Pakistan,
Lebanon and Egypt have the highest number of UHNW second citizenship
applicants, with nearly 40% of all applicants worldwide coming from
these three countries.
Dubai/Singapore,
29 April,
2014 – Nearly 60% of applicants
for second citizenship or second residence programmes come from the
Middle East, but Asia is the new frontier with ultra wealthy Chinese
and Indian nationals and non-residents likely to spur demand for
these programmes in the next five years.
These
are some of the key findings of a joint special report released today
by Wealth-X, the world’s leading UHNW intelligence and prospecting
firm, and Arton Capital, the global citizenship experts, at a Dubai
forum on global citizenship.
Global
citizenship programmes offer individuals and their families residency
and citizenship options in a host country, with economic investment
in a pre-defined list of assets within the country as a precondition.
The
report, titled A Shrinking World: Global Citizenship for UHNW
Individuals, also showed that the average net worth of a second
citizenship applicant is well above the global average for UHNW
individuals. Second citizenship applicants have an average net worth
of US$205 million, compared to the global UHNW average of US$135
million.
The
report also revealed that applicants have better liquidity, more than
US$66 million per person, nearly double the global average of US$35
million. This means that these individuals can easily meet all the
requirements for citizenship or immigrant investor programmes with
their liquid investments.
Other highlights
from the report include:
- Pakistan, Lebanon and Egypt have the highest number of UHNW second citizenship applicants, with nearly 40% of all applicants worldwide coming from these three countries. The United States and Russia are the fifth and sixth on the list of countries with the most applicants.
- Europe is the most popular region in terms of UHNW second citizenship applications, accounting for nearly half of the total number of applications.
- The relative affordability of these schemes can be as low as 0.1% of the net worth – equivalent to 0.5% of the liquid assets – of the average UHNW individual.
- The savings gained through participation in these schemes can be immense. For example, a UHNW individual moving from the US to Dubai can save nearly $1 million on capital gains tax alone.
- Billionaires are five times more likely to apply for second citizenship than an average UHNW individual.
The
report highlights advantages a second citizenship offers to both an
individual and their family as well as the country they are applying
to. These including: stability and security, tax efficiency, ease of
travel, a higher standard of living, better quality of life,
increased options for their children’s education, and more
widespread investment opportunities.
There
are currently almost 200,000 ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals
(those with at least US$30 million in net assets) globally worth a
collective $27,770 billion. Billionaires account for 1% of the
world’s UHNW individuals holding 23% of the collective UHNW wealth,
which represents US$6.5 trillion. It is predicted that by 2020 the
billionaire population will grow by 80% by the year 2020, an increase
of 1,700 billionaires.*
Mykolas
Rambus, Wealth-X CEO, said: “The trend of UHNW individuals
applying for a second residence or citizenship looks set to continue
in the coming years, particularly in Asia where trillions of dollars
of new wealth will be created in the next decade and beyond.”
Armand
Arton, President and CEO of Arton Capital, said: “We are
witnessing the largest ever succession transition as wealth in excess
of US$16 trillion transfers from one generation of UHNW individuals
to the next by 2044. This transition is likely to create a surge in
the number of UHNW individuals deciding to change their citizenship
as the next generation considers their asset portfolio by identifying
the most relevant market to invest in. Many of these international
investment decisions are based on the benefits each geographical
jurisdiction offers to these individuals and therefore global
economies have the opportunity to attract substantial foreign direct
investment.
“The
Middle East has the highest proportion of billionaires in the world –
40% of global UHNWs. We are in the business of ensuring that our
clients benefit from the freedom of choice and therefore we work
closely with these individuals to select the country with the best
investment and life style opportunities to ensure that the needs of
both parties are perfectly balanced.”
*Figures
from the 2013 editions of Wealth-X and UBS World Ultra
Wealth Report and Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census
About
Wealth-X
Wealth-X is the
world’s leading ultra high net worth (UHNW) intelligence and
prospecting firm with the largest collection of curated research on
UHNW individuals, defined as those with net assets of US$30 million
and above. Headquartered in Singapore, it has 13 offices on five
continents. (www.wealthx.com)
About
Arton Capital
Arton
Capital empowers individuals and families to become global citizens.
We accomplish this through a high-end service and experience that
simplifies complexity and which is supported and sustained by
long-term relationships. We also play a critical role in helping
governments, consultants, legal and financial professionals and
investors to meet their citizenship goals more quickly, efficiently
and effectively.
