Gizane Campos 0:03

Hi there, welcome to Be Global Podcast, where we explore the migration trends shaping our world today. I am Gisanne Campos, and in this episode, we are diving into citizenship and residency in Europe and also the Caribbean programs. Joining me is Adalberto Pulca and Joe Rice. But I will let you I'll let you guys introduce yourselves. Joe?

SPEAKER_00 0:32

Yeah, hi. So I'm Joe Rice and I'm head of uh citizenship programs for GCS.

Gizane Campos 0:38

Thank you. And Adalberto Pulca?

SPEAKER_01 0:40

Yes, I head the European programs here at the company.

Gizane Campos 0:44

Excellent. It's not the first time we have you two in our podcast. So thank you for being here. I will start with Adalberto first. I'd like to chat to you, Adalberto, about the European programs. But first I wanted to ask: what is the difference between citizenship and residency?

SPEAKER_01 1:06

Okay, so ultimately both grant an individual the right to reside in a country, but a a residence permit is uh something that generally has or can have a limit. Uh citizenship is um essentially becoming a part of the country's fabric, if you will. Uh you will have all of the rights, you can vote, uh, and it cannot be taken away from you. So once you become a citizen, you're granted a passport uh and that you can take with you for life.

Gizane Campos 1:35

Aaron Powell Okay, thanks, Boca. This is clear now. Um now that we cover this difference between citizenship and residency, I wanted to ask you about the popular pathways for investors to obtain a second citizenship or a residency in Europe.

SPEAKER_01 1:52

Okay, excellent. So there are actually a couple of ways uh that one could obtain citizenship. Ultimately, citizenship can be obtained, at least in Europe, through a certain period of residency. Uh typically speaking, you need to reside in a country for a certain number of days every year. So we can look at Italy where you need to reside um in the country for 183 days a year for at least 10 years. Uh we see a similar requirement in Spain, Greece, it drops to seven years. Uh but what's very interesting is um the second path to your citizenship, which is a more flexible one. So there are um residency by investment programs where the residency aspect is met very flexibly. So, for example, the Portugal Golden Visa has a minimum stay requirement of only seven days per year. And we have also the Malta Citizenship for Exceptional Services program, where within a very short period of time you can become a citizen, and the stay requirement is essentially a couple of weeks within that 12-month period. And so this is how we distinguish uh the two. One, you can obtain through programs such as passive income visas, digital nomad visas, and of course, you know, golden visas. But especially in today's climate where um people are looking for more flexibility for a plan B, uh golden visas become more popular and they offer a flexible path to reach um that status of a citizen in a country, and then of course gives you a lot more options.

Gizane Campos 3:25

Okay. Okay, so Puka, you mentioned golden visa programs. And since we're talking about European programs right now, it would be good to clarify what's going on with uh Spain. I believe there's no more golden visa there.

SPEAKER_01 3:38

Yes. Um so unfortunately, uh the Golden Visa program in Spain is coming to an end now in the first week of uh of April. Uh but that is the nature of these programs. They serve a purpose. Um, so you know it needs to be a win-win situation where the country gains something as well as the investor. So the country gets the FDI and then the investor gets the residency.

Gizane Campos 4:03

Aaron Powell Okay. Yeah. So thanks for clarifying that. Um and also I believe something similar happened to Portugal as well. They they've changed their uh the the route to obtain Golden Visa, even though the Golden Visa is still available in Portugal.

SPEAKER_01 4:17

Aaron Powell Yes, that's correct. So that took place back in 2023. Uh but ultimately the only thing that was changed in Portugal was one of the investment paths, uh, which was real estate. But the program continued um and still does today.

Gizane Campos 4:30

Aaron Powell Okay. Still on the topic of golden visa programs, uh, what are the residency requirements for each program? Which ones allow investors, for instance, to maintain primary residence somewhere else? Aaron Powell Right.

SPEAKER_01 4:44

So the nature of golden visas really is the flexibility that they offer. So to maintain a golden visa, you don't have to live in a country. So for example, as mentioned previously, Portugal is seven days. Greece, there's no minimum stay requirement, uh similar uh in in Cyprus, Italy. Uh but that doesn't mean that this will necessarily lead to citizenship. To become a citizen, then it increases um the requirements with the exception of Portugal and Malta.

Gizane Campos 5:10

Alberto Puka, thank you very much. I think you covered it all when it comes to uh Golden Visa programs. Uh and now that we had this full lowdown on Europe, uh want to introduce Joe Rice, head of citizenship programs at GCS, to talk about Caribbean. Before that, Joe, can you tell me what are the most popular citizenship programs?

SPEAKER_00 5:34

If we're specifically talking about the Caribbean, um, it would be St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, St. Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, and Granada. But outside of the Caribbean, other very popular programs would be Turkey and Vanuatu as well. And there are some new ones coming as well that have just started, Nahru has just started, and the Solomon Islands is supposed to be coming in as well, hopefully this month.

