Investment | Which Programs Truly Offer Property-Based Immigration?

Hello, welcome to the second session of our series on property-based immigration. Our primary topic today is identifying which programs genuinely offer immigration through real estate investment.

Program 1: Turkey

Turkey offers a Citizenship by Investment program. By purchasing a property worth at least $400,000, investors can obtain a Turkish passport. The property can be sold after three years, or you can choose to reside in it yourself. It sounds like an exceptional program.

Why do I say it "sounds" exceptional? In my view, Turkey and Greece are currently the two hottest real estate immigration markets. Because they are so popular, you have to look closely at the market realities—something I explained thoroughly in my previous session. I genuinely believe that a vast majority of available real estate projects globally might have hidden issues. In fact, our compliance department rejects 90% to 95% of the projects we review. We don't even assess whether they are easy to sell first; we strictly check compliance: Is it a legally sound property? Does the developer have a clean background, free of hidden debts or unreleased mortgages? Are all permits and licenses complete? Given that up to 95% of projects fail these basic checks, the market can be quite chaotic. If you want a truly secure project, you must be extremely cautious.

For the Turkey program, I have three simple recommendations.

First—and this is what our project managers love to hear—work with us. We offer excellent service!

Second, since Turkey is a major country with a population of 90 million and a highly transparent open market, you don't necessarily have to buy property exclusively through an immigration agency. You can buy it yourself. I personally like Turkey a lot; Turkish Airlines is excellent, and Istanbul is a fantastic city that grows on you the longer you stay. You could spend a week or two in Istanbul, purchase a property directly on the open market (ensuring the price exceeds $400,000), and just verify with an immigration advisor beforehand that the property meets the legal immigration requirements. Most standard properties do; usually, only artificially inflated properties fail the criteria. Once you buy it, you can simply hire an immigration agency to process your paperwork. I think this is a very straightforward approach.

Third, utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI) during your research process. AI handles about 50% of our compliance workload. In other words, you can use AI to filter out many questionable projects. Input the project details into an AI tool to get an objective assessment, analyze the Turkish real estate market, and check surrounding property prices to see if a project is genuinely a good deal. Relying on AI is much more effective than just having someone accompany you to shake hands with a developer, get a smile from a sales representative, and look at a staged showroom. That is not true property inspection—that is exactly how people fall for real estate scams.

Our Turkey Program Manager is Nicholas, who earned her position through a competitive selection process in the last two years. I recently traveled with her to Malta for an IMI (Investment Migration Insider) conference. I was deeply impressed by her. At the time, her English wasn't perfect, but she was incredibly confident. She would boldly walk up to foreign dignitaries, such as Ministers of Foreign Affairs, and communicate effectively despite the language barrier. I once had an interesting conversation with her. I asked, "Since the market prices are so competitive, can we lower our fees?" She replied, "Henry, we can't. If we go any lower, we will operate at a loss." I actually appreciated that honest answer.

The Turkish immigration process is complex, client demands are high, and service costs are substantial. We have our own corporate office in Turkey, ranking firmly in the top three nationwide; even local Turkish citizens come to us when they want to immigrate elsewhere. We conduct rigorous compliance checks on properties, verify vast amounts of data, hire multiple specialized lawyers, and employ local Turkish staff (surprisingly, I managed to find Turkish professionals who speak fluent Mandarin). It is rare to hear a project manager insist on maintaining prices to protect the business's bottom line, and I think that is the right approach. Operating at a loss inevitably compromises service quality and leads to corner-cutting. As for how others manage to offer such low costs, I cannot say.

Program 2: St. Kitts and Nevis

The St. Kitts and Nevis Citizenship by Investment program also includes a real estate option, requiring a $325,000 investment. Why do I highlight St. Kitts specifically? Among the Caribbean nations offering citizenship programs, many rely on fractional ownership or share-based real estate models. St. Kitts remains relatively straightforward. For $325,000, you are purchasing an actual, physical property. At our company, we only deal with completed, ready-to-move-in properties available on the open market. You can view real-life photos, interior videos, community layouts, and occupancy rates. It is a highly transparent real estate market. If you are genuinely interested in—and skilled at—buying real estate, I highly recommend focusing on St. Kitts and bypassing other options.

Our St. Kitts Program Manager is Crystal. She holds the best reputation for client service across our entire global corporate system. About a decade ago, she managed our highly successful Cyprus program, and now she oversees St. Kitts. You might think I'm just boasting, but our internal corporate culture is intensely competitive, and all our project managers are outstanding. Being universally recognized as the one with the absolutely best service is a truly difficult feat.

Program 3: Panama

Panama offers a residency program through a $300,000 real estate investment. However, this market is quite complex. Our manager for this program is Sue. I want to emphasize two crucial points here.

First, purchasing property in Panama grants you Permanent Residency (PR), not immediate citizenship. To obtain a passport, you must meet physical residency requirements. Countless voices in the market claim that you can get a passport after five years without residing there. If you read the actual legislation, you will see this is false. While some government officials have mentioned it as a future possibility, it is not the current law. Anyone promising a Panamanian passport in five years without a residency requirement is completely misleading you. Why is there so much confusion? Because Panama issues a specific document known as a "travel passport." If you research this using AI tools, you will discover that this document has very limited global utility. Yet, many use it as a marketing gimmick to claim you are getting a standard passport from a major nation. That is entirely a scam.

