As in the United States, they will give Argentine citizenship to those who bring investments to the country

Until now, citizenship by naturalization in Argentina requires at least two years of continuous residence. This new route opens for the first time an alternative and exclusive path for foreign investors.

After the regulation, the program is expected to be implemented this year. It is part of the official strategy to attract capital from abroad and it is estimated that Up to US$2.5 billion could be raised that could go to infrastructure, energy, agribusiness, technology, housing and regional projects. In that sense, around 5,000 families would acquire citizenship.

An organization will be created under the orbit of the Ministry of Economy: the Citizenship by Investment Programs Agencywhich will evaluate the presentations so that the National Migration Directorate can then approve or reject the applications.

It will do so based on previous opinions from the Ministry of Security, the Financial Information Unit (UIF), the National Registry of Recidivism, the National Registry of Persons (Renaper) and the Secretariat of State Intelligence (SIDE). Within a period of 30 business days from receiving the report prepared by the Agency, Migrations will analyze and resolve, granting citizenship or rejecting it.

There is still a lack of details on what amounts and types of investments will be reached.. The intention is to seek long-term capital and encourage new productive investments. An Economics resolution remains. Meanwhile, the process moves forward.

In December, the Executive called for a tender to award the service for four years. Last week the offer envelopes began to be opened and It is expected to be awarded within a period of close to 45 days.

Among the participants, There is a consortium made up of four international firms: Apex Capital Partners, Arton Capital, Passport Legacy y AIM Global. They have experience in the field in America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

The company or consortium that wins will be in charge of leading the programwhich requires reaching networks of investors, experience to design the program under international standards, setting the appropriate incentives so that it is positioned compared to other similar programs in the world, carrying out marketing at an international level, among other things.

With different formats, The program is valid in more than 80 countriesincluding the United States, Canada, Portugal, Greece, New Zealand and Caribbean nations. So, Argentina would join this list.

The challenge is to design a solid program, with incentives and international standards, which generate interest at a global level to make investments in strategic sectors and with regulatory compliance mechanisms, they explain in the sector.

“It is a globally validated model to attract capitalsupported by regulatory frameworks and official controls, adapting the modalities according to the development objectives and the investment required,” he noted. Jeffrey Henselerpresident of Passport Legacy, a Swiss firm that implemented the first completely private Citizenship by Investment Agency in Sao Tome and Principe, Africa. He added that “Argentina has the opportunity to reach qualified investors”.

In that sense, The attractiveness would not be limited to the potential capital, but also includes the quality of the investors. “The key is in the possibility of directing funds to different sectors,” he stated. Matias ApparcelCEO of Aim Global. And he graphed the economic impact of these programs: “in the United States, residence by investment captured between US$55,000 and US$60,000 million; in Portugal attracted 9 billion euros and in New Zealand he added US$10.5 billion”.

“International precedents show that the impact is positive when executed under strict controls and clear investment objectives. The challenge is to structure a program that is synonymous with transparency and quality,” he considered. Nuri Katzpresident and CEO of Apex Capital Partners.