Sovereign advisory

Investor programmes designed
to withstand scrutiny.

We advise states on the full lifecycle of residence and citizenship by investment: whether to launch, how to legislate, who to admit, and how to defend the programme once it succeeds.
9
Sovereign mandates
3
Programmes designed from statute
US$2.4bn
Programme receipts advised on
0
Advised programmes suspended

Workstreams

Six workstreams, from feasibility to reputational defence.

Mandates are typically staged, with a decision gate at the end of feasibility. We have advised states not to proceed, and consider that advice part of the service.
01

Feasibility and positioning

Market sizing, competitor pricing analysis and an honest assessment of whether a programme is viable given the passport's current standing and the state's administrative capacity.

02

Legislation and regulation

Drafting support for primary legislation and statutory instruments, structured so that the programme survives changes of government rather than depending on ministerial discretion.

03

Due diligence architecture

Tiered vetting design, provider selection, interview protocols and biometric standards benchmarked against the expectations of the European Commission and major visa-granting states.

04

Pricing and fund governance

Threshold setting, family tier structures and the ring-fencing of receipts, with reporting that withstands audit and public scrutiny.

05

Agent network and training

Authorisation criteria, conduct rules, monitoring and the enforcement mechanisms that keep the distribution network aligned with the state's interests.

06

Reputational stewardship

Ongoing engagement with partner states, transparency reporting and crisis protocols for the moment a single applicant becomes a headline.

What we have learned

Three findings we bring to every sovereign mandate.

Programmes fail on governance, not on price

In every case we have reviewed where visa-free access was withdrawn or suspended, the trigger was a vetting failure or an opacity in fund reporting, not the size of the contribution.

Capacity must precede launch

A state that cannot process, interview and monitor at volume should launch small and grow. The alternative is a backlog that becomes a diplomatic problem.

Revenue should be visible

Published receipts and audited allocation are the cheapest reputational insurance a programme can buy, and the first thing partner states ask to see.

Sovereign enquiries

Engagements begin with a confidential feasibility conversation.

Enquiries from ministries, agencies and state-owned entities are handled directly by the partners of the firm.

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Direct lines

London office

+44 20 3901 7742