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There, where we have

01.07.2008
Author: Peter CHERNOV
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There is a myth among "novice" buyers of foreign real estate that the very fact of such a purchase opens a direct path to "settle down" in the chosen country at any convenient moment. But is this really the case, and does the owner of the house always really need a second citizenship or at least a residence permit? In this issue, we will talk about how buying real estate helps solve visa problems, and in the next issue of the magazine we will talk about those who decided to go abroad seriously and for a long time.
Earn at home, spend abroad
In the 1990s, another wave of emigration from Russia began: millions of our fellow citizens left the former USSR. Many of them have already managed to buy housing abroad, but it is hardly appropriate to talk about them as buyers of foreign real estate. As for Russians permanently residing in their homeland, according to experts, only a small proportion of buyers of real estate abroad move there for permanent residence.
They are mostly very wealthy businessmen whose business does not require permanent residence in Russia. There is also a small category of buyers who relocate elderly parents abroad (sometimes with grandchildren), and they themselves periodically visit there. But most of them still limit themselves to not very long visits to their foreign home. Depending on the mode of use of the property, its owner chooses the most suitable status for himself. Most often, he receives a regular multiple–entry or business visa, sometimes a residence permit, and much less often a second or even a new citizenship.
According to Tatiana Bulakh, an independent consultant on personal wealth management, a full member of the International Tax Planning Association (ITPA), most of our citizens either buy real estate abroad for recreation, or consider it as an investment in which they can combine business with pleasure.
If we use the example of a large real estate agency to assess the "status" preferences of clients, it becomes obvious that naturalization is not interesting for most. For example, according to the BEST-Real Estate company, most buyers prefer to earn money in Russia, so they do not need a long-term stay in the country of purchase of real estate (more than six months). Since a residence permit just implies a long stay in the country, most are limited to having a multiple-entry annual visa with a six-month stay without the right to work. The logic here is simple: it is assumed that a person who is of working age should earn money for at least six months in order to spend the remaining six months in the country of purchase of real estate.

Is the visa in your pocket?
Realtors often assure their clients that owning real estate abroad removes all problems with obtaining visas. There is only a grain of truth in this statement. "Buying real estate in another country is an additional advantage when applying for a visa," says Yulia Titova, head of the Foreign real estate department at BEST-Real Estate. – For example, among the documents submitted to the embassy, real estate owners do not need to provide a hotel reservation – instead, it is enough to show copies of property documents. The consulate has no doubts about where the person will live." However, you should not think that property owners receive another visa "automatically", so you should not relax too much. The risk of refusal to obtain a visa for persons who own real estate, but are considered undesirable by some criteria, is higher in the USA, EU countries, Switzerland, Tatyana Bulakh believes. However, you can dispose of real estate, including renting it out, without restrictions – by proxy, through a local representative.
Of course, violation of the status of a foreigner, the period of stay, errors in the application form, which are revealed in the immigration service, can lead to refusal to issue a visa, Yulia Titova warns: "For example, if the owner of the property and he is the founder of the company submits to the embassy of one of the European countries for a multiple-entry business visa, but does not own If the information about the submitted package of documents is "floating" at the interview, then the probability of refusal is quite high."
Visa support, which is provided by serious real estate agencies, in particular includes such a service as preparing for an interview at the embassy. Naturally, any distortion of facts in documents or in conversation is unacceptable. For example, embassies are very attentive to the presence of previous convictions. Even if the owner of the property is refused entry to the country for some reason, this in no way deprives him of his rights to real estate (of course, except in cases of confiscation by court decision for committing a crime). As a last resort, the property can be sold without leaving Russia. To do this, you need to issue a power of attorney for a lawyer. But, of course, if the buyer of the property is an honest person who respects the status of a foreigner and the laws of his own and other countries, then he will not have to be afraid of problems with a visa.

