There is a great deal of turmoil in the world. The nature of this phenomenon has not changed since time began, and it will not change anytime soon. We cannot eliminate the risks to our wellbeing as humans, but we can mitigate them, and residency and citizenship by investment are among the most effective ways to combat instability and risk.
We need to be mindful of our fragility, as the recent events in Lebanon and Afghanistan served to remind us that things can go wrong, and they might.
Due to this uncertainty, many plan for contingencies. By keeping a solid emergency plan in place, you can combat ambiguity in the economy and protect your family as well as your wealth. Investing in citizenship is by far the most effective backup.
Getting a residency or citizenship through investment not only provides the added benefit of having a second home and support from another country if things go south in your own, but also lets you move quickly and decisively, and shields your wealth from risk.
Citizenship by investment represents an ideal solution in light of the current political turmoil in Lebanon. The nation’s elite should take note of the lessons neighbouring countries learned from the current challenges in the Middle Eastern country, which may get a lot worse before it gets better.
Both Iraq and Syria have been ravaged by conflict, external and internal. As a result, their citizens have found themselves stranded in unfamiliar territory in the homeland they once called home. Those who had secured citizenship or residency by investment had the ability to move quickly in the case of calamity and wouldn’t be left exposed in a war zone without any relief. It was a tangle of political, economic, and personal challenges for those who had no choice.
A large number of Iraqi and Syrian high net worth individuals have responded to the crisis that has struck their home countries and are now considering citizenship by investment as majority nationalities.
Turkey, for example, has 7% of Iraqis applying for citizenship, despite the fact that they are the majority foreign nationality buying real estate within its borders, a move that can lead to Turkish citizenship.
Globally, Iraqis (5.3%) and Syrians (5.8%) make up approximately 11% of all applicants for citizenship by investment in Antigua and Barbuda.
Lebanese elites have taken proactive steps, even though they made up 5.8% of all applicants for citizenship in Antigua & Barbuda, preparing for the future early.
In Afghanistan, the government was overthrown in a matter of days; in Syria, the civil war broke out in earnest only after months of escalation. There is no way to predict when or how uncertainty will strike, but it is important to be prepared if it does occur.
One major factor to consider is how easy it has become for investors to become citizens through investment. St. Kitts & Nevis previously required a contribution of 250,000 USD from a single applicant during the invasion of Iraq or the start of the Syrian war, but the requirement is now only 150,000 USD. The offer from this Caribbean nation is even more interesting, since it only runs until the end of the year, allowing a family of four to become citizens for 150,000 USD.
The citizenship by investment requirements for Antigua & Barbuda were 200,000 USD for a single person or 400,000 USD for real estate investment at the height of the Syrian civil war. As of right now, both options are priced at half of those amounts.
A few months is all it takes to gain citizenship through investment, one that can transform a person’s life. Also, it has gotten extremely affordable, with some programs offering options that are comparable to those of luxury cars, so it only makes sense to invest in it sooner rather than later as a plan B.
With a second passport, an individual can travel visa free to a large number of destinations, and can set up a bank account in their second nation to ensure that their wealth is preserved in case their home country’s banking system crumbles, which usually happens when political unrest strikes.
It’s not only a second passport that helps, it’s also legal residency in another country. Portuguese golden visa program comes to mind at this point, an EU residency card that is exchanged for real estate investments and provides its holders with Portugal residency. Lisbon and Porto will lose eligibility for the golden visa in 2022, as properties in the country’s two largest cities will become ineligible. However, that change will not be of concern to Lebanese investors, as now is the time to put money into a Plan B instead of waiting a year.
Lebanon is in a much better position than both Syria and Iraq, but it does not offer the lifestyle the wealthy desire for their families and themselves. One might hope that things will improve, and then citizenship by investment would be a worthwhile venture that would improve one’s lifestyle. In that case, citizenship by investment is the greatest contingency asset anyone could have. It is the ideal solution in the 11th hour, and also the most beneficial for smooth sailing.
