What makes a person search for a new home? People pursue citizenship or residency by investment (RCBI) for many reasons: taxes, better jobs, nicer climate, or proximity to family. But one of the less advertised reasons has an even bigger impact: War. The increased tension and conflict around the globe has led many people to look for a new home country–but not just for the reasons one may think! Lauded migration expert Dr. Kristin Surak sits down with Mona and Mark for a fascinating discussion on the impact of global conflict on global investment migration–and yes, that includes EB-5.
“I had dinner over the weekend with a friend of mine who is a Russian citizen. She’s been very successful at a major American tech company, and she’s decided to get a second passport or second citizenship because she’s faced so many difficulties because she’s Russian. And she left the country right as the war broke out. She didn’t want to have any part of it. She’s been almost cut off from her family, who are upset at her for, you know, having left in all this. But she didn’t want to be any part of that system. But still, the impact of the stigma against any Russian is falling on her. And she found it really difficult to carry out her work to even just travel. And so, she actually looked at her citizenship options and diversified.” – Kristin Surak

Kristin Surak
Kristin Surak is Associate Professor of Political Sociology at the London School of Economics and the author of The Golden Passport: Global Mobility for Millionaires (Harvard University Press 2023). Her book has been covered by NPR, the BBC, Foreign Affairs, and media outlets in two dozen countries. She is a leading expert on elite mobility, international migration, nationalism, and Japanese politics, whose research has been translated into over ten languages. In addition to publishing in major academic and intellectual journals, she also writes regularly for popular outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and the Guardian.

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