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Family Office Elite Magazine, the wealthiest audience in the world. Family Office Elite Magazine is a very high class bespoke publication and a porthole to the ultra-wealthy family offices and UHNWI sectors. The magazine includes editorials from recent events and experts from the ultra-wealthy Family Office community.
Family Office Elite Magazine, the wealthiest audience in the world.
Family Office Elite Magazine is a very high class bespoke publication and a porthole to the ultra-wealthy family offices and UHNWI sectors. The magazine includes editorials from recent events and experts from the ultra-wealthy Family Office community.
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the Caribbean. The benefits and minimum investment<br />
requirements vary tremendously depending on the<br />
participating country. The least expensive country to<br />
offer second citizenship is Dominica, a small island in<br />
the Caribbean that requires a minimum investment<br />
of $100,000, plus $1,800 in filing fees.<br />
Grenada reinstituted its residency program in 2013<br />
and UHNWI can now immediately become a citizen<br />
for a minimum investment of $350,000 in real<br />
estate within the country. This program requires<br />
that the government individually vet applicants and<br />
their family members, though it typically only takes<br />
about 60 days for applications to be processed, with<br />
passports issued shortly thereafter.<br />
St. Kitts and Nevis established their citizenship-byinvestment<br />
program in 1984, making it the longest<br />
standing second citizenship program in the world.<br />
It allows investments in pre-approved real estate<br />
to be purchased for a minimum investment of<br />
$400,000. Antigua and Barbuda, which is home to<br />
the most active and prestigious yachting industry in<br />
the Caribbean, can also be an option for a minimum<br />
investment of $400,000.<br />
For more luxurious real estate offerings, UHNWI<br />
can look to countries like Cyprus or Malta, where<br />
second citizenship can be purchased for a minimum<br />
investment of about $1.2 million. These programs<br />
offer full access to the EU and is one of the least<br />
restrictive passports available for global travelers.<br />
In Spain, the minimum investment is $700,000,<br />
while countries such as Portugal have a Golden Visa<br />
Program that offers non-EU investors a fast track to<br />
obtaining a valid residency permit.<br />
In Cyprus, UHNWI can choose to invest €5 million<br />
in either state bonds, local real estate and other<br />
developments, or local businesses. Alternatively,<br />
investors can purchase a €2.5m stake in a collective<br />
investment opportunity, providing the total value<br />
of the plan is at least €12.5m. Applicants also need<br />
to buy a Cypriot residential property for at least<br />
€500,000 and maintain this after being granted<br />
citizenship. Challenges Associated with Obtaining<br />
Citizenship By Investment Ultimately, there is a<br />
great variety of citizenship by investment programs<br />
available to UHNWI, with the choices that vary based<br />
on available capital, desired location and the length<br />
of time required to obtain residence or citizenship.<br />
There are, of course, different challenges associated<br />
with each individual country’s program, which<br />
financial advisors should understand in order to<br />
educate and advise their clients.<br />
American UHNWI have additional issues to overcome<br />
in order to benefit from gaining a second citizenship.<br />
The most common hurdle is the financial obstacles<br />
that result from the Foreign Account Tax Compliance<br />
Act (FATCA), which took effect in July 2014. It requires<br />
banks worldwide to report to the U.S. authorities the<br />
accounts held by Americans abroad, meaning that<br />
U.S. citizens must continue to pay U.S. tax regardless<br />
of where they reside. With approximately eight<br />
million Americans living abroad, many have reported<br />
problems with applications for and maintenance<br />
of accounts locally as foreign banks have rejected<br />
American customers rather than comply with the<br />
exhaustive demands of FATCA.<br />
This has presented a challenge for Americans living<br />
or doing business overseas that, according to recent<br />
data from the U.S. Treasury, 1,335 expats renounced<br />
their U.S. citizenship in the first three months of last<br />
year. Moreover, almost 75% of expats say at least one<br />
part of their finances has become more complicated<br />
living abroad, whether that concerns new currencies,<br />
taxes or moving money abroad.<br />
Despite these obstacles, UHNWI’s are continuing<br />
to seek out second citizenship investment<br />
opportunities around the world. They are looking to<br />
their advisors to understand the challenges, as well<br />
as the different minimum investment requirements<br />
required by each country, in order to weigh up<br />
the various government programs and real estate<br />
developments available worldwide in order to find<br />
the right opportunity that best meets their needs.<br />
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