa Program: The L-1 visa category is a government program intended to be used for the transfer of management and executive skills to the United States from foreign companies abroad. This augments new business ventures in the U.S., the movement of foreign-based companies into the U.S., and therefore employment of workers in the United States. To accomplish these goals, the United States government allows for foreign company owners to start, purchase, or invest in a U.S.-based company and therefore transfer themselves as the management level executive who will be able to operate the company in the United States. Typically, L-1 visa holders will also be eligible for an EB1-C and can apply for that after a year on L-1 status. In some instances, the EB1-C can be applied directly after the L-1 (dependent on if the business has been already operating for more than a year and there are 25+ employees on payroll). The EB1-C is the application process that leads to the green card.

CANADA PROVINCIAL ENTREPRENEUR PROGRAMS: The entrepreneur programs are administered by individual provinces. These programs are designed to support individuals from outside of Canada who are looking to implement a new business idea or buy an existing business in the Province of their choice in Canada. The entrepreneur programs offer entrepreneurs the opportunity to invest in their business and get nominated for permanent residency once their business has been successfully established in the selected Province.

Migration catalyzes economic augmentation, reduces inequalities, and connects diverse societies, thus helping in establishing a multi-lingual, multi-cultural, secular, and non-sectarian population dividend. In light of the current prevalent circumstances triggered by Covid-19, Residency by investment programs may undergo progressive “investor-friendly” changes as countries are embracing greater flexibility in dictating and implementing policies, to cope up with economic challenges. There may be an imminent paradigm shift in countries’ immigration policies as the countries might resort to positive investment immigration changes to catalyze economic growth, by encouraging investment/ business immigration over skills-based immigration.

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