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Chinese are big customers for schemes selling foreign residency

economist.com

41–50 of 135 posts

Re: Chinese are big customers for schemes selling foreign residency

#41
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

China really is the next superpower AND some Chinese are interested in having a lily pad outside China that they can hop to. No conflict between these. Lots of Americans have second passports, including Peter Thiel.

A nuance here is that China's nationality laws forbid dual-citizenship and border officials have been (anecdotally) cracking down on it in recent years. There are a lot of grey areas in enforcement, and I'm not sure how it would play out for the rich and powerful, but the general idea is that once you get a second passport, the first one ceases to exist, along with one's hukou, right to property and capital, etc. Thu…

The US doesn't allow dual-citizenship either right?

My girlfriend and her family have Taiwanese, Chinese and US citizenship/passports though. Wonder how that works

Re: Chinese are big customers for schemes selling foreign residency

#42
post #41
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A nuance here is that China's nationality laws forbid dual-citizenship and border officials have been (anecdotally) cracking down on it in recent years. There are a lot of grey areas in enforcement, and I'm not sure how it would play out for the rich and powerful, but the general idea is that once you get a second passport, the first one ceases to exist, along with one's hukou, right to property and capital, etc. Thu…

The US doesn't allow dual-citizenship either right? My girlfriend and her family have Taiwanese, Chinese and US citizenship/passports though. Wonder how that works

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/travel-lega...

No such restriction exists at least generally.

Re: Chinese are big customers for schemes selling foreign residency

#43
post #41
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A nuance here is that China's nationality laws forbid dual-citizenship and border officials have been (anecdotally) cracking down on it in recent years. There are a lot of grey areas in enforcement, and I'm not sure how it would play out for the rich and powerful, but the general idea is that once you get a second passport, the first one ceases to exist, along with one's hukou, right to property and capital, etc. Thu…

The US doesn't allow dual-citizenship either right? My girlfriend and her family have Taiwanese, Chinese and US citizenship/passports though. Wonder how that works

IANAL but strictly speaking, it doesn't, legally. It may, practically, until/unless systems, trackers and docs catch up with each other...

Re: Chinese are big customers for schemes selling foreign residency

#44
post #41
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A nuance here is that China's nationality laws forbid dual-citizenship and border officials have been (anecdotally) cracking down on it in recent years. There are a lot of grey areas in enforcement, and I'm not sure how it would play out for the rich and powerful, but the general idea is that once you get a second passport, the first one ceases to exist, along with one's hukou, right to property and capital, etc. Thu…

The US doesn't allow dual-citizenship either right? My girlfriend and her family have Taiwanese, Chinese and US citizenship/passports though. Wonder how that works

The US does allow it.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/travel-lega...

Re: Chinese are big customers for schemes selling foreign residency

#45
post #41
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A nuance here is that China's nationality laws forbid dual-citizenship and border officials have been (anecdotally) cracking down on it in recent years. There are a lot of grey areas in enforcement, and I'm not sure how it would play out for the rich and powerful, but the general idea is that once you get a second passport, the first one ceases to exist, along with one's hukou, right to property and capital, etc. Thu…

The US doesn't allow dual-citizenship either right? My girlfriend and her family have Taiwanese, Chinese and US citizenship/passports though. Wonder how that works

> The US doesn't allow dual-citizenship either right?

The US allows dual citizenship: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/dual-citizenship-all...

> The United States will not ask naturalizing citizens to take any steps to formally renounce the citizenship of their home country. Nor will it stop U.S. citizens from later adopting citizenship in another country – though if their intention is to give up U.S. citizenship, they can certainly do so. You may continue to vote in your home country, if it allows it.

> All this does not mean that the U.S. will tolerate divided loyalties. Dual citizens must obey U.S. laws, uphold the U.S. Constitution, and in every other way adhere to the naturalization oath that they take. They are also required by the I.N.A. to carry their U.S. passport when leaving the U.S., and to present it upon reentry.

Re: Chinese are big customers for schemes selling foreign residency

#46
Our son used to go to a HS in the east bay where foreign nationals would pay residents of the high school to essentially adopt their kid so they could enroll, take every AP and Honors class possible, and get into a UC campus.

It’s crazy. We actually hated the public schools and moved away.

Re: Chinese are big customers for schemes selling foreign residency

#47
post #7

> But Canada closed its federal programme in 2014 (some provincial schemes, such as Quebec’s, continue). Only mentioned as an aside, but for Vancouverites, this has been very painful. Uniquely Quebec manages its own immigration (let's not get into it) and they have an investor immigration scheme that essentially sells citizenship for a pittance. Of course since persons have freedom of movement there's nothing stoppin…

My belief has always been foreign capital (speculation) is bad, but immigration is good. So if you want to move here and bring all that foreign capital great! If you want to speculate or park money in Canadian real estate (empty houses and condos) that's really bad for the locals. It never should have been allowed.

that's really bad for the locals

Exporting housing services is a great business and a tremendous opportunity that is too rarely framed as such. https://slate.com/business/2013/05/exporting-housing-service...

Re: Chinese are big customers for schemes selling foreign residency

#48
post #7

> But Canada closed its federal programme in 2014 (some provincial schemes, such as Quebec’s, continue). Only mentioned as an aside, but for Vancouverites, this has been very painful. Uniquely Quebec manages its own immigration (let's not get into it) and they have an investor immigration scheme that essentially sells citizenship for a pittance. Of course since persons have freedom of movement there's nothing stoppin…

My belief has always been foreign capital (speculation) is bad, but immigration is good. So if you want to move here and bring all that foreign capital great! If you want to speculate or park money in Canadian real estate (empty houses and condos) that's really bad for the locals. It never should have been allowed.

They don't pay income tax. In a country with free medicare and cheap post-secondary education, and many other low income benefits this is a massive problem.

"nine of 10 recent Chinese immigrants arrive in Metro Vancouver with enough money to immediately buy homes. But only half hold down jobs during their first five years in Canada, while four of 10 report they’re surviving on low incomes."

https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/douglas-todd-how...

Ritzy Richmond neighbourhood where many are ‘poor’

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Part+Ritzy+Richmond+nei...

Re: Chinese are big customers for schemes selling foreign residency

#49

> But Canada closed its federal programme in 2014 (some provincial schemes, such as Quebec’s, continue). Only mentioned as an aside, but for Vancouverites, this has been very painful. Uniquely Quebec manages its own immigration (let's not get into it) and they have an investor immigration scheme that essentially sells citizenship for a pittance. Of course since persons have freedom of movement there's nothing stoppin…

If we only had a technology that could be used to build more housing units on a given plot of land, we could probably build as many housing units as people want to buy. Until such technologies emerge from the land of science fiction, we'll be stuck with shortages, because the problems are really technical, not legal.

https://www.vox.com/a/new-economy-future/urban-sprawl-housin...

Re: Chinese are big customers for schemes selling foreign residency

#50

The reasons for this are obvious: 1. Money laundering i.e. How can Chinese government officials embezzle tax money and keep it? Buy real estate overseas and have your family live in them. 2. Tax evasion. Buy real estate overseas and have your family live in them. The education angle makes sense, but imo it's not the main reason.

You're missing the most obvious reason that's far more important: Anyone smart and Chinese knows that there's a very decent chance that the system collapses and/or the government steals all your money and possibly your life. In the US and Canada, it's extremely uncommon for the government to steal a rich person's money and even life, and it virtually never happens without a public trial.

Anyone smart, Chinese, and with resources is looking for a way to not be subject to Chinese legal/government jurisdiction, and if you were in China, you'd be doing the same.

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