IMGW.news Editor-in-Chief Leads Paris Investment Migration Forum Panel

An IMGlobalWealth.com News Report

IMGW.news Editor-in-Chief Ray de Bono led a one-hour panel discussion at the Investment Migration Forum 2026 in Paris, exploring how migration, mobility and investment are being reshaped by geopolitics, regulation, due diligence and changing client expectations.

Held on Thursday, 11 June, the session was titled “IM Without Borders: Trends, Risks, and Opportunities” and formed part of this year’s Investment Migration Forum, which took place from 9 to 12 June 2026 at Le Méridien Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

Widely regarded as the “Davos of Investment Migration”, the Forum typically brings together around 300 participants from some 40 countries, including governments, private-sector leaders, B2B and B2C professionals, advisers to ultra-high-net-worth individuals, academics, international organisations, lawyers, due diligence specialists, wealth managers and other stakeholders active in global mobility.

Opening the discussion, de Bono placed investment migration within a much longer human story. He referred to Lucy, the famous Australopithecus afarensis fossil discovered in Ethiopia, and to Ötzi the Iceman, whose remains were found in the Alps between Austria and Italy. Both examples, he noted, point to a simple truth: human movement is not a modern invention. From the earliest search for food, water and survival to today’s search for security, opportunity and lifestyle, migration has been part of the human condition.

The panel then turned to the modern investment migration landscape. Geovid Kali, Head of Global Sales at Orience in Spain, discussed Spain’s continued appeal after the closure of its golden visa route. He pointed to alternative residency options, including passive-income structures starting from lower investment levels, offering family residency, Schengen mobility and a potential long-term route to citizenship, together with the allure of a relaxed yet sophisticated Mediterranean-European lifestyle.

Ali Fouladi, Co-Founder and Managing Director of iLand in Greece, focused on Greece’s strong real-estate proposition and the opportunities it continues to offer investors seeking exposure to a resilient European destination. He also addressed the country’s continuing appeal within the wider Eastern Mediterranean investment migration landscape.

“A delegate from the Maldives also raised an important point on the need to present investment migration as a force for good. He underlined that the responsibility to communicate these benefits should not rest only with governments, but also with the agents and advisers marketing such programmes to international clients.”

Alejandra Jiménez Beretta of Hilton Global Associates, based in California, addressed due diligence and shifting US client motivations. She noted that her firm specialises in due diligence, underlining the importance of robust screening, credibility and traceability in the investment migration process. She also observed that, notwithstanding America’s high standard of living, more Americans are exploring European residence and citizenship options as part of broader planning.

Rui Assis-Passos IMCM, Founder of ERG Legal in Portugal, spoke about changing trends in the field, including the move towards alternative investment routes beyond real estate. He highlighted sectors such as biomedicine, agriculture, culture and research as areas where investment migration can support projects that might otherwise require public borrowing or alternative financing.

David Bonnelie of World Talents discussed the challenges of sourcing talent, managing flows and maintaining strong due diligence standards. The discussion also touched on a wider policy tension raised by de Bono: while governments are rightly demanding the highest possible due diligence standards for investor migrants, broader irregular migration flows often involve individuals arriving from jurisdictions where documentation, employment records and criminal-record traceability may be limited. The issue, de Bono noted, is not whether investor scrutiny should be reduced, but whether policymakers fully recognise the discrepancy between the treatment of investors who bring documented capital and economic value, and the far larger migration flows reaching Europe under very different verification conditions.

David Zhaohui Chen of Visas Consulting Group addressed Asia, noting that China’s growing affluent population continues to seek international diversification, new investment territories and greater mobility options.

The session concluded by asking how investment migration should be presented in an era of changing borders and rising scrutiny. de Bono argued that, when properly governed and aligned with national priorities, it can support economic resilience, infrastructure and public services by directing private capital where it is needed.

The discussion also drew strong interest from the floor, with several delegates indicating that they wished to raise questions, although time constraints limited the number of interventions. Among those who contributed was Lisa Chanesman FMIA MIMC MAICD, a global residency and citizenship by investment expert and one of around 300 delegates attending the Forum, who highlighted New Zealand as an attractive Southern Hemisphere example.

A delegate from the Maldives also raised an important point on the need to present investment migration as a force for good. He noted that, for a number of developing countries, particularly in the Caribbean, such programmes have made a significant contribution to foreign direct investment and national revenues, often helping to fund projects that would otherwise require borrowing or alternative sources of finance.

The delegate stressed that these examples deserve greater visibility, especially where investment migration revenues are being channelled into public services, infrastructure, climate resilience or wider social and economic development. He also questioned where such essential funding would otherwise come from, and at what cost.

The intervention underlined that the responsibility to communicate these benefits should not rest only with governments, but also with the agents and advisers marketing such programmes to international clients.

de Bono also pointed to Nauru, where investment migration revenues are being used to support climate adaptation and the country’s Higher Ground Initiative, and to the Prime Creative Arts Centre in St Kitts and Nevis, a public benefit project being realised under the country’s Citizenship by Investment Programme. Both examples showed how investment migration revenues can be channelled towards projects with broader public value.

These examples reinforced the view that investment migration should not be seen only through the lens of mobility or tax planning, but also through its potential contribution to economic development, public finances, climate resilience and local communities.

The discussion ended with a call for governments, advisers and media to communicate these benefits more clearly, while recognising that credibility depends on transparency, robust due diligence and responsible programme design.

IMGW.news is serving as the exclusive media partner of the Investment Migration Forum for the third consecutive year, following previous editions held in Dubai.