According to Relocation, Argentina has officially announced the launch of a citizenship-by-investment program that will allow foreigners to obtain an Argentine passport without going through the standard, multi-year naturalization process. The government plans to begin accepting applications as early as the fourth quarter of 2026.
The program was announced on October 2 during Argentina Week in Paris by Argentine Economy Minister Luis Caputo and Prime Minister Diego Santilli.
The government is offering foreigners two main options for participation.
The first is a non-refundable contribution of $350,000 to the Argentine treasury.
The second is the purchase of a special government bond worth $800,000, which will be issued specifically for program participants. The government has not yet published the detailed terms of this security.
The program allows for the inclusion of family members.
The spouse of the primary applicant, as well as unmarried and childless children between the ages of 18 and 25, will be eligible for citizenship subject to an additional contribution of $100,000 per person.
For a child under the age of 18, the additional contribution will be $25,000.
Thus, a family consisting of two adults and two minor children will be eligible for Argentine citizenship upon making a total non-refundable contribution of $500,000
. One of the program’s key features is that it grants citizenship itself, rather than a residence permit or permanent residency in exchange for investment.
The legal framework for the new program was established back in May 2025, when the government amended Argentina’s citizenship law and created a special Agency for Citizenship-by-Investment Programs. Its mission is to manage such programs and attract foreign capital.
However, it will not be possible to obtain a passport simply by transferring money. The government promises to conduct extensive background checks on applicants.
The origin of funds, the applicant’s financial transparency, and potential risks related to money laundering and terrorist financing will be scrutinized. The authorities state that due diligence procedures will comply with OECD and FATF recommendations. All investments must go through the official financial system.
Another important point for potential participants: the acceptance of applications had not yet begun at the time the program was announced.
The government has announced that the program is scheduled to launch during the fourth quarter of 2026. Therefore, until the final procedures, application forms, review deadlines, and investment bond parameters are published, it is premature to transfer funds or pay for the services of intermediaries who are already promising a guaranteed Argentine passport.
Argentine citizenship is of interest primarily as a tool for international mobility. The country’s passport provides extensive visa-free access, particularly to Schengen Zone countries, and Argentine citizenship opens up additional opportunities for residence and economic activity within South America thanks to the country’s integration into Mercosur.
Before the investment program was introduced, foreigners could obtain Argentine citizenship through the standard naturalization process. The new model creates a separate pathway for wealthy applicants willing to invest significant capital.
Argentina spent over a year preparing the program. In May 2025, a decree by President Javier Milei established the legal framework for obtaining citizenship through investment, and in April 2026, the leadership of a special government agency was appointed. The authorities first announced the official financial terms on October 2.
The Lithuanian government has approved a draft law providing for additional restrictions on the acquisition of real estate by citizens of Russia and Belarus near strategically important facilities, Open4Business reports, citing data from the Lithuanian authorities.
According to a proposal by the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the restrictions should apply to real estate located near military training grounds and other facilities of importance to national security. The draft law materials refer to areas within a radius of up to 10 km from the relevant facilities.
A significant change is that the restrictions are proposed to be extended, among others, to citizens of Russia and Belarus who have a residence permit in Lithuania.
Currently, the country already restricts the right to acquire real estate for Russian citizens who do not have a temporary or permanent residence permit, as well as for legal entities whose beneficial owners are Russian citizens. An exception is provided for receiving real estate through inheritance.
The new draft law should expand the existing restrictions. Similar rules are proposed to be established for citizens of Belarus and legal entities associated with them, while Russians and Belarusians with a residence permit would additionally be restricted from acquiring real estate near facilities important to national security.
The Lithuanian authorities explain the initiative by the risks of hybrid threats, intelligence activities and possible surveillance of strategic infrastructure and military facilities.
The problem is of a fairly significant scale. According to data from Lithuania’s Centre of Registers published in February 2026, Russian citizens owned about 8.7 thousand real estate properties in which they controlled at least 50% of the ownership. Belarusian citizens owned another approximately 4 thousand properties.
Thus, taken together, citizens of the two countries own approximately 12.7 thousand real estate properties in Lithuania.
The highest concentration of such property is in major cities and their suburbs, as well as in border municipalities, including Visaginas and Šalčininkai.
The authorities are paying particular attention to real estate near strategic infrastructure. According to data cited by Lithuanian media with reference to the Centre of Registers, after the start of the full-scale war, 1,845 Russian citizens acquired real estate near airports, as well as within 10 km of military training grounds and power plants, of whom 364 had temporary residence permits.
At the same time, this does not mean a complete closure of the Lithuanian real estate market to all citizens of Russia and Belarus. The new additional restrictions are primarily tied to territories near facilities of interest to national security.
