The 1st Cyprus Workshop, titled ‘Looking Ahead – the Future of the Cyprus Investment Programme’, and organised by Investment Migration Council (IMC) is being held today at Amathus Beach Hotel in Limassol. The Geneva-based IMC is the worldwide association for investor migration and citizenship-by-investment, representing leading stakeholders in the field. IMC Chief Executive, Bruno L’ecuyer, answers questions about the investment migration industry.
Do you see investment migration developing further as an industry?
The development of a globalised economy in recent decades led to increased connectivity between countries despite geographical distances and also, to an increased number of investment migration opportunities. The growth of the investment migration industry has been enormous given that, at the beginning of 2019, we could identify investment programmes of some kind in nearly 100 countries. More than half of these were set up in the last twenty years.
The increase in the number of investment programmes is largely due to the financial benefits that these programmes offer to states. The potential in growth is evident as the industry generates billions of euros in direct and indirect revenues and the number of investment programmes constantly increases over the years.
Is there a possibility that investment programmes in EU Member States will be curbed by the European Commission in future?
When it comes to acquisition of citizenship, national laws and EU law are rather clear: citizenship matters, and particularly criteria regarding acquisition of citizenship, remain the sole competence of EU Member States. The EU institutions should therefore focus, in our opinion, on working together with stakeholders and national policymakers on strengthening the standards for the investment migration industry and creating a strong and efficient regulatory framework that would eliminate misuses of investment programmes by ill-intentioned individuals rather than ceasing the programmes.
Investment migration is an industry that serves high net individuals who can choose where to invest their money; How is this reconciled with the claim that investment migration benefits everyone?
Investors usually pay large amounts to acquire their citizenship through investment programmes, although such amounts significantly differ between programmes. For instance, one does not have to be a millionaire to acquire his citizenship from some of the Caribbean countries that offer citizenship by investment. The acquisition of citizenship through investment in other countries, such as Cyprus or Malta for instance, requires larger investments.
While only people who can afford the investment can apply for citizenship, it is the country that grants such citizenship that is the direct beneficiary and the people of that country who are indirect beneficiaries of the investments. It is not entirely correct that investors can freely choose how they spend their money. It is the state that determines the investment options according to its needs and preferences.
When investors decide to invest and move to a small country, the revenue that is generated is often considered as a lifeline to foreign investment and development finance. New businesses are established, new jobs, but also meaningful financial contributions to the state, the society and culture. Furthermore, the investments provide direct capital injections of non-debt liquidity to national balance sheets and thus also help reduce the debt burden in many countries.
Investors are usually described as talented and experienced individuals; Do you think this might be misleading given that the only requirement is spending a large amount of money?
Being talented and experienced, and having enough money to invest, are not mutually exclusive specifics of a person. Quite the contrary, these are more often convergent than divergent specifics that go hand in hand. High net individuals are often successful businessmen, entrepreneurs, or lawyers, to name but a few, who are very talented and experienced professionals.
Furthermore, having the money to invest is certainly not the only requirement that has to be fulfilled by the applicant. Applicants who wish to obtain their citizenship through investment must go through strict due diligence checks to satisfy the necessary requirements of the Programme.
Thus, preconceptions that money is enough to acquire citizenship through investment are not only unfair but are also inaccurate and damaging. It should be kept in mind that the investment does not only benefit the person who makes it, but positively affects the overall development of the country.
What qualifications are expected from the professionals working in the field of investment migration?
The investment migration industry is serviced by law firms, due diligence providers, and professional consultants who assist governments and individuals, ensuring that appropriate checks are conducted on applicants and their sources of funds. These are obviously professionals working in the field of investment migration.
However, it is important that investment migration professionals across the world adhere to same high standards. The IMC tries to ensure high standards are maintained across different programmes and industry players.
The IMC provides specialised education and training courses to help investment migration professionals improve their understanding and keep up with new developments in the field. In particular, the IMC provides for ‘Certification in Investment Migration’ to individuals who successfully complete the programme. The certificate carries with it the designation Cert (IM) and leads to membership of the IMC. The Certification in Investment Migration is an intermediate level course designed to be studied over about six months. This practical introduction leads to a professional status with the IMC and is benchmarked at Associate level for those working in the IM industry.
In Cyprus anyone who chooses can be an investment migration professional. How do you expect to have your ‘investment migration professional’ title legitimised and accepted by states?
We believe it is a bit flat to say that anyone can be an Investment Migration Professional. Usually investment Migration Professionals are made by a team of experts in their fields. Lawyers, accountants, HNWI advisors, Financial advisors, asset acquisition transactions experts, real estate experts, sales people etc. Usually, the experience that these individuals have through their line of business is what boosts the investment migration profession with credibility. At this point, we wish to make something clear. An investment migration professional is a terminology we use to describe all those people we mention here above.