Come and spend it!
Anyway, owning real estate in the country makes it easier to get a visa. "In general, any country is interested in foreign tourists staying on its territory, buying assets from the local population, paying taxes on these assets to the local treasury," says Tatyana Bulakh. "It certainly helps if the country has an immigration program for wealthy people and the purchase is not made at random, but is part of the immigration process for this particular program." There is another subtle aspect: although buying a property usually makes it easier to obtain a visa, but the visa is given in such a way that the owner of the property cannot physically stay in the country for as long as it will be enough to start the naturalization process according to local laws.
Moreover, sometimes the embassy may refuse a visa precisely on the basis that the applicant has purchased real estate in the country, in their opinion, for permanent residence on an illegal basis. Hence, a very important practical advice: at the embassy, even when obtaining a visa on the basis of real estate ownership, it is not recommended to give grounds to suspect that you acquired it for the purpose of subsequent immigration. Otherwise, you are guaranteed to complicate your life. Your goal should be a vacation, accompanied by an active spending of money in the country where your property is located and paying taxes on it, otherwise you are an undesirable person.

Not only to relax, but also to live
If a person wants to spend a significant part of their time abroad every year, then they can start thinking about naturalization. Some people think that this means getting citizenship. In fact, it is enough for most people to obtain a residence permit (residence permit). From a practical point of view, citizenship differs in that it gives the right to vote in elections and removes strict requirements on the length of stay in the country for a certain period each year. The passport of a Western European country also gives the right to visa–free visits to the USA, Canada and a number of other countries - just like we recently had with Cyprus or Bulgaria, and will soon have with Israel. There is a certain "status paradox" – in the absence of a residence permit in most countries, there is a maximum period of stay in the country for a year, which cannot be exceeded, and the holder of a residence permit, on the contrary, needs to spend a very long time in the country every year or periodically enter there. But there are also disadvantages to this process: in many countries, the tax burden increases. All these nuances must be weighed when choosing the desired status.
"As for naturalization, the situation varies depending on the country," says Yulia Titova. – If we are talking about civilized countries, the position of government agencies in relation to visitors looks similar. Wealthy foreigners are welcome everywhere, as potential users of services and buyers of goods with money earned outside the country. As a rule, naturalization is associated with the availability of not only real estate, but also means of living. Usually, foreigners are given the opportunity to live without the right to work, protecting jobs for citizens of the country. But a foreigner who opens a company is considered as a person who creates jobs for local citizens and supports the state's economy by paying taxes. If at the same time he has real estate, he may well apply for a residence permit. Naturally, the situation varies depending on the specific State.

The poor and lazy have enough of their own
In the matter of naturalization, it is important to determine priorities: what is more important for you – to "settle in the country" or just buy a house there. "Very often our desperate and very decent people hope to buy the cheapest real estate abroad in order to start a new life as an immigrant," says Tatiana Bulakh, "but, unfortunately, in addition to buying a home, it is necessary to demonstrate the presence of such significant funds in a bank account that, having them, you can safely stay at home, and not to seek happiness abroad. Therefore, when answering the question whether buying real estate will facilitate the naturalization process, it is necessary to determine your status: investor, refugee, qualified specialist, do I have foreigners among my immediate ancestors?"
In any case, it is important to have a clear picture of the immigration realities of a particular country. Alas, our citizens often do not have enough of this. "Sometimes it seems that some of our compatriots, after watching how famously guests from the republics of the former USSR settle in Moscow, mistakenly believe that they can do the same abroad if they show remarkable pressure," Tatyana Bulakh shares her observations. – However, fortunately for citizens of prosperous countries, their rights are considered much more than the Russian state considers ours. Wealthy immigrants do not take over their slums with the help of local officials, but, on the contrary, give jobs to the localto the population, they pay taxes in the public interest. The rest, people who are not of interest for replenishing the country's budget or glorifying it, are trying to drive them into some kind of framework in advance, which will not give the applicant a real opportunity to apply for naturalization. A curious and atypical exception to the rule are some of our London residents, who are both political refugees and wealthy investors who own expensive real estate." However, big politics is already coming into play here, and this is a delicate matter.

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