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Bayat Legal Services - Citizenship by Investment: A multi-function tool

Sam Bayat, Founder of Bayat Legal Services, a boutique law firm established in 1993, lets us better understand the strokes that are shaping the immigration industry.

As the world transitions to a new way of life and business, the need to be in a place that is safe, liveable and progressive begins to take a front seat.

"The people living in our area, I think, we are privileged because we live in a fantastic work environment; there's no taxes, personal or corporate. We really enjoy being here, especially the ones who are doing well But, many living here and who are well established want to continue their migration, as they don't want to return to their countries of origin, and therefore moving to a western country is their only alternative. However, to migrate to the West is a long and tedious journey.
"Attaining the right residency visa, settling and accumulating the mandatory days to apply for citizenship will take many years. To acquire most Western countries' citizenship is labourious and will need years of dedication. For those who don't want to leave now, economic citizenship programmes or citizenship by investment programmes (CBI) are fast, passive and efficient to obtain an alternative or a second nationality," Bayat says, adding, "Many of our clients have nationalities that create obstacles in maintaining a competitive business or simply managing ordinary lives. Difficulty in obtaining visas and traveling are the simplest of hurdles our clients face. Being a citizen of certain countries today is a handicap. We help our clients to diminish some or most of these difficulties. For our people in the Middle East and the sub-continent, CBI is very popular because they allow them to quickly eliminate some of the business complications they are facing on a daily basis."

"These programmes are an effective business tool for investors or businessmen. An alternate citizenship is a multi-functional tool because it changes your profile, online or offline. It allows you to travel without difficulty and to better plan your exit strategies, or your plan B," says Pejmun Mohyeddin, Citizenship & Residency Director.  

As the owner of a company obtains a different or favourable nationality, the company will also gain a more favourable corporate profile," according to Bayat. He adds, "These programmes began as a novel idea in the 80s when St Kitts & Nevis popularised the CBI concept. Today, it's mostly small countries that have integrated CBIs into their economic modus operandi. But in the last 10 years, European countries are also adopting CBIs as an alternative scheme to attract foreign investments. You'd be surprised to know that Egypt and Jordan have also embarked on this adventure as well as the Far Eastern countries. Vanuatu has an active programme, has excellent attributes (access or visa-free) and its "very open".

Some of the African countries had similar programmes - Comoros started a programme and sold a lot of their citizenship to Bidoons (without nationality in Arabic) in the GCC countries. African countries are not really successful in promoting their citizenship because they don't have the access to different places or the liveability factor. In my mind, European programmes have the upper hand over other CBIs as these applicants are also becoming EU citizens allowing them to live anywhere in EU. The 'liveability factor' is not much reflected or deliberated by our industry consultants or by many applicants. Turkey has become extremely popular with 18 to 20 thousand applications per year for their citizenship programme and this is most probably because of the liveability factor."
Speaking about the benefits, Bayat pointed out that "CBI are passive and they do not require applicants to be actively engaging in the programme nor the application process. Unlike, for example when migrating to Canada, where you need to apply for the permanent residency, wait a year or even up to three, four years to get the residency visa. Then moving and residing in Canada for a minimum of three years, where you must show you actually slept at least three years on Canadian soil, pay your taxes and only then can you apply for the citizenship. This process also takes time, a minimum of six months to maybe a year or two. That is a lot of time, effort and it's just for your small family unit. Your adult children, siblings and parents will not immediately or ever benefit from your newly acquired Canadian citizenship. However, if you go through a CBI, either European or Caribbean, you will not be required to invest too much time and effort. It takes a couple of months to process your application and your adult children, siblings, parents and grandparents can be included in your economic citizenship application. CBI application process are not very difficult to start and obtain the desired objectives, a new citizenship/passport and the freedom to change your profile and roam the world."

The options to find a place that you can call home are nearly endless. This is the responsibility of the service providers to adequately guide the people as best as they can. "We at Bayat Group, are always ahead, leading the industry with our knowledge and business expertise insuring our clients receive personal, prompt, and high-quality solutions/proposal to full fill their individual, family and business needs. Clients, new or old, may take confidence knowing that they will receive the upmost professional consultancy and legal service, as a matter of tradition."

Since 1993 when he established his law firm in UAE, Sam Bayat has been serving the community well. Today, he is giving back by setting up a pro bono legal service to help interested skilled applicants to apply for Canadian immigration.
"We have taken a new office space, approximately 2,000 sq ft, where we will be utilising this space to provide free Canadian legal service, pro bono, to all people interested in migrating to Canada as a skilled worker. We have hired specialists who will be assisting me. With prior reservation and based on certain criteria, we shall maintain an open-door policy where you can come, ask us questions and we'll provide you with all necessary tools needed to apply. My team and I will supervise you as you're filling up the forms and will by your side to answer any questions or concerns. The idea is simple; we want to empower people to make the right decision for their future and in the meantime saving them by hiring unnecessary service providers and spending their hard-earned savings. We have stood strong in the industry as experts and we would like to ensure that you pick the right country as your home," concludes Bayat.

Canadian legal services - Pro Bono

I'm thrilled to be a part of this new venture Sam Bayat has started. I was quite surprised when I heard from a friend that Bayat Legal Services is looking for an experienced immigration case processer. This position was to embark on their 'Pro Bono' service/project for the Canada Federal Skilled Worker programme. With my best interest, right away, I made an appointment with Bayat, and was able to meet him personally and discuss the plan of action for his new venture and his main objective. His plan and vision is to offer free legal advice to people interested in partaking in Canada immigration programme. Bayat set it up where people can come and consult with specialists. I was ecstatic and inspired, eager to be part of this exciting initiative. I saw his vision and his intentions to give back to the community. This is a way to help people mould their stepping stone and aspire their dreams to migrate to Canada. It was meant to be!

Bayat's new office for the sole purpose of this endeavour is huge. Doors are open to anyone who wishes to settle in Canada, aspiring for a better life opportunity. Our office is fully equipped with computers, printers, scanning machine, whatever needed is fully provided, free of charge. We will be providing one-on-one consultation and in the near future, we plan on hosting seminars. Furthermore, our office will provide a free assessment, assistance and legal advice concerning the Canada Federal Skilled Worker programme; guidance to requirements such as educational assessment credential application, language proficiency test, etc. We also hope in the future to take on student visas, pro bono.

We are driven by our mission to offer reliable advice, an enhanced and well-defined understanding of the Canadian visa and immigration application process. Who better to guide than a Canadian law firm, successfully sending over thousands skilled workers. We welcome individuals who wish to start their dreams and plan to migrate to Canada, with no commitment at all.