Second, the Panamanian real estate immigration market has recently experienced significant disruptions. While I don't have all the granular details, I know competitors are facing severe issues, whereas we are not. The primary reason is that many properties were initially sold at outrageously inflated prices. The Panamanian government responded by mandating official property valuations to ensure they genuinely meet the $300,000 threshold. Many projects failed this evaluation, leading to widespread chaos in the market. Our clients remain unaffected because every step of our process undergoes rigorous review by our compliance department.

European Programs: Greece and Cyprus

The Greek market is incredibly heated right now, so I will keep this brief. What I can say is that our Greek projects are the safest available. They might not have the flashiest marketing pitches or offer unbelievable discounts, but they are highly conservative, carefully selected properties chosen only after we vetoed the vast majority of projects on the market.

Ultimately, if you are buying property in Greece for immigration purposes, the goal is securing your legal status, not necessarily making high financial returns. Our strict compliance ensures your primary goal is met safely. Our Greece Program Manager is Summer. Years ago, in a very cinematic moment, she told me, "The world is big, and I want to see it. I am leaving the company." I wished her the best, assuming it was a standard polite farewell. To my surprise, a couple of years later, she returned and said, "Henry, I didn't lie. I said if I ever came back to this industry, I would return here." I thanked her, as she was the first person to actually follow through on that promise.

Cyprus, on the other hand, is a program that is frequently overlooked. I am personally very fond of Paphos; I own property there and have many fond memories of the hotel beaches, sailing, and enjoying seafood and beer at the coastal restaurants. The investment requirement is €300,000. Because this program isn't overly hyped, the real estate prices are not artificially inflated. Cyprus is a small country, and the developer landscape is transparent—we know exactly who the reputable builders are. For €300,000, you can purchase an excellent property, or even have one custom-built. Cyprus is exceptionally safe, has a high level of English proficiency, and is geographically close to Greece. I often visit Cyprus when I travel to Greece; it is truly an underrated destination. If this aligns with your preferences, I highly recommend exploring it and selecting a property there.

Dubai (UAE): A Market I Concede To

Dubai offers a residency-by-investment program for property purchases of 2 million AED (approximately $550,000 USD). The Dubai real estate market is booming, but to be transparent, our company's market share here hasn't been the highest, and I accept that. When our performance in Turkey or Greece dips, I don't concede, because I know our product is superior—we just refuse to sell non-compliant projects or mislead clients. Dubai is different. Our main competitors there are the local developers themselves. They are highly professional in real estate sales and frequently travel globally to market directly to international investors, including those in China. I have no complaints about losing real estate market share to them. In fact, clients can perfectly well buy property directly from these developers and then hire us solely to handle the immigration paperwork.

I have never actually told this to our Dubai Program Manager, Laura. Usually, my conversations with her go like this: "Look at our Dubai sales—why are we underperforming? We have a massive presence there, a diverse international team speaking Mandarin, Russian, Turkish, Arabic, and English, premium offices, and great local performance in other areas. Why?" Laura always promises to work harder. But the unspoken truth is that Dubai is a highly mature real estate market, and professional real estate firms should be outperforming us in property sales. Our core expertise is immigration law. In places like Greece, where the laws involving commercial-to-residential conversions or heritage building renovations are complex, it's not just an open real estate market—our legal expertise is critical. But Dubai is a straightforward, open real estate market, so it makes sense that developers lead the way there.

Malaysia: MM2H Program

Malaysia’s program simply requires a property purchase ranging from 500,000 to 2 million MYR (approximately 1 million to 3 million RMB). A 1-million RMB investment grants a 5-year visa, while a 3-million RMB investment grants a 20-year visa with work rights. Our Malaysia Program Manager is Andrea, based in Dalian. In a previous video where I reviewed five countries, I highly recommended Malaysia, which helped her sign several new clients. (I don't owe her any favors, but the program genuinely stands on its own merits and is a solid choice!)

The Final Program: South Korea

South Korea offers a Permanent Residency program for an investment of 1 billion KRW. The number sounds intimidating, but it equates to roughly $600,000 USD. This also involves completed, ready-to-move-in properties. Almost all qualifying real estate is located near Jeju Island. It is a fully open market, allowing you to easily compare property prices. The only drawback is that the property cannot be rented out for the first five years, meaning you will not generate rental income during that period. This is an important factor to consider.

Our South Korea Program Manager is Eason, one of our rare male executives. He often builds his personal brand around his loyalty, frequently mentioning that he has been married to his first wife for 19 years. (I’ve been married to mine for 21 years, so I still have him beat!) The reason I bring up Eason is that most Korean property purchases require an on-site visit to Jeju Island, accompanied by our staff. I tend to be talkative in videos when discussing business logic, but in actual company operations, I am very concise and to the point. Eason, however, is incredibly detail-oriented. A meeting I would finish in one hour takes him four. But this is exactly what makes him excellent for clients. If you choose the South Korea program, he will guide you through every single detail—down to how to order food delivery in Korea. I tend to focus on the macro, analytical framework, but he handles the practical nuances perfectly.

I’ve known him for years and have been thinking about how to help him promote this program. Honestly, the program itself is excellent, he is a great person, his team is solid, and their service is enthusiastic. Eason is professional, highly knowledgeable about Korea, dedicated, and possesses an incredibly strong sense of compliance. On a personal note, he has two daughters—something I am genuinely envious of, as I think that brings immense happiness. In that regard, he is definitely more successful than me! In short, if you are looking to obtain permanent residency in South Korea, you must talk to Eason.

That concludes today's session. If you are interested in fully compliant property-based immigration programs, please feel free to leave a message. Thank you.