Henley & Partners

Henley & Partners
Key people
 Christian Kälin, Chairman and CEO
Website www.henleyglobal.com Edit this on Wikidata

Henley & Partners is a global citizenship and residence advisory firm with its main office in London and with over 25 offices worldwide. It advises governments on residence and citizenship-by-investment policy and works with them to develop and implement residence and citizenship programs. It also consults on general immigration law and policy as well as visa policy and the negotiation of associated treaties. Henley & Partners' Residence and Citizenship Practice Group advises individuals and their advisors such as law firms, banks, and family offices on alternative residence and citizenship.

History

While its origins date back to the 1970s, Henley & Partners as it exists today was formed in 1997 through the combination of a private client immigration consultancy and a corporate and family services company. In the late 1990s and through the 2000s, the firm advised wealthy businesspeople and individuals move their businesses and families around the world, largely through the acquisition of residence and citizenship from Austria, Canada, Hong Kong, US, Switzerland, and St. Kitts and Nevis.[1][2][3] At the time, the concept of residence and citizenship planning was relatively new and not considered to be of much relevance. This situation changed in 2006, however, when Henley & Partners became involved in the restructuring of St. Kitts and Nevis's citizenship-by-investment program, introducing better procedures and due diligence, and incorporating much-needed donations to support the country's transition to tourism and services following the closure of the sugar industry in 2005.[4] The firm obtained exclusive rights to market St. Kitts & Nevis worldwide.[5][6] In 2006, 1% of St. Kitts and Nevis's GDP came from the country's citizenship-by-investment program. By 2014, this figure had grown to 25%, with nearly half of the capital inflows generated by the donations under the Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation contribution option.[7]

Following the successful restructuring of the St. Kitts and Nevis citizenship program, Henley & Partners began to advise the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, and Cyprus, among others, on how to develop their own investment migration programs.[4] In 2013, Henley & Partners participated in a public tender and won the right to design and globally promote Malta's citizenship-by-investment program, the Malta Individual Investor Programme, which raised over USD 1 billion within 18 months of its launch.[8]

The firm and its individual partners, directors, and senior officers are regulated where applicable by the relevant authorities in the countries where they operate. They are also members of various professional associations, including the Investment Migration Council and STEP; Henley & Partners is a founding member of the Investment Migration Council (IMC), the worldwide association for investor immigration and citizenship-by-investment based in Geneva and the chairman of Henley & Partners is a member of the IMC's governing board.

Today, Henley & Partners is led by Christian H. Kälin, an immigration and citizenship law specialist who heads an executive committee of seven members and a management board of 30 managing partners. In addition to advising private clients and governments, Kälin is a speaker and writer[9] who is regularly quoted in the international media.[10][11][12][13][14] Having coined the term ius doni as a stand-in for citizenship-by-investment, Kälin introduced the concept of ius doni into the contemporary legal and political theory of citizenship by providing the first comprehensive academic analysis of the subject.[15] Jürg Steffen, the firm's chief operating officer, is also a writer and speaker. Among other publications he has published books on Relocation to Switzerland and Relocation to Austria.[16][17]

Publications and research

Henley & Partners has published a variety of books and reports offering information on the investment migration industry. The Global Residence and Citizenship Handbook, updated regularly, covers a number of topics pertaining to the industry, including residence rules, citizenship law, dual citizenship, passports, visa-free travel, and tax and real estate planning.[18] The International Real Estate Handbook is a reference manual on the subject of international real estate[19][20] It is also published in German. The annual Global Residence and Citizenship Programs (GRCP) report uses a scientific methodology to systematically analyse some of the world's major residence- and citizenship-by-investment programs.[21] The report details the outcomes of the Global Residence Program Index (GRPI) and the Global Citizenship Program Index (GCPI), which are produced by an independent panel of experts and also updated annually.[22][23]

The Henley & Partners Passport Index (HVRI) is the original global ranking of all the passports of the world according to the number of countries they can access visa-free or with a visa-on-arrival.[24][25][26] The Index is produced annually ofor over 10 years in collaboration with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which maintains the world's largest database of travel information. In June 2016, the firm launched its latest index in collaboration with Dr. Dimitry Kochenov, Professor of EU Constitutional and Citizenship Law in the Department of European and Economic Law at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.[27] The Henley & Partners – Kochenov Quality of Nationality Index ranks the different nationalities of the world according to the quality of life they provide their citizens.[28] It explores both the internal factors (such as scale of the economy, human development, and peace and stability) and the external factors (such as visa-free travel and the ability to settle and work abroad) that make one nationality stronger than another.[29][30][31]

