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| Source: Henley & Partners website. Illustration for the Investment Migration Programs Health Risk Assessment. |
This digital publication features systematic analysis, interactive tools, and exclusive insights into how efficiently the countries that offer 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 Investment Migration Programs Health Risk Assessment ranks the economic, social, and health stability achieved by 31 countries that host residence- and/or citizenship-by-investment programmes as well as the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats or risks that they face in the battle against the global health and economic crisis triggered by COVID-19.
Dr Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners, said the report is an invaluable resource for those considering investment migration as a means of creating optimal value and mitigating risk in terms of where they live, work, study, and invest. “Understandably, the chaos and disruption that has been experienced worldwide over the past year has seen access to health security become a chief concern, and our high-net-worth clientele is no exception in this regard,” he said.
Dmitry Kaminskiy, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Deep Knowledge Group, agreed and pointed out that as the ‘health as the new wealth’ paradigm gains prominence among the global investment community, along with the notion that health, rather than wealth, is the most valuable asset class, we will see the ascendance of regions that promote both individual and institutional migration and relocation on the basis of prioritising wellbeing rather than capital.
“Within the next decade, we will witness the tax and wealth preservation havens of today transform into the longevity and healthtech havens of tomorrow, with citizens, investors, and companies alike choosing to relocate to longevity-progressive regions,” he said.
While the results reveal that Canada is the top-performing investment migration country out of 31 countries and territories studied in terms of health management and risk readiness. New Zealand is in 2nd position, and Australia narrowly behind in 3rd place. The UAE is in 6th place, ahead of Singapore, which is in 7th place and Hong Kong, which is 8th. Turkey is a joint 11th with Ireland.
Dr Parag Khanna, Founder and Managing Partner of FutureMap, said many countries can 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 in the future may well grow rather than recede. 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.”
Kevin Bürchler, Head of Key Accounts at the Swiss Insurance Partners Medical Family Office, says it is evident that you can no longer rely on access to only one healthcare system, no matter how well developed it might be. “Securing residence through investment migration programmes in countries that rank highly when it comes to their government’s risk management and healthcare readiness is certainly a viable mechanism to improve your access to quality healthcare and therefore enhance your possible longevity,” he said.
Former US Ambassador to the Asian Development Bank and MD of advisory firm RiverPeak Group Curtis S. Chin said, “It is little wonder that entrepreneurs and investors looking to diversify their domiciles have also looked to this most dynamic region of the world. In the short term, borders are largely likely to remain closed, and governments are moving forward with vaccination programmes at a slow pace. But the long-term economic opportunity and quality of life of numerous Asia-Pacific nations remain key draws.”
The UAE has the highest emergency preparedness score of all 31 countries. Turkey was bolstered by its impressive government efficiency score - the second highest of all the citizenship-by-investment countries.
Regional tensions in the Middle East have been easing in the first few months of 2021, with governments moving towards cautious cooperation. Dr Robert Mogielnicki, a Resident Scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, said, “Rather than engaging in direct and costly disputes, governments with available resources are jockeying for regional influence in the COVID era. In the UAE, governments at the federal and emirate levels have rolled out several long-term visa schemes and a legal pathway to citizenship in an effort to retain and attract the talented expatriates needed for robust economic growth.”
Kaminsky said, “We can expect to see a ‘new normal’ of small, technocratic nations that selectively promote both personal and institutional citizenship to individuals, companies, and investors committed to advancing longevity-related technologies in exchange for access to some of the world’s most sophisticated and progressive healthcare, life insurance, medtech, healthtech, longevity fintech, agetech, and wealthtech ecosystems.”
Dr Steffen concluded, “Participating in a residence- and citizenship-by-investment programmes 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.”
