The people of Hong Kong are desperate for second citizenship
What will be the future of Hong Kong after the 2019 protests? Nobody knows yet for sure. Definitely, China will have the final say though. The residents of Hong Kong however need a backup option should things deteriorate further – they need second citizenship. The amount of inquiries for Bulgarian citizenship by investment has skyrocketed since the start of the protests. We remind everyone that Bulgaria, Cyprus and Malta are the only 3 EU countries to provide citizen by investment programs. At the same time, both Malta and Cyprus have become extremely expensive and even after paying the huge government fees, the amount of rejections on state level is mind-blowing. Bulgaria is therefore, the only affordable EU citizenship that can be obtained fast – for 100% guaranteed investment.
The scammers in Hong Kong
Unfortunately, the scammers are never too late. When the demand for alternative citizenship picked up a few months ago, the scammers joined the show without delay.
We have been receiving an alarming amount of reports from residents of Hong Kong about illegal offerings for legal assistance for Bulgarian citizenship applications. Most of these are originating from “agents” who are based in Hong Kong, claiming to be legally authorized to assist HK citizens in front of the Bulgarian institutions.
We urge everybody to be extremely cautious, especially when being offered, or told, any of the following:
- the option to invest in anything else than Bulgarian government bonds (i.e. Eurobonds) or Bulgarian publicly traded shares. While the investment for the citizenship can be also made in some other assets, these are extremely rarely utilized and if offered, chances are 99% that it is a scam. Be extremely cautious if you are ever offered any sort of “Special Purpose Vehicles” – these are terms, used very often by the scammers.
- the option to transfer the investment to a third party. We remind everyone – the investment will always stay on your own account and will be never transferred to anyone else. If you are offered similar arrangements, then this is 100% scam and should be reported to the authorities immediately.
- the option to invest less than 1 024 000 EUR (or less than 512 000 EUR for the semi-fast-track program) by leveraging the amount through participation in some tricky financial schemes. We have heard many times of “agents” offering their own investment funds, insurance policies, foundations, clubs, etc. This is 100% scam, report it immediately.
- if the “agent” tells you about his good connections with the Bulgarian authorities, or his business relations with Bulgarian lawyer(s). Not immediately a scam signal, but a red light for certain. Ask for proof and use your common sense.
- if you are offered the so called “financed option”. While, if utilized with enormous legal compliance as paramount, this is very often a fraudulent offering. Stay on alert if you are being offered that.
- if you are promised full refund of your legal fees. This is illegal. Be warned, either the person doesn’t know the Bulgarian laws or he is a scam.
- Real estate investments. These are in theory possible, but the required legal knowledge to utilize this opportunity is available only to a couple of legal companies in Bulgaria. And for certain we don’t promote this opportunity so if you are being offered to invest in real estate – it most probably is a scam.
The above list only covers a small portion of the inventions of the scammers in HK. We are keeping constant contacts with the Bulgarian authorities and if you have become a victim of a scam, or need assistance in reporting such, please contact us through the form below: