Global mobility: why some individuals embrace alternative residency

The shift to global mobility

The world is more complex than ever before. The recent rise in geopolitical tensions, healthcare concerns brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic and greater economic uncertainty have sparked a need to build resilience as individuals and families try to reduce risk.

Olivier Schmidt, Head of Wealth Planning Emerging Markets at Pictet Wealth Management, argues that individuals and families worldwide are often deeply affected by these trends. “What I hear more often these days are questions such as, ‘What if I wake up tomorrow and I find that I cannot access my assets because my country has been hit with sanctions? And what if I suddenly find that I cannot travel as much as I used to – and cannot see the rest of my family?’,” he says.

What follows are stories of families that have not only faced these looming questions but also come up with creative solutions. In each case, their decisions speak to their particular circumstances, yet they all share a common denominator: exploring alternative residency – and potentially dual citizenship – as part of a strategy to build resilience in an unpredictable world. These moves not only benefit the individuals and families, but also the host countries, which gain financially and culturally by opening their doors to today’s globally mobile population.

Sidestepping potential sanctions with dual citizenship

The spectre of economic sanctions has long weighed on wealthy families living in countries caught in the crossfire of rising geopolitical tensions. One such family in the Middle East decided they needed a solution to what they felt were multiple risks.

The family feared that their existing residency could at some point curtail their freedom of movement, affecting their need to travel frequently to the UK to visit family, and to continental Europe, where they had business interests. They also thought it possible that economic sanction could restrict their ability to access and safeguard their domestic financial assets at some point in the future.

The solution was Greek residency, obtained by buying real estate. With the purchase of a spacious apartment near Thessaloniki, the family gained the benefits of living in an EU country and, with it, freedom of travel within the 27-member bloc.

Greece’s Golden Visa programme has benefited thousands of families looking to build resilience by being geographically mobile. But it has also been good for Greece itself: in the first five months of last year alone, its visa programme brought in nearly €1bn of additional revenue, helping the economy at a challenging time.

The matriarch of the family that moved to Greece is now considering whether to apply for Greek citizenship – a sign of how much she likes living in the country, but also a move she believes will cement her ability to travel freely within the EU, as well as remove any potential future problems around visiting her children in the UK.

Changing residency brings peace of mind

Two years ago, a self-made businessman from one of the former Eastern Bloc countries set out to find a safe haven to call his home. The upheaval affecting global supply chains, and rising international trade tensions had left him pessimistic about the future, and he wanted a place he could retreat to if things got worse.

He also wanted to live in a jurisdiction that offered him a clear rule of law, natural beauty and a good quality of life spent outdoors. Without an heir to leave his wealth to, he had already decided on a long-term plan to hand it over to fund social projects for residents in the city of his birth. But he was determined to do so on his terms and in his own time.

His search ended in New Zealand, a country that offered him easy global mobility if he so chose but one where he could also lead a low-profile life in a safe environment. The country’s natural beauty, coupled with a low population density, surpassed his expectations of leading an outdoors life in spectacular and unspoilt countryside. “It was important to have a plan B,” explains Schmidt of Pictet. “He just needed a place he could go to live in case.”

Schmidt says that “in case” is a term used with increasing frequency by wealthy families these days. “It’s not always that you need or want to live in a different country,” he says. “However, having the option to do so is a crucial aspect of future preparedness.”

Staying mobile during the pandemic

Graubünden is a large but remote canton in Switzerland, far from the international business and financial centres of Zurich and Geneva. For centuries, it has offered its residents clean air, outstanding natural beauty, a safe environment and, of course, political stability. But since the Covid-19 pandemic, it has also become a refuge for individuals and families who seek greater global mobility, peace of mind and easy access to cutting-edge healthcare.

One such couple, from Asia, made Graubünden their home after Covid-19 ripped through the global economy, triggering drastic measures by authorities in their native country that led to a severe clampdown on international travel and a de facto closing of borders.

The couple were concerned that they would no longer be able to visit family who were living in Europe. In response, they moved into a picture-postcard property in Graubünden. Staying beyond the 90 days granted on a tourist visa, they benefited from Switzerland’s pragmatic approach to Covid-19, which was less stringent than in other European countries, and they then travelled within Europe to see family members as soon as the rules relaxed. They also had access to the country’s renowned healthcare system. Today, Graubünden is still their home.

“By moving to another country, they kept alive their ability to travel and stay close to family,” says Schmidt. “In their case, it was like a new lease on life.”