Citizenship by Investment: 70-80 % rise in enquiries from rich Indians

The wealthy Indians have gained interest in getting citizenship by investment ever since billionaire jeweller Mehul Choksi bought citizenship in Antigua, in November 2017. A London-based company which sells second citizenship to high-net-worth individuals, claims a “70-80% year-on-year increase in enquiries from Indians.”

According to Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Index released today in the edition of Professional Wealth Management (PWM), a publication from the London-based Financial Times. The Caribbean islands have held top five positions that offer economic citizenship and Dominica is the most popular among them all.

Dominica has been named the best with a score of 90%, followed by St Kitts and Nevis (85%), Grenada (81%), Antigua and Barbuda (80%), and St Lucia (79%).

There are seven areas that the CBI Index uses to measure each country’s citizenship by investment programme.

These are: due diligence, freedom of movement, standard of living, minimum investment outlay, ease of processing, citizenship timeline and mandatory travel or residence.

Dominica scored among the top countries in five out of seven categories, with other Caribbean states offering impressive showings.

While Rich Chinese and Russians have been among the top buyers of foreign citizenship in recent years, but trends might change as Indians are seeking for schemes that offer citizenship or residence rights in return for the investment.

The number of enquiries has been jumped to more than double from Indians in past one year claims some UK-based firms that arrange foreign citizenship. The citizenship and residence-by-investment programmes saw global enquiries rise by 320%, and a ‘significant increase’ from India in the past year they said.

As India does not allow dual citizenship, many Indians opt for residence-by-investment schemes. “People want access to the EU single market. They want to send their kids to school in another country, or have somewhere safe to park their money — they want political stability. They employ all kinds of methods and strategies to protect their wealth,” said an expert.

Around 7,000 high-net-worth Indians left the country in 2017 according to the Global Wealth Migration Review. While America, Canada and Australia are the most preferred destinations, there are 30-40 other countries that open more doors than an Indian passport. An Indian passport does not rank highly in terms of mobility. “Portugal, Greece and Malta are very popular as you get the Schengen visa without needing a second passport.”

Choksi’s move has created awareness about these options. Lawyers and tax advisors in India recommend rich clients to global companies that advise on where and how to settle.

Reaz Jafri, CEO of Withers Global Advisors, has seen more enquiries from Indians in the past year than in the previous five years combined. Indian clients “are trying to deal with the same personal, financial, political and commercial risks” as other wealthy clients, he said. “In the old days, you would hide your assets, but there is no place to do that now. It’s about moving to a jurisdiction that offers benefits and flexibility, where there is stable law and order, and a good financial system.”