Impact

In 2015, Henley & Partners formed a multi-year partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).[32] As part of the partnership, the firm provides financial support[33] and raises awareness for the refugee cause among its global client base and stakeholders.[34][35] Since 2015, Henley & Partners has donated over USD 1.5 million to the UNHCR.[36] The firm has also developed the annual Global Citizen Award, which consists of a USD 50,000 monetary prize.[37][38] Henley & Partners also provides scholarships and runs, inter alia, the Hero Scholarship program in Antigua and Barbuda, in conjunction with the Halo Foundation.[39] In an interview with Malta Today, Kälin stated that it was only natural for the firm "to acknowledge the plight of millions of uprooted families who flee each day the horror of war and conflict to look for international protection in other countries, and to join our forces with UNHCR."[40]

Criticism and controversy

In 2013, Arton Capital, a competing firm that had also tendered to be the Malta government's concessionaire for the Malta Individual Investor Programme, filed a judicial protest, appealing the decision by the Ministry of Home Affairs and National Security to elect Henley & Partners for the role. The firm claimed that Henley & Partners had already been associated with the former Maltese administration, providing consultation to the government on a similar program.[41] Arton Capital eventually dropped its court case, however.[42]

The launch of the Malta Individual Investor Programme in 2014 drew criticism from opposition officials, who claimed the program could open a back door into Europe for criminals.[43] It was reported at the time that officials believed the screening process would be compromised because Malta had outsourced the vetting of citizenship applicants to a single company. Henley & Partners argued in response that screening encompassed multiple steps, including criminal and financial background checks using online databases, vetting by independent security contractors, and an analysis using risk-assessment software, with the Maltese government then doing its own checks through resources such as Interpol and American government agencies.[43] Peter Vincent, a former senior counter-terrorism official with the US Departments of Homeland Security and Justice and currently Assistant Director General for BORDERPOL, said in a 2017 interview with the Investment Migration Insider, “If we’re looking for a model, not just for the European Union but for the entire world, I would look to a country like Malta.”[44]

In December 2017, The Shift News, an online news publication based in Malta, published a cease and desist letter sent by Henley & Partners that threatened legal action against the publication for their negative coverage of the firm,[45][46] involving the illegal sale of a diplomatic passport from Grenada to a Pakistani citizen who held no position within the Grenadian government. In this letter Henley & Partners stated that there was no basis to connect the firm with the murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Bibliography

  • Barber, Hoyt (2007). Tax Havens Today: The Benefits and Pitfalls of Banking and Investing Offshore. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley: ISBN 9780470051238
  • Betten, Rijkele (1998). Income Tax Aspects of Emigration and Immigration of Individuals. Amsterdam: IBFD Publications. ISBN 9789076078229
  • Abrahamian, Atossa Araxia. The Cosmopolites: The Coming of the Global Citizen. Columbia Global Reports: ISBN 9780990976363
  • Steffen, Juerg (2018). Relocation to Switzerland, An Introduction for High Net Worth Individuals and Entrepreneurs (3rd ed.). Zürich, Switzerland: Ideos Publications Ltd.: ISBN 9783952385975
  • Steffen, Juerg (2018). Relocation to Austria, An Introduction for High Net Worth Individuals and Entrepreneurs (2nd ed.). Zürich: Ideos Publications Ltd. ISBN 9783952474266
  • Kälin, Christian (ed. 5): The Global Residence and Citizenship Handbook. New York/ London/ Zurich/ Hong Kong: Ideos Publications Ltd, 2016. ISBN 9783952385920
  • Kälin, Christian. Switzerland Business & Investment Handbook. Chichester: John Wiley, 2006. ISBN 9780470018019
  • Kälin, Christian and Taylor, Andrew (ed. 5): International Real Estate Handbook. New York/ London/ Zurich/ Hong Kong: Ideos Publications ISBN 9780992781835
  • Kochenov, Dimitry (2008). EU Enlargement and the Failure of Conditionality: Pre-accession Conditionality in the Fields of Democracy and the Rule of Law. Austin [etc.]: Wolters Kluwer Law & Business. ISBN 9789041126962
  • Kochenov, Dimitry (ed. 1): Quality of Nationality Index. New York/ London/ Zurich/ Hong Kong: Ideos Publications ISBN 9780993586606
  • Ong, Aihwa (ed. 2): Flexible Citizenship, The Cultural Logics of Transnationality. Duke University Press Books. ISBN 9780822322696
  • Wallerstein, Immanuel (1074): The Modern World System I. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN 9780520267572

