Investment Migration Forum 2019

This week La Vida attended the annual Investment Migration Forum event at the Kempinski Hotel, Geneva. It was yet another successful and extremely informative conference hosted by the Investment Migration Council, whom La Vida are members of and their CEO Paul Williams is an advisory committee member.

DAY 1:

The event, which was very well attended by a number of industry professionals and government members, covered an array topics. Brexit, EU regulations, due diligence best practice and taxation were all high on the agenda, but at the forefront of the conversation this year was of course the rise and demand of global migration and how we should be shaping the future of the industry.

Chaired by the former spokesman of the UK Home Office and Journalist, Joey Jones, the event benefited from a number of presentations by various lawyers, immigration practitioner’s, professors and parliamentary officials, to name just a few.

Experts were able to share their knowledge and opinions of the programmes , the overall consensus by many of the speakers is that market professionals should continue to work together to improve KYC policies, due diligence practices and follow a unified code of ethics in order to protect the reputation of the industry, which is ever evolving.

DAY 2 :

The second day was slightly more focused on investment opportunities and specific country programmes. The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Mr Gaston Brown, spoke about the huge success of his countries citizenship by investment program and the recent updates they have introduced.

We were also introduced to Anguilla’s new residency by investment and tax residency programmes. A British overseas territory which will enable investors to enjoy a host of tax benefits with a minimum stay of 45 days and also have the opportunity to apply for British citizenship after five years of residency. This programme has recently been launched, and with such attractive benefits it is sure to become an incredibly popular option among HNW’s seeking international tax solutions.

The two day event provided La Vida with an excellent opportunity to meet with many of our existing partners as well form new relationships with other industry specialists. We very much look forward to next year’s event which will be held in Brussels. Watch this space for further news on the topics discussed over the coming weeks.