Citizenship by Investment 2014

Why Real Estate is the Investment of
Choice for Global Citizens
REAL ESTATE AND CITIZENSHIP
It’s clear that Citizenship-by-Investment offers
a whole host of benefits for high net worth
individuals. Giving great benefits such as savings
on taxes and the ability to move freely across
previously restricted borders. These attractive
privileges can be gained from careful investment
in a country that best suits the investor’s needs.
Most Citizenship-by-Investment programmes
also offer the option of purchasing real estate as
an alternative to a purely monetary investment.
These real estate investment opportunities
are giving investors the ability to seek out
developing real estate and rapidly increase their
profit margins.
PROTECTED INVESTMENT
Foreign owned real estate investment is also
an extremely secure way to protect wealth and
sustain growth. Real estate is a great addition
to any high net worth individual’s portfolio,
whether they’re looking to purchase a family
holiday home, a permanent residence with an
exclusive address or even commercial property.
Real estate property that is owned overseas is
almost, if not outright, impossible to be seized,
repatriated or interfered with by the investors
home government, making it one of the most
assured assets that any investor can own.
PLAYING THE LONG GAME
As an ever-growing number of countries follow
in the footsteps of St Kitts and Nevis – introducing
Foreign owned real estate
investment is also an extremely
secure way to protect wealth
and sustain growth.
Citizenship-by-Investment programmes – the
number of prosperous real estate opportunities
continues to grow. This is good news for savvy
investors; however, Citizenship-by-Investment
programmes that offer real estate investment
can also include the burden of enforced
mandatory possession. This compulsory ruling
forbids owners from selling their property
within the first five years, for some this period
of mandatory ownership could prove too much
of an inconvenience. For those investors with
more endurance there are substantial rewards
to be gained. The possibilities of rapid profit
from rental and refinancing opportunities is
considerable and purchasing real estate in the
right developing country could see outstanding
growth over the long term.
DEVELOPING MARKETS
Real estate is a thriving market in many countries
across the globe, so finding the right opportunity
that suits both your needs for citizenship and has
great investment potential can be difficult. But
with so many countries joining the Citizenshipby-investment
programme investors can take
advantage of the exclusive benefits that are
available and choose the most suitable option.
Each individual country has its own unique
guidelines and there are a number of enticing
offers open to investors, for example, Malta,
which offers EU status, is the only country to
offer no further real estate taxes whatsoever
after the initial purchase. Bermuda, on the
other hand, has a 0% Inheritance and gift tax,
compared with charges of up to 60% in France
and as high as 80% in Spain. Naturally, tax breaks
like these should be considered carefully before
any investment is made as they could prove to
be crucial in the long-term.
Real estate continues – as it always has – to
be one of the single most major investments
available to high net worth individuals.
Moreover, the development of today’s global
market presents the perfect opportunity for
investors to build a stunning portfolio of real
estate for their family or corporation.
Citizenship by Investment / 14
CbI PUBLICATION.indd 14 19/09/2014 09:32