No persons from a “stable country” would want to acquire a second passport in countries with citizenship investment schemes such as Malta’s, according to Henley and Partners’ partner Christian Kalin.
“It's obvious to you why a Russian or a Lebanese, a South African or maybe a Chinese would need a second passport and residence,” Mr Kalin was quoted as saying in an article published by Reuters two years ago. “But why would a person from a stable country want one?”
The company’s CEO, Eric Major, had pointed out that events threatening instability drive interest from wealthy individuals.
“Uncertainty is a big ‘push’ factor. When North Korea shoots missiles, we get a lot of South Koreans. When there's chaos in Cairo, we get lots of Egyptians on the phone,” he remarked.
At this point in time, Henley boasted that it could obtain passports for individuals and their families in as little as three months. Such a state of affairs may have applied in the first iteration of the programme implemented in Malta, but naturalisation will now only take place following a vaguely-defined 12-month period of residence in Malta.
When the article was written, the prospect of raising revenue by providing Maltese citizenships to wealthy investors had never been the subject of public discourse in Malta.
Curiously, however, the author quotes Mr Major as stating that Henley is also advising several other countries that want to adopt citizenship by investment, and mentions Malta and Croatia as examples.
But when he was reached for comment, former Finance Minister Tonio Fenech quickly dismissed suggestions that the previous government was considering such a scheme, contradicting what Mr Major is reported as saying.
It has already been reported that the previous government had sought the advice of Henley and Partners, but only on a scheme providing permanent residence to high net worth individuals. Mr Fenech pointed out that citizenship and residence programmes were often conflated.
Despite Henley’s claims that people in stable countries would not desire second passports, the article suggests a possible reason why they would: tax reasons.
US citizens, for instance, face lifelong tax reporting requirements regardless of their residence, unless they renounce their citizenship for a new one. Statistics show that the number of people renouncing their US citizenship is on the increase.