Gizane Campos 5:58

Aaron Ross Powell Okay. And why are the Caribbean programs so popular? I believe they were one of the first to be established, yeah?

SPEAKER_00 6:06

Aaron Powell Yeah. So they're actually the first program to be established back in 1984 was St. Kitts and Nevis. And they're so popular because it's it can be done remotely. It's not something where you have to visit the country. They're very quick, as you mentioned, the processing times from as little as 120 days to citizenship. And because it's remote, you don't ever have to go there. You can do it from your own home, you can take it at your own speed. You know, there's no rush. If you want to take your time filling out the forms, supplying the documentation, you can do that. If you want to do it quickly and get it all done, the that's also possible as well.

Gizane Campos 6:39

Okay. That's very good. And um you work uh Globusits and Solutions work with uh how many programs in the Caribbean?

SPEAKER_00 6:47

Five at the moment.

Gizane Campos 6:48

Which are?

unknown 6:49

St.

SPEAKER_00 6:49

Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, St. Lucia, Granada, and Antigua and Barbuda.

Gizane Campos 6:56

Great, thank you. So yes, sorry to ask and be so far of I believe some of our listeners. If they're going to our website to find out information about uh these programs, it would be good um for us to, you know, give them the the name so they know what to look for. Um great. So you also you mentioned Vanuatu. Do they accept um cryptocurrency?

SPEAKER_00 7:18

They do. So it's actually very crypto friendly. It's great for investors that are heavily into crypto. They their program specifically is more about asset management. Um it's not for visa-free access because unfortunately it doesn't have at the moment visa-free access to the European Union. Um but crypto no no tax on crypto in Vanuatu, which is obviously a huge plus. And you can actually pay with crypto for the program as well.

Gizane Campos 7:46

Aaron Ross Powell Very good to know for investors that they can invest in in Vanuatu as well. It's it seems like a very good option. But I wanted to ask you more about Turkey. So what what set Turkey apart for investors?

SPEAKER_00 8:01

Well, I think when we talk about these programs, the word investment obviously comes up all the time, and that's what people are looking for. And Turkey is well known for its real estate option. The real estate option starts at 400,000 US dollars, which is a very low price. And it also doesn't have to be just for one property. You could purchase two properties, two apartments for $200,000 each. And the real estate market there is booming. It's actually one of the bigger programs or biggest programs in the world for real estate. And it's a very simple program as well. Although this one you would have to visit Turkey either two times or three times throughout the process. And it's still a quick program as well. You can have citizenship in about eight to ten months, hopefully closer to the eight months, it's always nicer. Um, but it's a it's a quick program to citizenship. And there's no residency requirement per se, but you do have to visit for things like biometrics and filling out and opening a bank account, signing from forms for that.

Gizane Campos 8:58

Aaron Ross Powell Okay. So and you also mentioned real estate in Turkey. I want to bring this back to Adalberto Puka. Is there a real estate option for investment in Europe?

SPEAKER_01 9:13

Aaron Powell Actually, yes. And more than one, uh in fact. So uh a very popular one is Greece with the minimum investment starting at 250,000 euros. We can also look to Cyprus with a minimum investment of uh 300,000, and Malta as well, where um real estate is not the only requirement, but it is one of the requirements, and with the market, the way it's going there, it's become quite popular recently.

Gizane Campos 9:40

Okay, thank you. Now you mentioned uh the requirements, uh Porker, quite thoroughly of uh uh the uh May EU programs. Um Joe, can you give us a low down on the requirements for the Caribbean programs and how do they compare with Europe?

SPEAKER_00 9:59

Okay, so I think the first thing probably would be requirements. So it's a direct path to citizenship. It doesn't have the requirement stays apart from Antigua and Barbuda, which is five days within the first five years of becoming a citizen. So it's a it's a more straightforward process to citizenship. It's a lot less time. Option-wise, they have numerous options for these programs. The most popular is the donation option. They all have a real estate share option, which is a share in a luxury resort, hotel, condominium. Some of them have an option for purchasing real estate and being the sole owner, having the deeds of the property. And then St. Lucia is the only one with a government bond option, which is becoming popular because at the end of five years you receive the full government bond amount back.

Gizane Campos 10:45

Okay. Wow. Okay. And tell me about Vanuatu. The requirement, um, sorry, you get the citizenship in less than a year or so? Or even less?

SPEAKER_00 10:56

Two to three months.

Gizane Campos 10:57

Two to three months.

SPEAKER_00 10:57

Yeah, so Vanuatu is probably the fastest program in the world.

