A total of 62 per cent increase in enquiries for investment-based immigration from Indian citizens was recorded in 2020, while in the first five months of 2021, there has been recorded a total of 30 per cent increase, despite the travel bans and other restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the virus, global investment-by-residence firm Henley and Partners has announced.
Wealthy Indian citizens have found out that the Golden Visa Program run by some European countries would help them obtain residence in some European countries by investing in the respective region, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
According to Nirbhay Handa, Managing Partner, Private Individuals & South-Asia business at Henley & Partners, families are now becoming aware that for 250k Euros, you can buy a house in Greece or Lisbon or Portugal, and at the same time get a Schengen residency through which they can also have visa-free access to 26 Schengen Zone countries.
“So now people are considering, should I buy my next house in my home city like Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai or should I be buying my second home in a place in Europe and get a residency along with it?” Handa pointed out in this regard.
According to him, the current trend to obtain alternative residencies is another way to minimize sovereign risk for clients by diversifying their investments into other geographies.
The Managing Partner, Private Individuals & South-Asia business at Henley & Partners, has stressed that the fact that wealthy families and professionals have had time to plan their lives with their families has accelerated such a trend.
Based on the Global Wealth Migration Report of 2020 (for 2019) data, two per cent or 7,000 of High Networth Individuals in India were interested in making investments in other countries.
The same source reveals that China topped the migration list with a total of 16,000 High Networth Individuals exits, India at 7,000 exits, and Russia 5,500 exits.
Earlier this year, Greece was ranked as the most favorable location for all foreign investors interested in making their investments on the Golden Visa Program. Such estimation was made by the immigration firm Astons, which highlighted that in order to obtain a Greek golden visa, internationals need to make a minimum of €252,328 investment in the country.
Besides Greece, Portugal is also known for its citizenship by investment program. In addition, internationals’ interest in Portugal’s Golden Visa Program led authorities in Portugal to extend the deadline to exclude investments in Porto and Lisbon until January 2022.
Even though the Golden Visa Program is viral, offering many opportunities for citizens interested in obtaining such a visa, it often has been criticized by the European Union Commission for being used for money laundering and other criminal activities.
