【Ms. Tracy Sun, General Manager of the Beijing office of Worldway Immigration Group】
Residency status is a form of security for investment products
European immigration has been very popular this year, with Greece ranking very high. It is evident from immigration indices that European countries are currently highly sought after, as their relatively lower thresholds provide more people with new opportunities and prospects.
Host: Regarding "light immigration," this policy is simpler compared to traditional countries, but in the hands of an immigration agency, every case is not simple. European investment immigration has many unique advantages that attract investors to enter the market. In this regard, what would you like to share with everyone, Ms. Sun?
Sun Gelin: Nowadays, European investment immigration has returned to being a hot topic, and I believe this is inseparable from the concept of "light immigration." In fact, the main purpose for more and more investors to apply for immigration now is to conduct asset allocation reasonably. With the continuous advancement of the government's "Belt and Road" initiative, many large Chinese enterprises are now investing in Southern Europe. What does this indicate?
After the European financial crisis, it became a very suitable investment opportunity, thus attracting many people to invest. In the recent period, many clients have chosen to invest in Europe, not necessarily because they lack overseas status; it is very likely that they have already obtained immigration status. However, the more such people there are, the more they realize the importance of overseas status for investment. What do many of our investors realize now? It is: wherever I invest, I need to have status there; residency status is a form of security for investment products.
For example, when buying real estate, many countries now impose certain restrictions on overseas buyers, such as Australia, Canada, and including Hong Kong. I believe that in the near future, as the pace of European economic recovery accelerates and the number of people investing in Europe continues to increase, restrictions on real estate investment in the European region—which is what Chinese people love most—may also be gradually raised. So, how can we protect our assets? It is actually by having residency status. I think this is very important. In addition to having status, investment choices can also be diversified. When investors apply for immigration status, besides their primary investment needs, they also want to enjoy the education, medical, and other benefits of the immigrant country. Therefore, I think the understanding of the "light immigration era" will be different from the past.
Host: Ms. Sun's explanation is very comprehensive, sharing the situation of the European regional market with us. Based on your personal experience, what is the future trend of European investment, and is there significant room for growth?
Sun Gelin: It is not difficult to see that in recent years, immigration policies in various countries have shown a general trend of tightening. I remember that our Worldway Group designated 2013 as the "Year of European Immigration." That year, we also cooperated with embassies of many European countries to hold several official press conferences, introducing many European immigration projects to China. Currently, I think we might still be in the honeymoon period, or perhaps the honeymoon period will not last particularly long.
For example, Greece. Currently, buying property for immigration in Greece is quite popular because Greece is a traditional tourist country. In fact, from the entire international tradition, it can be seen that some areas along the coastline and some well-known cities are investment destinations that international investors are keen on, such as Greece, including Athens and other places. These areas fit this characteristic. Furthermore, we can look at the official data released by the European Central Bank. According to the real estate trend charts of various European countries, after the financial crisis, many countries' economies have fully recovered, or their housing prices have already risen quite well. Greece is one such case; its economic situation is gradually stabilizing, recovering vitality, and starting to develop positively. Its investment potential is also soaring, and there is significant room for investment.
So I say the "honeymoon period" for Greece is still here, but it will not be very long. Why? In just these one or two months, we have already seen that more and more people are going to invest in Greece. Many clients even ask that they don't need to go to Greece to inspect the property; they have already understood the basic situation of Greece through various media, locked in the area they need to invest in, and directly booked properties domestically to complete the investment.
In addition to Greece, we now have another project, which is Malta, which is also relatively preferential recently. With an investment of 70,000 Euros, the whole family of four generations can obtain EU status. In addition, including Cyprus passports, we are still on the tail end of Brexit. The function of this major passport is still quite significant and practical. Therefore, because more people are investing, Cyprus has already set a quota. Now there is a certain quota every year, and the number of applicants cannot exceed a certain amount. This shows that the "honeymoon period" is basically coming to an end, so everyone should hurry if they want to apply. These areas are still places with relatively high investment cost-effectiveness and are worth considering. Since there is such a trend in the market, there must be a reasonable basis for it. Investors should not wait until the policy is tightened to regret it.
Any investment has a golden period. Worldway Immigration Group has been deeply involved in investment immigration for over 20 years and has rich experience. In the matter of immigration, one rule is that when you know this information, if you do not seize the opportunity yourself, you might really miss it once it is gone. After the policy is tightened, many hardware conditions may no longer be met, or you will have to pay higher costs to handle related projects. Therefore, those who intend to invest in immigration must face the issue of policy tightening and make reasonable plans as early as possible.
Worldway Immigration Group will, as always, provide investors with professional, comprehensive, and thoughtful services to help investors plan their personal cross-border asset allocation as early as possible, seize important strategic opportunities for global immigration, complete asset allocation, and realize their dreams of immigrating overseas. For more details, please consult 400-138-2929.
