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It’s noticeable that the world as we know it has become more and more globalised and there is a great need for freedom of travel and an even greater need for easy access to different countries. Hence the rise and demand for investment by citizenship programs and golden passport programs.

These programs have been designed for many purposes, one of them being to bring significant revenue to governments and increase the economy of a country.

Golden Passport and Citizenship programs for high profile individuals

Who is interested in such programs? Due to the high cost of these programs presently, mostly wealthy families or super rich and high profile individuals would be interested in spending their money on such a high priced golden passport.

A recent study reveals that, a staggering 90 percent of individuals would like to own a second passport and almost 35 percent of those have already looked into investing in citizenship programs. Moreover, most of these individuals would be willing to donate a large portion of their salary to actually obtain a second citizenship.

Of course there are valid reasons for these individuals getting hold of a second passport and it’s not only for pleasure purposes. As mentioned at the start, we live in a globalised world and there are people who want to develop their businesses and organisations and gain international influence or begin operations on an international scale. For this reason, there are at least two dozen countries globally and more than 15 of those countries are in Europe and they all offer a Golden passport program.

European countries that offer a Golden Passport programs

So to understand the basic procedure, European governments will issue or grant you citizenship rights if you invest in business, real estate or government bonds of a particular country or nation. Obviously each country will differ from the next including the price of each nations program, but the main selling points of each EU member state are tax advantages, access to the EU’s single market, social services, legal system and of course freedom of movement. Due to these advantages, there is a lot of demand.

Below we will reveal 7 European countries that offer Golden Passport programs, each with their own attributes starting with:

Belgium

Belgium offers what we call an investor visa program where applications are looked at in detail on a case to case basis. This differs from the usual or traditional way that other European countries offer – a clearly defined set of rules for investor programs which are based on real estate investment. Like most countries, Belgium offers to its applicants the opportunity to gain permanent residence and citizenship after 5 years if are willing to invest a minimum of 350,000 EUR. But one of the requirements to gain citizenship will be to pass a language test in the native tongue which is Dutch, German or French. There will be no requirements to reside in Belgium and you will have access to all Schengen areas.

Cyprus

The Republic of Cyprus has one of the most intriguing but expensive citizenship programs available. With a minimum requirement of 2 million EUR in real estate, you can acquire a Golden Passport. The actual process time takes less than 6 months and this is about the same for most European countries. By investing in Cyprus you will not be required to become a citizen without passing certain language exams either. You will have the right to a visa-free entry into more than 150 countries globally. Additionally, Cyprus citizens will have the right to live, study or work in the EU and other countries of the European Economic Area. Finally, you do not need to reside in the country once you have registered all the documents.

Greece

This is one of the cheapest residency programs in Europe. Acquiring a Golden passport with Greece will require an investment in a Greek property of 250,000 EUR. Upon receiving residency in Greece, you will automatically become an EU resident not just a Greek resident. Greece is also part of the Schengen zone of Europe so the possibility to move freely within Europe will be granted. You can receive your permanent residency within two months of applying and finally, due to the recently voted amendments of Citizenship Code, the years fulfilled by Golden visa are taken into consideration, so after 7 years, you can apply for the Greek passport.

Portugal

The Portugal Golden passport program is one of the most popular programs in Europe due to some of its existing perks and benefits. An investment of 350,000 EUR in real estate or 250,000 in businesses will grant you a residency permit for a family including dependent children which can be renewed every two years providing the person applying spends two weeks in Portugal every two years. The applicant can apply for permanent residency after 5 years and citizenship after 6 without the necessary need to stay in Portugal.

United Kingdom

A program called the UK Tier 1 Investor Visa is a fast and secure way to obtain UK residency in 10 weeks. It’s the best option for investors who would like to secure UK citizenship by investment. The program requires at least 2 million GBP in load capital in active UK registered companies or share capital or government bonds. You will be allowed to reside in the UK for up to 3 years and 4 months and then apply for an additional 2 years and once this time is over, you can obtain an Indefinite Leave to Remain after a total of 5 years. Finally, after 6 years in total in the UK, you can apply for a citizenship.

Switzerland

Switzerland – one of the wealthiest countries in Europe – offers residence to individuals who invest in the country under business investment turnover of no less than 1,000,000 Swiss francs. Non-EU nationals can also qualify for residence permit upon starting a new business in the country with a minimum turnover of at least 1 million Swiss francs. The process will usually take around 3 months and the permit will be issued for 2 years with additional renewals later. After 10 years of living in Switzerland you can apply for a permanent residency. Citizenship can be acquired after 12 years of uninterrupted living in the country.

Conclusion

So we have taken a brief look at 7 of Europes countries that offer Golden Passports via their program’s requirements and some of the benefits that come with each one. Yes some of them are more pricey than others but as the cost of a Golden passport or Citizenship goes up, the advantages increase too in some cases. There are indeed more countries in Europe that offer their own unique programs and we encourage you to check them out.

If you are interested in any of these programs, be sure to do your due diligence or contact us here at Unity Central to find the program that suits your needs.

