00:00 Filipinos are looking at life overseas, especially as the world transitions to a post-COVID normal.
00:06 And one of the ways our Cababayans can secure residence or citizenship abroad is through
00:11 investment.
00:13 Jeffrey Hensler and Daniel Durich of Passport Legacy tell us more.
00:18 Join us live in the studio.
00:20 Jeff, Daniel, great to have you with us.
00:22 Jeff, let me start off with you.
00:24 Why should people acquire these residency and citizenship by investment programs?
00:29 Very good.
00:30 First of all, thank you very much for the invitation here.
00:32 People generally try to obtain a second residency or citizenship in order for their children
00:37 to have access to better education, have a plan B in the pocket in case anything happens
00:42 in their home country, or they just look for a way to travel visa-free around the globe
00:46 for business or vacation purposes.
00:49 You are Swiss, and you carry a Swiss passport, one of the most powerful passports in the
00:54 world.
00:55 Why do you still carry a second passport from the Caribbean?
00:59 Well, I'm a decade in this industry, and I always compare it to if you sell your whole
01:03 life Range Rovers.
01:04 At some point, you want to drive your own, right?
01:07 That first of all gives me the experience also because I travel a lot with it.
01:10 If I access a certain country, I want to know the reactions because based on that, I can
01:14 give best advice of what certain clients may face in terms of questions at immigration.
01:19 And Daniel, tell us, these kinds of passports, can I take a look at it?
01:24 Another passport from St. Kitts and Nevis.
01:27 I mean, it doesn't come cheap.
01:30 What kind of investment does a Filipino who wants to have a second passport, what does
01:36 he have to do?
01:37 Absolutely.
01:38 So currently, if a Filipino wants to invest in a second passport, the minimum amount that
01:44 he needs to consider is $100,000.
01:46 And these are countries in the Caribbean located south of Florida.
01:51 In countries like St. Lucia, for example, a $100,000 investment grants you a second
01:57 passport.
01:58 The one of Jeffrey is a St. Kitts and Nevis passport.
02:01 You obtain it a few years ago where it was only $150,000.
02:05 However, a few months ago, the government in the country has decided to increase it
02:10 to $250,000.
02:11 All right.
02:12 If you take a look at the Philippine passport, it is the 66th to 68th strongest passport
02:20 in the world.
02:21 And I would rather say it is a weak passport overall.
02:26 If you get a Caribbean passport, how strong are these passports from Grenada, St. Kitts
02:33 and Nevis and other countries?
02:35 You move usually up to around 35th place, but that immediately grants you visa-free
02:42 access to the Schengen area, for example, to the UK, to Singapore, to Hong Kong and
02:47 to many other nations that certain people may have the need to travel to, not only for
02:51 vacation but especially for business purposes.
02:54 And of course, Daniel, these are stronger passports, but a lot of Filipinos, apart from
03:03 going to EU, Schengen and the UK, also like to travel around the region, such as Japan
03:11 and South Korea, which also requires visas for Filipino passport holders.
03:18 If you acquire these kinds of passports, will you be able to travel as well visa-free to
03:23 these First World Asian nations?
03:27 So for Japan, unfortunately not.
03:29 With a Caribbean passport, you also have to apply for a tourist visa.
03:33 However, in Korea, the situation is a little bit better because with St. Lucia or St. Kitts
03:38 and Navies or Granada passport, you can actually travel visa-free to the country.
03:44 And you know, Jeffrey, whenever I talk to a lot of Filipinos who want to live in Europe
03:51 or want that second passport or that golden visa, it is Portugal and Spain.
03:57 That's what I hear from so many Filipinos.
04:00 Are there other European countries that they could also explore in Europe?
04:06 Well, due to the agreement between the Philippines and Spain, for example, a Filipino national
04:10 can make an investment into Spain and generally get the citizenship within only two years.
04:17 In Portugal, it's a little bit different.
04:19 Investment needs to be done.
04:20 There are also residency requirements, but they're quite limited to about seven days
04:24 a year.
04:25 And based on that and the language test, which is Portuguese that needs to be passed, plus
04:30 you connect a little bit to the local communities in Portugal, you potentially can, first of
04:34 all, apply and then receive citizenship of Portugal.
04:38 But have investments into these two European nations already increased from like five to
04:44 ten years ago?
04:46 Most probably, yes.
04:47 But I would say it's still quite affordable, mainly because in Spain especially, you invest
04:51 into real estate.
04:52 So you have a pretty safe asset, I would say.
04:55 It's Spain at the end of the day.
04:57 In Portugal, they just removed the real estate route, but there is a bond option available
05:01 that also generates certain returns.
05:03 So both options, Spain and Portugal, are still attractive.
05:07 And Daniel, are there now other European countries, apart from Spain and Portugal, that are also
05:13 getting to this residency and citizenship by investment programs?
05:17 Absolutely.
05:18 So if someone wants to obtain a passport directly, Malta has a citizenship investment program.
05:23 But more popular programs are definitely Greece, because it has a lower investment amount of
05:29 only 250,000 euros investment in real estate, and it also grants a permanent residency.
05:36 Other countries that offer residency are Malta as well, on top of the citizenship, Italy,
05:42 and Switzerland has its own unique way to obtain residency, but it's a little bit more
05:46 complicated because taxation comes into play.
05:49 And for Filipinos, Jeffrey, why should they be getting these second passports?
05:56 Everybody has a different plan in their life, I would say.
05:59 Often Filipinos, they say, you know what, we would like to go to Canada or to the United
06:02 States.
06:03 We would like to have our children educated over there.
06:05 I have a great business idea, for example, and Canada is very, very keen on your idea.
06:11 So if you invest into your own business, about 250,000 US dollars, and you go and reside
06:17 there within five years approximately, you would be entitled to receive citizenship.
