Immigration with a family

“What are the world’s Best countries to consider to immigrate for a family with children?” That’s a question we get quite often here at Flag Theory group – as entrepreneurs and investors often have families who they want to bring with them during an immigration process, ensuring that their children too have a 2nd passport.

It’s an admirable goal – to provide your sons and daughters with a prospect of a better life. One of the best ways to do this is through a new residency or citizenship. By moving your self and your family to a better place, you can ensure safety, education, and a future that is brighter.

There are many different countries around the world where you can get residency, permanent residency, or a 2nd passport. You can view the options side by side at passports.io.

However, when you are immigrating with dependents and a spouse, several factors including education and safety an effect where is the best place to immigrate. For this reason, we put together a list of 5 countries to consider.

Singapore

Singapore is the safest place in the world. Do you need any other reason than that? The government ensures a safe and productive working environment but isn’t overbearing. When it comes to education, Singaporeans routinely score the best in the world, and your children are guaranteed a multicultural upbringing – with a public school system can prepare your children in both English and Chinese. It’s hard to find a more international country to live in, where your children will be prepared for the global rise of Asia. There are several routes to obtain immigration documents in Singapore – but the Entrepass is one I’ve gone through personally and can recommend. The Singapore government does a fantastic job of fostering innovation through various incentives, schemes, and backing. These reasons and more are why American investor Jim Rogers moved himself and his whole family here, and part of what we talked about when we sat down to talk a few years ago.

New Zealand

New Zealand has 4 very attractive programs for entrepreneurs and investors who are able to relocate or start a business. For those who want to run an active business and are able to employ a few local

Kiwi, you can apply under the entrepreneur or entrepreneur + schemes which mandate the business is active and provides some benefit to society in New Zealand. For those who prefer to make a passive investment (in real estate or a farm, for instance) you could apply under their investor and investor + schemes which start at about 2M and go up from there. Under this scheme, you couldn’t make your investment your primary residence, but it is fairly flexible when it comes to investment in land/farms. This is partly why there has been a huge influx of Chinese money pouring into New Zealand farming. New Zealand is about as safe as it gets, and the most dangerous thing your children might encounter is an angry sheep.
See more at FlagTheory.com/NZ

The Caribbean

Antigua, St Lucia, Dominica, Grenada, and St. Kitts all have citizenship through investment schemes. While the Caribbean might not be the safest place in the world, overall it’s pretty mild. The interesting play here is for teenage children. If you were to acquire a citizenship for them, they would be a CARICOM citizen and eligible for university stands out. There is for instance world class veterinary schools on St. Kitts, and many different American college students go post grad here. Furthermore, there is free movement for college graduates meaning they can work anywhere in the region (or most places in the world for that matter, where the certificates are recognized) For the right age group, this could be an investment in a passports AND college education that easily pays for itself.

Quick Comparison of Education in Caribbean Vs. USA

Let’s say you have teenagers who want to be doctors or veterinarians and practice medicine in the US or Canada. They will need to have a degree from only a specific number of schools (either in the US, Canada – or notably, the Caribbean). What is the cost to put a child through school in the US compared to the Caribbean?

To compile the chart below, we took averages from a 4-year private university in the US and 4 year private medical school, both completely standard for an aspiring doctor.

US education*

*Ability to practice in All 50 states and Canada.

Caribbean Education*

*Ability to practice in All 50 states and Canada.

Now factor in that there are many schools that your children can attend at almost no cost (once they are citizens of the Caricom) and you’ll end up paying some book fees – but otherwise the education could be free. Even if you were forced to pay the full amount, it is an average of $11,000 a year, less than 1/4 the cost of the American equivalent. That $500,000 investment in real estate while your child attends medical school (and you lie on the beach) starts to seem a lot easier.

Panama

Panama is the safest country in central America, and their friendly nations visa allows the main applicant to attach a spouse and defendants to the application for small additional fee of just a few thousand dollars. Your kids are pretty much guaranteed to become fluent in Spanish, and there are many international schools in Panama city. However, the countryside is what I would also recommend, as part of your qualification for permanent residency includes either an investment in a business ($10,000) capitalization, or real estate ($80,000). It’s a fairly simple process. Simply obtain police records (or FBI check if you are American) in your home country and get it apostilled at a Panamanian consulate or embassy. This is the only step you’ll need to do outside the country of Panama, we’ll handle the rest of the forms for you, and setup the various meetings you’ll need. Contact us now.

Malta

Located as a group of Islands in Southern Europe, Malta is a Mediterranean destination that allows for citizenship by investment, meaning you can instantly qualify for a Maltese passport. If you have parents or grandparents you’d also like to immigrate with, Malta is perhaps the best country to look at, as there are specific provisions which allow for an applicant to attach up to 2 generations of dependents. This means that mom, dad, and even grandpa can move to Malta. The Malta scheme is a recent development (we covered it first here) and we also offer Malta citizenship through investment.