References

  1. ↑ Barber, Hoyt (2007). Tax havens today : the benefits and pitfalls of banking and investing offshore. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley. ISBN 978-0-470-05123-8.
  2. ↑ Abrahamian, Atossa Araxia. The Cosmopolites: The Coming of the Global Citizen. Columbia Global Reports. pp. 70–93. ISBN 978-0-9909763-6-3.
  3. ↑ Clenfield, Jason. "The Passport King". Bloomberg.com.
  4. 1 2 Clenfield, Jason; 12, Bloomberg-Mar; Am, 2015 1:00 (12 March 2015). "The Man Who Helps Countries Turn Investments Into Passports for the Rich". Skift.
  5. ↑ Ltd, Allied Newspapers. "Attracting global citizens". Times of Malta.
  6. ↑ Abrahamian, Atossa Araxia. The Cosmopolites: The Coming of the Global Citizen. Columbia Global Reports. pp. 77–80. ISBN 978-0-9909763-6-3.
  7. ↑ Gold, Judith; El-Ashram, Ahmed; Xu, Xin. "Too Much of a Good Thing? Prudent Management of Inflows Under Economic Citizenship Programs" (PDF). International Monetary Fund.
  8. ↑ Ltd, Allied Newspapers. "Malta passport programme 'best in the world' - €1 billion raised since launch - Henley". Times of Malta. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  9. ↑ Kälin, Christian H. (2006). Switzerland business & investment handbook : economy - law - taxation - real estate - residence - facts & figures - key addresses. Chichester: John Wiley. ISBN 978-0470018019.
  10. ↑ "No Brexit risk for global rich says citizenship expert Chris Kalin".
  11. ↑ Ltd, Allied Newspapers. "Henley: Malta's scheme not secretive like Austria". Times of Malta.
  12. ↑ "Passports to paradise". POLITICO. 8 November 2015.
  13. ↑ "Citizens of anywhere". 1843. 2017-10-02. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
  14. ↑ "A New Way for the Wealthy to Shop for Citizenships". The New Yorker. 11 June 2016.
  15. ↑ H., Kälin, Christian. Ius Doni : the acquisition of citizenship by investment. Mahlmann, Matthias. Zürich. ISBN 9780993586637. OCLC 958587778.
  16. ↑ H., Steffen, Jürg. Relocation to Switzerland.
  17. ↑ H., Steffen, Jürg. Relocation to Austria.
  18. ↑ Kälin, Christian H. Global Residence and Citizenship Handbook (5 ed.). Ideos Publications. ISBN 978-0-9927818-5-9.
  19. ↑ Kälin, Christian H.; Taylor, Andrew. International Real Estate Handbook (5 ed.). Ideos Publications. ISBN 978-0-9927818-3-5.
  20. ↑ "The Rise of the Global Citizen". theaddressmagazine.com.
  21. ↑ Global Residence and Citizenship Programs 2015 (2 ed.). Ideos Publication. ISBN 978-0-9927818-1-1.
  22. ↑ "The best countries to "buy" your way into dual citizenship". businesstech.co.za.
  23. ↑ Administrator, System. "Countries with best, worst passports". Emirates 24|7.
  24. ↑ "The most powerful passports in the world revealed". Mail Online. 1 April 2015.
  25. ↑ "How Powerful is your Passport?". msn.com. 19 June 2018.
  26. ↑ "Henley Index: 2 Asian passports now world's most powerful". cnn.com. 19 June 2018.
  27. ↑ "A new ranking of every country's citizenship". The Economist. 19 June 2018.
  28. ↑ Kochenov, Dimitry. Quality of Nationality Index (1st ed.). Ideos Verlag AG. p. 204. ISBN 978-0993586606.
  29. ↑ "A new ranking of every country's citizenship". The Economist.
  30. ↑ "The 41 nationalities with the best quality of life".
  31. ↑ Kochenov, Dimitry; Lindeboom, Justin. Empirical Assessment of the Quality of Nationalities: The Quality of Nationality Index (QNI).
  32. ↑ Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "UNHCR Global Appeal 2016-2017 - Private sector fundraising". Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  33. ↑ josephinegoube (2015-03-19). "Henley & Partners donates 1 million to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to help the global refugee cause". Migreat Blog. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  34. ↑ "Henley & Partners teams up with UNHCR to help global refugee cause".
  35. ↑ "Henley: passports for the global rich, charity for the global poor". Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  36. ↑ "We've hit peak injustice: a world without borders, but only for the super-rich". The Guardian. 19 June 2018.
  37. ↑ "WATCH: Could you be the next Global Citizen award winner?". Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  38. ↑ "Gift of Givers founder receives top global award". IOL. 19 June 2018.
  39. ↑ "The 2018 Henley & Partners Hero Scholarship". Halo Foundation. 19 June 2018.
  40. ↑ "Henley: passports for the global rich, charity for the global poor". Malta Today. 19 June 2018.
  41. ↑ "Government challenged in court over choice of concessionaire for citizenship sale". Retrieved 2016-07-19.
  42. ↑ "Arton Capital drops court case against government over choice of concessionaire for citizenship sale". Retrieved 2016-07-19.
  43. 1 2 Bilefsky, Dan (2014-04-05). "Citizenship-for-Cash Program in Malta Stirs Security Concerns in European Union". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-07-19.
  44. ↑ "Malta Should Mentor Caribbean CIPs on Due Diligence, Says Thomson Reuters General Counsel". Retrieved 2017-06-22.
  45. ↑ "Henley and Partners threatens legal action against The Shift". The Shift News. 2017-12-24. Retrieved 2018-06-21.
  46. ↑ "Henley and Partners involved in Grenada diplomatic passports scandal". The Shift News. 2017-12-20. Retrieved 2018-06-21.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.