#IM

EB-5 has for many years been a runaway success. But with ever-increasing waiting times and long delays for some nationalities, defining the right strategy has become the most important exercise of the immigration process, says Edward Beshara, US Attorney at Law.

While Canada has long been self-regulating immigration consultants, the country is now on its way to giving the industry watchdog more power to investigate offenders and enforce regulation. Gerd Damitz, Past President of the Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants (CAPIC), talks about Canada’s experience in self-regulation and explains why he believes that Canada can be a role model for others. 

Jacqueline Gauci of the Investment Migration Council (IMC) outlines the association’s new membership structure.

Growth and expansion continue to be the hallmarks of the investment migration industry, triggering a drive towards higher standards and a concerted effort to future-proof the industry.

The European Commission has no competence to regulate, and a rather poor understanding of citizenship matters and the investment migration industry, writes Dimitry Kochenov, Professor of EU Constitutional Law in Groningen, and Chairman of the IMC.

Chinese nationals are among the top applicants for residence programmes across the world; yet, they are encountering more barriers than ever to realising their emigration plans. Larry Wang, President of Well Trend, talks about the deregulation of immigration consultants in China, the EB-5 backlog, and what Chinese clients really want.

Armand Arton has long been calling for the introduction of a levy on investment migration programmes to source funding for humanitarian assistance and development projects that can help address the wider causes of migration. As the industry is reaching maturity, “we have the opportunity to do things right,” Arton writes.

For the past four years, I have been reviewing most of the world’s business migration schemes. Every year I analysed and dissected 100 such programmes for our database and our reports. All that knowledge enabled us to understand trends in the industry, mechanisms behind the programmes, and which nationals are drawn to what programme.

Titan of industry is not a term that is easily attributed. Austin Fragomen could lay claim to this title, but it is certainly nothing he would ascribe to himself. However, with more than 4,200 employees, offices in almost 30 countries and a ranking as one of the top 60 legal firms in the US, it is a title that sits easily with someone of his calibre.

Civil unrest, visa-free travel and statelessness are just a few of the reasons behind the recent uptake in applications for citizenship and residency by investment (CRBI). S-RM analyst Sonia Spencer explains the current environment around these sought-after programmes.