A Canadian law firm offers to help Filipinos widen their travel options around the world by acquiring a second citizenship and passport that comes with more mobility and greater ease of travel.
“Global citizenship is all about freedom of movement. That’s what it is. It is to permit people pretty much to go to where they want, when they want and how they want,” says Jean Francois Harvey, the founder and worldwide managing director of Harvey Law Group, an immigration and business law firm based in Montreal. The company is present in several Asian cities where they offer residence and citizenship-by-investment programs in over 20 jurisdictions.
HLG says not all passports are created equal, with a Philippine passport having an access to only 62 countries, compared to 150 countries within the reach of a Cyprus citizen or 127 countries of St. Kitts and Nevis citizen.
“Philippine passport is not an easy passport to travel with. Of course, by getting a second citizenship, it gives you a full freedom of movement. By example, St. Kitts and Nevis will give you a free access to over 120 countries without visa. You can do a lot of business. That is the biggest advantage. There is of course a big advantage tax-wise, because it permits you to divide a few of your assets into tax jurisdictions that will give you advantage,” Harvey says in an interview at Discovery Primea in Makati City during the company’s first anniversary in the Philippines on Jan. 30.
HLG’s residency and citizenship-by-investment programs allow successful investors to travel to a minimum of 115 countries without having to apply for visas. Investors can also purchase homes, retirement lodges and beachfront properties in countries such as Cyprus, St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Grenada and Vanuatu.
“If you’re an investor who spends a lot of leisure time traveling, pursuing a residency or citizenship program can set you up with property in strategic locations, which you can develop into a home away from home. If you’re a parent, these programs allow you to expose your children to a variety of cultures early. If you’re an entrepreneur, you will have more opportunities to widen your network and connect with potential business partners and industry leaders,” says HLG country manager for the Philippines Paul Boldy.
Loralee Baron-Soong, a Philippine passport holder and managing director of SoFA Design Institute, says she had to apply for a visa five times in 2017 to travel overseas. Filipinos are required to obtain visa to travel to the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe, the UK, Japan and other most developed economies.
On the other hand, Rhiza Pascua, chief executive of concert promoter Music Management International Corp., says she is able to travel to different countries with ease because she carries Philippine and US passports. Pascua says her friends who have only Philippine passport suffer the inconvenience of obtaining a visa and incurring additional costs when they travel abroad.
Stephen Ku, the founder of event management agency Eventscape Manila, says being a Filipino passport holder, he usually gets stopped at immigration counters in Singapore.
Harvey says his company aims to help Filipinos attain a second nationality or passport that will allow them to travel to more countries without the need of a visa. He says this is particularly important for Filipino investors who have business dealings in different countries.
Harvey says acquiring a second citizenship is no longer an issue of nationalism. “It is 2018 now. This thing is less and less in people’s mind. It is nothing against your own nationality to acquire another one. The best example I can give you is China. One of the successes of China is they let people out for many, many years. People immigrated to other countries, got the ideas and brought them back to China. To acquire another citizenship for Chinese is a great thing for the Chinese economy,” he says.
HLG is now looking at the Philippines as an emerging market with a growing middle-income population. “The market is just starting right now in the Philippines. That is why we are here now to make sure that we don’t miss it. The challenge is we have to educate the market,” he says.
Harvey says their services are valuable to people who need mobility. “Of course, it is for people with some assets. But you don’t have to be a millionaire to apply for a second citizenship. Higher middle class or even middle class people can qualify now for second citizenship,” he says.
“One of the most affordable options costs about $100,000. On the other hand, Cyprus will ask you to invest 2 million euros worth of real estate, but that is your money. It is a pure investment in real estate which is very safe. In my view, the most expensive one is Malta. Pretty much you have to give away 1 million euros, without any chance to have it back. That for me is very, very expensive,” says Harvey.
HLG aims to provide services to 100 Filipinos in the first half of 2018. “We believe that it is an emerging market for global citizenship in Manila. Easily for the first six months of 2018, we can easily reach 100 families,” he says.
Harvey says pursuing permanent residency or citizenship-by-investment programs can help Filipinos attain key personal goals, from experiencing comfortable, hassle-free travel; gaining access to quality education and health services; creating and managing businesses; to growing and maximizing wealth across borders.
Harvey, however, says not all applicants qualify for a second citizenship. “One of the reasons why we screen applicants is because jurisdictions will screen them too. Granda and Cyprus do full diligence. If we think that the client is not proper, then we just pay back the client and say sorry we cannot take your case,” he says.
He says conducting due diligence also addresses the issue of money laundering. “Different jurisdictions for second citizenship are very, very straightforward and very strict on money laundering. That is why we have to do a full AML [anti-money laundering] report on each client,” he says.
Boldy says a second citizenship also offers second- and third-generation family members the opportunity to study in European universities at a more favorable cost.
“Having access to a wider variety of degree programs and potential internship and employment opportunities will allow future entrepreneurs and executives, particularly those with family-run businesses, to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to take their businesses to the next level,” he says.
“In addition, their parents and grandparents get access to health services and treatments in these advanced economies,” Boldy says.