The Problem

We live in an age and society where energy is a necessity to maintain and preserve our lifestyle, but it goes beyond the basics of providing comfort and convenience. If you remember the last time you had a power cut in your home, business or town, you will understand the reality of life without energy. That’s when you know that everything you depend on does not work.

Saving energy is very important, especially now. But why? Resources are getting harder to gather and commodities are becoming rarer and expensive, so what does energy saving mean? Well, it means you waste less money, you waste less primary fuels like gas, oil or uranium and lastly, it means producing less pollution.

People believe that there is an abundance of energy but the fact of the matter is, energy is a limited resource. It should be recognized that it’s limited by what we can afford, the basis needed to produce and distribute it and availability of raw materials. So reducing the amount that each individual consumes, can address the issues aforementioned.

The Solution

This is where the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) comes into play. This Directive was put in to place since the 4th December 2012, to improve energy efficiency in the European Union. The EED established a common framework of measures across Member States to ensure they reach 20% more energy efficiency by the year 2020 and 30% more by the year 2030, and also to continue improving energy efficiency from there on. The EED was designed to remove market blockades and failures, and promote more efficient energy usage in supply and demand side applications. The Directive requires all EU countries to use energy efficiently at all levels, from production to final consumption.

EED Measures and Policy

• distributors of energy must achieve 1.5% energy savings per year through implementation of the energy efficiency measures
• countries within the EU can choose to achieve similar levels of saving energy via other means, whether it be improving the efficiency of cooling or heating systems, ventilation systems or reduction of lighting loads
• the public sector within the EU should acquire efficient building and services
• on a yearly basis, governments within the EU must carry out renovations for energy efficiency of at least 3%, on each floor of the building or structure they occupy
• energy consumers should have better management of consumption. They should have free and easy access to data though individual metering
• national incentives for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) should undergo energy audits
• larger enterprises must make audits of energy consumption to help identify ways to reduce it further
• efficiency levels must be monitored in new energy generation capacities

Article 8 of the Directive

Article 8 of the Directive sets out the requirements for the 28 EU member states to promote the availability of energy audits to all final energy users including SMEs and non-SMEs. Article 8 is a table of requirements implemented within the EED to be fully met and enterprises or individuals must comply. If the EU member states do not fulfil the Directives minimum requirements stated in Article 8 of the Directive by December 2019, then fines up to €1 million will be issued. All 28 countries have their own specific audit requirements, often only available in local language, which makes reaching compliance complex.
Help is given to officials in each of the 28 EU member states to implement the Energy Efficiency Directive by providing them with published guidance notes that can be found on the official site.

Setting up a new business and choosing a brand for your business can be daunting but let’s face the facts, this happens on a daily basis. Every year, over 660,000 new businesses start up in the United Kingdom alone and over 540,000 in the United States. It’s also good to know that some of these new businesses operate successfully and profit from the get go and others simply fail.

Starting up your business will definitely involve many tasks, so having a working plan or a roadmap and sticking to it is very important. The following factors should be taken into consideration for the successful start-up of your business.

Business Plan and Idea

An important factor in starting up your business is the plan and overall idea. Initially, a good business plan begins with careful and mature thinking of your idea and ensuring its achievability. A good understanding of the type of commitments that will be involved when you run your business must be thought of very carefully. Writing out different possible forecasts and market strategies is an effective way to give focus on the ultimate vision. Planning your business also involves understanding business assumptions like how many customers or clients you will need, what your prices will be, how much your business will grow and where it will go from there. Think about the industry you will hit, what audience you will target or follow and of course recognize all competition in the industry. Always ask yourself questions, even if they are negative ones, and never overlook the exit strategy in the beginning, because that also is an option.

Assess the Situation and Research the Market

As mention before, questions should be asked constantly prior to starting up a business and this is where assessment falls into place. You must carefully consider whether you are ready to start a business. Starting up requires hard work and resilience because it will be time consuming, so serious thinking is required and in the process you must be realistic about your situation. Furthermore, research is also very important when it comes to understanding your target industry and competitors. Once you understand these factors, you will know how to set up your business structure, pricing and all resources. Gather information from a targeted audience to test if your business idea is appealing. Create a survey or questionnaire that potential customers can fill and understand what they want or don’t want. Research competitors too by discovering their flaws or any gaps that they have not filled. Understand that it’s a great battle once you decide to start a business and it’s a difficult one too. A famous military strategist and philosopher once said, ‘Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories’, and in this case if you hope to be successful in the targeted market you will need to know how to deal with your competitors.

Fear of Failure and Accept Advice

Businesses can be very stressful and can cause panic, but the thought of failing must not stop you from moving forward, after all the greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure. When one fails, he learns and gains experience, so accept it and make up for it. What can help you on your path to success is the help of experienced individuals from Unity Central. Knowledge is power and wisdom is greater, so accept advice, remain open minded and gain insight from these ones and they in turn can guarantee that the odds of success will be in your favor.

Unity Central will be there all the way, to guide and assist you with corporate, financial, consultation and many more services.