Canada tops a list of investment migration programmes

Canada tops a list of investment migration programmes that high net worth Indians Indians were drawn towards, followed by Austria and Portugal, according to a new global analysis.

In response to unprecedented global demand for residence and citizenship-by-investment programmes as a means of overcoming the limitations and risks of being restricted to a single jurisdiction in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Deep Knowledge Analytics and Henley & Partners have published the Investment Migration Programs Health Risk Assessment – a ranking and analysis of how sovereign states that run these programmes have performed during the global pandemic and the likelihood of them being oases for longevity in future.

Considering over 4,000 data points and 140 different parameters, the new report features systematic analysis, interactive tools, and exclusive insights into how effectively 31 countries that host investment migration programmes to attract foreign capital and talent have managed the global health and economic crisis triggered by Covid-19.

Dr Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners, says it is designed an “invaluable resource” for those considering investment migration as a means of creating optimal value and mitigating risk in terms of where they can live, work, study, and invest.

“The chaos and disruption experienced worldwide over the past year has seen access to health security become a chief concern,” he said.

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Top performers

The results reveal Canada to be the top performing investment migration country in terms of health management and risk readiness, with New Zealand in 2^nd position, and Australia narrowly behind in 3^rd place. Four European countries are in the top ten, with Switzerland in 4^th place, Austria in 5^th place, Italy in 9^th place, and the UK occupying the 10^th spot.

Therefore, it is no surprise that Austria is one of the top three investment migration programmes that Indians both enquired and applied for in 2020. Last year, Henley & Partners saw a 62.6 per cent increase in the number of enquiries received for investment migration from Indian nationals as compared to 2019. The top three countries they enquiries for were Canada – which ranks first in terms of health management and risk readiness, followed by Portugal and Austria.

In terms of actual applications put in by Indians, the top residence programmes applied for were Portugal, Thailand and Austria.

Dmitry Kaminskiy, Co-founder of Deep Knowledge Group, says the “health as the new wealth” paradigm has gained significant prominence among the global investment community.

“The notion that health, rather than wealth, is the most valuable asset class, will see the ascendance of regions that promote both individual and institutional migration and relocation on the basis of prioritizing well-being, rather than capital,” he said.

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Risk readiness

There are also some interesting surprises in the upper ranks, with the UAE in 6^th place, just behind Austria, and ahead of Singapore, which is in 7^th place and Hong Kong, which is in 8^th position. Turkey and Ireland are hot on the heels of the UK in joint-11^th position. Despite being the world’s most powerful country and one that spends the highest percentage of its GDP on healthcare, the US is ranked just 16^th out of the 31 investment migration countries.

“Canada’s quiet competency, deference to authority, and historical ‘garrison mentality’ culminated in Canada having the best overall score,” believes Greg Lindsay, Director of Applied Research at think tank, NewCities.

While most European nations boast strong universal healthcare systems, it is Switzerland and Austria that have emerged as the top two investment migration destinations in Europe. Austria ranked 5^th in terms of health management and risk readiness with a score of 722.59.

Dr Parag Khanna, Managing Partner of FutureMap, says countries should learn from the Covid experience and improve their health security while also undertaking other reforms to attract the next wave of investor migrants.

“The investment migration programme options may well grow. Many countries have cleverly amended their visa policies on the fly during the pandemic, allowing tourists to become classified as nomads, nomads to convert into entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs into residents,” he said.

Dr Steffen concludes: “Participating in a residence- and citizenship-by-investment programme can be seen as an investment in physical and financial longevity — one that can provide a safe passage to health security in an alternative location should the need arise.

“By investing in a suite of programmes, investors and their families are also automatically endowed with an extended range of options for themselves and their families, including healthcare.”