Argentina is going to sell passports for investments, Great Britain is going to return “golden visas”

Two G20 countries at once - Great Britain and Argentina - are discussing programs to attract wealthy investors, the Financial Times has found out. And if the British government is thinking about returning the special visas for investors with a fast track to citizenship, abolished four years ago, then the cabinet of Javier Miley is preparing to immediately sell passports.

Argentine approach

Argentine officials expect to launch the program this year. According to preliminary plans, Argentine citizenship can be obtained in exchange for a non-refundable contribution of $500 thousand or the purchase of government bonds with a zero coupon for $1 million. Most likely, there will be no requirements for residence in the country and tax residency.

The government hopes to raise money in this way to pay off Argentine debts; tens of billions of dollars will need to be spent on this in the coming years. The authorities do not want to borrow on foreign markets - investors are demanding high rates after another default in 2020.

The program's developers hope to attract wealthy Europeans and Americans concerned about political polarization and tax policies in their countries. They see Argentina’s strategic location far from world conflicts as a separate advantage, while “golden visas” in another country with the same positioning - New Zealand - require an investment of $3 million. In addition, an Argentine passport allows you to visit 170 countries without visas.

Opponents of the program point to risks to Argentina's reputation and security, fearing a flow of "dirty money" - for the same reason, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Malta no longer provide citizenship by investment. And the UK, out of the same fears, canceled not only the visa program for investors, but also the visa-free regime with countries like Dominica and St. Lucia, where you can buy a passport. However, the British government itself is discussing the return of golden visas.

British swing

Four years ago, the UK abolished investor visas, which could be obtained for investing at least £2 million in the local economy. Since 2008, Russians alone have received 2,581 such visas. This time, the Labor government proposed returning the program, but so that it would not become “a tool for scammers and wives of oligarchs.” Instead, the authors of the program are counting, in particular, on wealthy Americans fleeing the Trump administration, and in general the program is justified by the struggle for global talent and the need for investment.

The revived golden visas are expected to require an investment of £5 million and will allow holders to gain permanent residence in the UK in three years and citizenship in five years. The program developers believe that they will be able to weed out unwanted applicants and propose, for example, to prohibit participation by citizens of some countries.

The initiative encountered resistance - in particular, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Treasury opposed it. Skeptics fear new problems with corruption and money laundering and are also not sure that speeding up the issuance of citizenship to wealthy foreigners will bring tangible economic benefits to the country.