The Evolution of Investment Migration and the rise of bespoke services

Investment migration has had a wild year. Golden Visa changes and price hikes, Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Programs (CIPs) dealing with pressure from three major superpowers, and North American programs making a comeback; 2023 had it all.

Portugal's Golden Visa removed its real estate option, Greece doubled the minimum real estate investment in popular investment areas, and St Kitts & Nevis doubled its minimum investment thresholds.

However, the changes were not only operational, as geopolitics played a significant role in shaping investment migration. Russian and Belarusian investors were barred from applying to Caribbean CIPs and EU Golden Visas, Dominica lost visa-free access to the UK, and Cyprus has been revoking the citizenship of certain investors after conducting an investigation into fraudulent applications.

Investment migration is changing. It is getting more complicated, and the industry is now at an evolutionary jumping point.

Caribbean CIPs, widely marketed as a simplified route into the EU, are now facing the probability of losing that main marketing significance.

A marketing strategy was concocted by international marketing agents who found a pain point and tried to solve it through the simplest and most apparent route possible. But Caribbean citizenship is much more than just a glorified Schengen Visa, and the market is now becoming more aware of that crucial concept.

Investment migration can be a lucrative business, but the bigger companies grow, the more clients they need to maintain their overhead. It no longer becomes an intimate service but a production line driven by numbers and fastpaced sales.

Major outbound markets like Dubai lose that emphatic touch between an immigration advisor and a client. Massive international firms operate on higher sales quantities and lower margins, and the marketing wheel keeps on churning to keep everything in order.

In the case of the Caribbean CIPs in Dubai, Schengen Visas were the problem; a second passport was the solution. But that approach abates citizenship by investment to much less than what it is, and what it can be.

Global Mobility Engineers

Most firms have it right; investment migration is a solution; it is a toolbox that houses a solution that will fix a problem. But, like any toolbox, it houses an array of gadgets, one for each problem, and mass selling one program as the ultimate fix is folly.

This is where bespoke services come in. Instead of pushing a program onto a client, understanding their needs and providing the best option is the way to go. Investors are becoming more aware of investment migration programs, and they will appreciate the optimal solution once it is provided to them.

At One World, we consider ourselves “Global Mobility Engineers.” We identify the problem and then choose the tool — or, in this case, the immigration channel — that will solve the issue in the best, quickest, and most affordable way.

Our past experience hasn’t been focused on investment migration but on immigration solutions as a whole. We specialize in what many countries call “exceptional citizenship,’ a pathway to naturalization on offer in most countries in the world but known only to a few.

One World’s clients were (and remain) embassies and governments who are seeking out significant or exceptional investors that can add value to their economy. Mega projects, targeted development, and exceptional talent were the criteria.

One World found the investors, listened to their needs, and matched them with the governments that required their services. We don’t stop at offering one product that provides us with the highest profit margin; we build relationships and create situations where everyone involved Is a winner.

We prefer to find the solution that fits our clients perfectly. For example, one of our clients, who adores island living, wanted to establish a top-tier restaurant in a Caribbean country. We helped him find suitable land with a suitable restaurant and hotel to buy, register the business, and facilitated his significant investment, and he now operates one of the country’s most luxrious dining institutes. That investment also provided him with a citizenship, so he got naturalized as a by-product of his original plan, and now he operates his business as a local.

Another one of our clients wanted to obtain the citizenship of a specific European country that does not operate a citizenship by investment program. However, we knew that this country had a law that allowed naturalization as as "economically important person for the country". The requirements for this were more complex than what citizenship by investment programs offer, and it required a much more significant investment into selected approved project.

We did what we do best, and we found a project that was both approved and aligned with our client's preferences. We handled communication with the government and facilitated the investment, and the client was naturalized. These routes are much more complex and challenging compared to citizenship by investment programs, but they do exist, and for the right investor they can prove to be the optiman option, but it takes a firm with extensive expertise to be able to handle an issue such as this one.

These alternative routes exist everywhere, and they can be the best options for certain investors, and we always look for the optimal choice for our clients. We don’t stop at the surface but instead, dig deep to uncover gems that can change a client's life.

We have taken that mentality and brought it into investment migration. We can market one program endlessly and create a production line that sustains the business until another rollercoaster year like 2023 comes around, but that is not our mission, nor does it align with our values.

Our main goal is to set the standard for bespoke services in investment migration, offering both the country and the investor a solution that benefits them both. Sometimes, it might be a Caribbean citizenship or a Golden Visa, and other times, it might be a residency by investment program in Southeast Asia or Eastern Europe. We find the solution that fits perfectly, and we make it work.

This level of service doesn’t come easy, though, as it requires intimate knowledge of global immigration practices and an understanding of every client’s specific needs.

We have mastered both. In the early days of our company, we had a mantra: read the law, you may be surprised. Every country has an extensive immigration act, and many options may go unnoticed because they were deemed too complex or not profitable enough. But at One World, we don’t do products; we do personalized solutions.

That mindset drives us to continue finding better options for our clients. For example, the recent news of the EU allowing UAE residence permit holders to apply for a Schengen Visa online (without having to visit an embassy or visa center) may seem like bad news for anyone heavily marketing Caribbean CIPs.

For us, though, it is a great turn of events, as it allows us to use the UAE Golden Visa as a solution for other clients. Residency permits are evolving. A residency in Japan now has the same
Schengen Visa online application perk that the UAE one does, and this is just an indicator of how residence permits can be the next big thing.

EU Golden Visas grant visa-free access to the Schengen Zone, and some Latin American residence permits do the same within the MERCOSUR union. The future of global mobility is becoming more complex, yet much more beneficial to investors.

Bespoke Services

This evolution of global mobility assets requires a personalized touch. The sheer number of options available requires bespoke services that provide tailor-made solutions for investors.

One investor may only need a Golden Visa, while another may require two or three less costly options to address their needs. There is no one size that fits all, but rather a delicate, deliberate service that can provide a comprehensive answer to a client’s needs.

But that service at One World doesn’t start with active listening and digging through immigration laws; we create an entire footprint for our clients in their destination of choice.

We offer a comprehensive, customized solution for every client. Whether they want access to financial services in their new home, a driving license, a tax ID number, wills, bank accounts, establishing a business, offshore trusts, or access to markets, we help them by creating a solution that encompasses all their needs.

We create an entire infrastructure for our clients when they get a citizenship or residency that allows them to reap all the benefits it provides, not just visa-free access.

Our manageable overhead means that we can take the time to create the optimal solution for every client instead of treating them as another number. Investors won't tell strangers their whole story. No one ever does that, so we aim to be anything but strangers, as when we understand the needs of our clients, we can help them address them.

Not all problems can be fixed with one tool, and we have cracked open our entire toolbox.

To know more about One World and how it can help you get the best out of a second citizenship or residency, contact our CEO Anastasia Barna via direct email at ceo@oneworld.id

One World can assist with, among others, the following programs:

Source: imidaily