06:22 So during the time you already can, and you also have to live there, at least three out
06:26 of five years, and based on that, you will get citizenship.
06:30 So that's one part of our clientele that comes to us.
06:33 What about in the United States?
06:35 There are so many, millions of Filipinos who live in the United States, and for every Filipino,
06:42 it is their dream to migrate to the United States or live in the United States or for
06:48 their children to be educated in the United States.
06:51 And it takes time, sometimes for the relatives to claim them and for them to get a green
06:56 card.
06:57 What is the other route?
06:58 I'm sure it is also heavy investment, but please let us know.
07:01 Absolutely.
07:02 Daniel actually just handled a client like that.
07:03 Maybe you can tell more.
07:04 That's correct.
07:05 It's a pretty straightforward way with an $800,000 investment.
07:09 $800,000 US dollars.
07:12 That's correct.
07:13 Okay.
07:14 Word to say that it is an investment and the capital go back to the investor after five
07:18 to six years, but this is the most direct way for an individual, a wealth individual
07:23 to obtain a permanent residency or a green card in the United States together with the
07:29 family.
07:30 And the program is a US EB-5 visa.
07:33 Very common and very popular.
07:35 $800,000 US dollars, if you compute that to the current US dollar peso exchange rate,
07:44 that's about 50 million pesos.
07:47 Well, that's a lot of money, right?
07:49 That's what the US wants, right?
07:50 That's what the US wants.
07:51 That's what the US wants, of course.
07:52 But is it open to anybody?
07:55 Can anybody apply if they have $800,000 or are they investigated first about their background
08:02 and where the money is coming from?
08:03 Very important question.
08:04 So programs all over the globe are generally open to all nationalities besides some restriction
08:11 because of sanction, like the Russians at the moment or the Iranian.
08:16 However, every individual can apply as long as he can prove where the funds have been
08:22 generated as well as the individual and the family have a clean criminal background.
08:28 These are very important conditions that we assess before onboarding clients, but as well,
08:33 once we submit application to the different programs globally, the unit or the government
08:38 will assess the background, of course, before giving an approval.
08:41 All right.
08:42 So, your legacy, Jeffrey, was founded about five years ago.
08:46 Yeah, correct.
08:47 First of October 2018.
08:48 Yes.
08:49 So how are you faring right now in the Philippines in getting new clients?
08:52 Yeah.
08:53 So about a year and a half ago, we started with our Singapore office led by Daniel, and
08:58 we've seen immediately a big demand in Filipino nationals wanting to get that other residency
09:02 or citizenship.
09:03 So we have at the moment one person, a client advisor based here full time.
09:07 We have a big processing department, of course, in Singapore.
09:12 Now step by step, we come more and more into this market with opening our own office in
09:16 the Philippines here in Manila beginning of next year.
09:18 Beginning of next year, you'll be investing here in the Philippines.
09:21 Absolutely.
09:22 With a representative office.
09:23 Correct.
09:24 But apart, of course, from Filipinos, who else from Asia are trying to take advantage of
09:29 these golden visas and second passports?
09:34 There is no really a nationality per se because people just want to have a plan B, want to
09:40 have more mobility, more freedom.
09:42 So really we have nationalities from all over the world.
09:45 And in Asia, yes, Chinese as well, Indians, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Indonesia.
09:51 So people just want to have plan B, want to be able to send the kids to better schools,
09:56 want the kids to, when they reach 18 years old, to be able to make their own choice and
10:00 be able to live whatever they want.
10:02 So it's not a matter of nationality.
10:04 It's a matter of I have the means, I want to prepare myself and my family for a better
10:08 future.
10:09 Are there other Asian countries also adopting this residency and citizenship by investment
10:14 programs, Jeffrey?
10:15 So Thailand has a visa that mainly speaks to people that wish to retire there, for example.
10:21 There also Singapore, of course, which is very interesting, right, for certain people
10:25 that want to actually move to Singapore.
10:27 Apart from that, not too much, not too many options.
10:31 Actually Europe focuses a lot on it because they have more to offer in a way where that
10:35 the residency card alone in the Schengen zone will already allow you to travel visa-free
10:40 within the Schengen zone and to live in the country that issued your residency.
10:45 So most of these golden visas and second passports are in Western Europe, in the Caribbean.
10:51 Yes, absolutely correct.
10:52 All right.
10:54 How can, if our viewers want to know more about Passport Legacy and your services, how
11:00 can they contact you?
11:01 Absolutely.
11:02 We have a beautiful website, passportlegacy.com.
11:04 We have a wonderful Instagram account, Passport Legacy Global, and otherwise, yeah, best is
11:09 going to our website and scheduling a direct meeting with us.
11:12 All right.
11:13 Last question, Daniel, of course, everybody knows that there is an expensive investment,
11:18 but what about the fees of Passport Legacy?
11:21 Are there fees if they are successful investors in these countries?
11:26 Yes, of course.
11:27 We are an advisory firm.
11:28 We help clients through the process, which take between three to 12 months, depending
11:32 on the program, and we charge a fee that varies between $15,000 to $30,000, depending on the
11:39 family size, the program, and the length of the process itself.
11:44 And all the best to your visit here in the Philippines and recruiting more Filipinos
11:48 to have that golden visa and that second passport.
11:51 Thank you so much, Rico.
11:52 Thank you so much.
11:53 Appreciate it.
11:54 Thank you so much for having us.
11:55 We have Daniel Kinsler, the CEO and founder of Passport Legacy, based in Dubai, and you
11:59 have Daniel Durich, the managing director of Passport Legacy, based in Singapore.
12:03 Thank you so much.
12:04 Gentlemen, good evening.
12:05 Pleasure.
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