Are U.S. and British passports less attractive?

President-elect Donald Trump’s ascent to the White House is expected to push more U.S. persons toward obtaining a second, foreign passport.

Over the past decade, more countries have implemented or restructured their passport programs to attract wealthy investors. As a result, many U.S. persons have already considered such passports, says global advisory firm Arton Capital.

In particular, there’s recently been increased traffic and enquiries about second, foreign passports originating from states where Hillary Clinton won votes, such as California, New York and Virginia, the firm adds.

Read: Why to relinquish U.S. citizenship rather than renounce

A similar trend occured after the Brexit referendum, says Arton Capital, with many British citizens looking to secure options for relocation. It’s still unclear whether Trump will implement many of his proposed policies, but Americans–like many British citizens–are wary of political and economic uncertainty.

Arton Capital adds Canada’s Liberal government is making the most of this new trend, stating their openness to welcoming those interested in relocation.

Read: Can clients ditch U.S. citizenship retroactively?

Other global options

The British Tier 1 program and the American EB-5 have typically demonstrated steady and solid demand. But there’s been significant outflow and redirection towards other parts of the world that are competing for investors, says Arton Capital.

For example, other European options are attractive; people who would normally look for British Tier 1 passports are now more interested in countries like Cyprus and Portugal. This trend will continue, says Arton Capital, if the EU imposes visa restrictions on Brits after Brexit.

Read: Before Brexit, opposition party wants another referendum

Already, demand for the U.S. EB-5 program–whereby investors are granted a green card after fulfilling investment and job creation requirements–has been significantly affected. Arton Capital says a number of its clients put holds on their EB-5 applications following Trump’s victory.

Read: IRS can revoke passports of Americans in Canada

The firm predicts global businesses and investors will look to other English-speaking, business-friendly and conflict-free regions like Canada, Singapore and Australia. The Caribbean is also likely to pick up, thanks to its relative proximity to the U.S. and competitive second citizenship program.

Overall, says Arton Capital, global citizenship will remain a solution for wealthy investors even if the attractiveness of some regions diminishes.

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.