Gizane Campos 11:01

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 11:01

Um so it's about two to three months from submission of your file, going through the background checks. And it's the price is relatively low compared to the other programs. It's very affordable. They have a couple of donation options, one of which you can get $50,000 back after a four-year period, which is also a great incentive. And the you know, the other bonuses are you you don't have to go there. Vanuatu's gorgeous, very untouched. Uh it is a long way away. It's great, as I mentioned before, for asset management. Their program is very different, I believe, to the rest of the Citizenship by investment programs or residency programs. It's just geared and geared towards a different type of client that is just looking for, yeah, maybe a plan B or Okay.

Gizane Campos 11:49

So you two gave me very two different overviews of um of programs. And um so what I can see is that there are lots of options. So how do you match those options to your clients?

SPEAKER_00 12:06

Aaron Powell Puka, do you want to go first on this?

SPEAKER_01 12:08

And then I'll sure. So um every interaction that we have with the client starts with an initial consultation. Every client I speak with, I start with the same question, which is what is your main objective? Everything develops from there. Some would be to become a citizen in a new country, others are just looking for uh a plan B for which a residency would suffice. Uh but that's how we then go through the various programs, ultimately coming down to the one that meet all of or at least most of their requirements.

Gizane Campos 12:40

Okay. And Joe?

SPEAKER_00 12:41

Yeah, just to add to that, I think the the clients will come to us with an idea of what they want. And when we talk about it, we might figure out that that's not actually going to be the best program for them or the best option, the best investment option. So it's really listening to them and working out what they need and what their end goal is, and you know, recommending maybe another program or another country. And that's where we might speak to a colleague and say, you know what, I think this client might work better for your programs, and we'll, you know, have a conversation or have a meeting with that client about different programs, compare them so we can actually really find out what works for them best. And it seems to work, it seems to work well. And they they sometimes come in and thinking they want this, they want program A, and then suddenly program B is much better for them, and that's what they go with. Of course.

SPEAKER_01 13:29

And actually, I just wanted to add something to what Joe said. It's not uncommon for clients to select two programs to pursue. So we do, you know, we we're very lucky to offer, you know, many, many programs globally. So it's not uncommon for us to work with a colleague and for a client to pursue the citizenship in the Caribbean that gives them more of an immediate um solution, whilst also pursuing a European passport in the longer term, which is going to give them more of a global access.

Gizane Campos 13:57

Aaron Powell Okay. So you cover your supposedly plan B in every aspect for your um the present lifestyle up to succession, needs, and so on.

SPEAKER_01 14:12

Aaron Powell Absolutely. Um actually it goes beyond just a residency, just the citizenship. There are many tangible markets that touch residency by investment if someone's looking for wealth management solutions, if they're looking for you know security and succession, as you uh as you've mentioned, um, and all of that we can integrate uh into our uh our offerings.

Gizane Campos 14:33

Aaron Powell Excellent.

SPEAKER_00 14:34

Amazing. Yeah, and it's also I think we have to remember also there's something after just becoming a citizen and just getting a passport. There's a lot more that comes with that. You know, whether you're going to relocate, do I need a driver's license? Tax IDs, when I move there, which electricity company do I use? So we also have platforms that we help with all of that. And if they want to go to visit, how which taxi shall I use from the airport? And so there's a lot more that goes with becoming a citizen than just getting a passport.

Gizane Campos 15:02

Aaron Ross Powell And you also help with that, with the the afterlife, let's say, of um of a citizenship?

SPEAKER_01 15:08

Absolutely. Um so we actually have a platform that is proprietary to Global Citizen Solutions called Beyond Global. Uh and every client, once they come on board, they are granted access to this platform. And within it, uh, you know, as Joe mentioned, there are many aspects that touch daily life that perhaps you wouldn't think of immediately, but eventually you would need assistance with. Uh you know, and it goes beyond if you need a private chef or you know, if you need to charter uh a boat or um whatever you need to do.

SPEAKER_00 15:41

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 15:41

Um but no, it it goes from you know the simpler things uh to education, uh to healthcare, and then ultimately the you know the pleasures of life.

Gizane Campos 15:51

Aaron Ross Powell Good. And then other notes, just to add to that, there's also the Global Citizen Solutions website has a great list of um content on all the programs that you uh both explained, as well as information on uh your life at the country that you decide to choose, um, such as the Beyond Global platform, but also trends, uh migration trends and reports on under the Global Intelligence Unit. So it is a great resource for any of you um listeners who are looking to um pursue the path of a second citizenship or perhaps relocation. So I'd like to thank Joe Rice and Adalberto Puka for being here with us, for breaking down um the programs available. And if you'd like to speak to them, I'm sure they can look up for you on the website, correct? Joe and Poca?

SPEAKER_00 16:49

Yeah, both our email addresses are there if they need it as well. Great. Yep.

Gizane Campos 16:52

Okay. So I'll probably see you guys again here soon. Looking forward to it. Okay, great. Thanks again. And if you like this discussion, don't forget to subscribe and leave a review. See you next time. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 17:06

Thanks, Jusan.