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V IC T OR M A G A ZINE
The Golden Pass SECOND PASSPORTS HAVE FOUND INCREASED PURPOSE IN A POST-PANDEMIC WORLD. SIMON BROOKE DISCOVERS THE CITIZENSHIPS WORTH INVESTING IN FOR BUSINESS OR LIFESTYLE ADVANTAGE
It’s one of the most important questions we all face – where to base our families and our wealth? The pandemic, political and economic uncertainty combined with the growing use of communications technology, mean more of us than ever are rethinking where we should base our families – and our assets. Knight Frank’s 2021 Wealth Report revealed that, globally, 24 per cent of UHNWIs are planning to apply for a second passport or citizenship. Meanwhile, advisory firm deVere Group reported that enquiries for second passports, citizenships and overseas residencies were up by more than 50 per cent year-on-year.
As they seek to attract foreign investments and talented individuals, a growing number of countries across the globe are now offering residency or citizenship solutions such as Investor Visas, Golden Visas and Citizenship by Investment. This offering increased during the pandemic. “There’s no doubt that Covid continues to be a major game-changer and accelerator when it comes to the investment migration industry,” says Dominic Volek, group head of private clients at Henley & Partners, a residence and citizenship planning advisory. “Interest in alternative residence and citizenship options continues to spike 18 months into the pandemic.” In the first half of 2021, the company had already received nearly 80 per cent of the web enquiries that it received across the whole of 2020, already a record year for enquiries with over 25 per cent more interest than the year before. Although the Henley & Partners client base has always been global, it has experienced a significant upsurge of interest from the Anglosphere,