The draft law still has to be considered by the Seimas of Lithuania. If finally approved, the new rules are planned to apply from January 1, 2027.
A new system of transport routes is taking shape across Eurasia, aimed at expanding connections between China, Central and South Asia, the Gulf states and Europe. Key projects include the trans-Afghan CASA corridor, the Middle Corridor across the Caspian Sea, the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway, Iraq’s Development Road and the IMEC economic corridor, the Experts Club information and analytical center reports.
At the end of September 2026, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and the UAE agreed to study a railway route linking Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan with access to the ports of Karachi and Gwadar. CASA’s preliminary potential has been estimated at up to 10 million tonnes of freight, although the project remains at the technical and economic assessment stage.
The Middle Corridor is already operating through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan and Georgia. According to the World Bank, a combination of infrastructure investment and reforms could increase trade volumes along the route by up to four times by 2040 and reduce delivery times by roughly two-thirds compared with 2023. Required investment in core and supporting infrastructure is estimated at more than $55 billion.
The China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway is expected to strengthen eastward connectivity, while Iraq’s Development Road is designed to link the Grand Al-Faw port with Türkiye and the European transport network. IMEC, meanwhile, is intended to connect India, the Gulf and Europe through combined maritime and rail links.
For Ukraine, the restructuring of Eurasian logistics offers an opportunity to expand access to Central Asian and Chinese markets through the Black Sea, the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea. Ukraine’s 2026 government action plan includes negotiations on integrating Ukrainian ports into the Trans-Caspian route.
“Ukraine should not simply watch this transformation from the sidelines. It should seek the physical and tariff integration of its ports and railways into the new routes,” Experts Club founder Maksym Urakin said.
Ukrainian students have been selected as recipients of the HEC Imagine program, which provides young people from countries affected by war and crises with the opportunity to study at HEC Paris, one of France’s leading business schools.
This was reported by the Embassy of Ukraine in the French Republic following the “Imagine pour la Paix” event, dedicated to supporting the program’s participants.
The event took place at UNESCO headquarters in Paris and brought together representatives from HEC Paris, the French business community, program partners and donors, diplomats, and students.
Among those attending were Jean-Noël Barro, France’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs—an HEC Paris alumnus—as well as Gaël Veissier, former French Ambassador to Ukraine, who currently heads the Crisis Response and Support Center at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.
HEC Imagine fellows shared their personal experiences and insights about studying in France.
The HEC Imagine program was created to support talented students whose education and career prospects have been threatened by wars and other crises. Ukrainian students were among the program’s first participants.
According to HEC Paris, the HEC Imagine Fellows project began in 2022. From the very beginning, the scholarships enabled students from Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Syria to study at HEC.
The program provides not only financial support for tuition but also facilitates the students’ integration into the academic and professional environment at HEC Paris.
The Ukrainian Embassy in France emphasized that supporting the education of Ukrainians takes on special significance amid the war and the destruction of Ukraine’s educational and scientific infrastructure.
“The reconstruction of Ukraine is not just about rebuilding buildings and infrastructure. Above all, it is an investment in people: future entrepreneurs, economists, engineers, and managers who will create jobs, attract investment, and build a modern, European Ukraine,” the Ukrainian Embassy noted.
The diplomatic mission also thanked HEC Paris for its support of Ukrainian students and the Association des étudiants ukrainiens en France for helping to organize Ukraine’s participation in the event.
HEC Paris is one of Europe’s most renowned business schools. The institution specializes in training professionals in the fields of management, finance, entrepreneurship, and business administration, and its graduates work in international companies, financial institutions, the public sector, and their own businesses.
The HEC Imagine program is part of a broader initiative that combines support for students from conflict-affected countries with a discussion on the role of business and education in rebuilding and securing peace.
Sources: Embassy of Ukraine in the French Republic, HEC Paris, UNESCO.
According to Fixygen, U.S. banks have opened a new front in their battle with the crypto industry—the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), challenging the decision to grant crypto companies simplified national banking licenses.
The lawsuit was filed on October 2 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the ICBA reported. The association represents American community banks—that is, small and medium-sized banks—a significant portion of whose business involves lending to individuals and companies in local markets.
The subject of the dispute is the so-called national trust bank charters. These charters allow companies to operate at the federal level with digital assets, provide custody services, and participate in payment transactions, but do not authorize traditional banking activities such as accepting deposits and issuing loans.
The ICBA believes that the OCC has effectively created a simplified path for crypto companies to enter the regulated banking system.
“Congress did not create the national trust license as a back door into the banking system for crypto companies,” said ICBA President and CEO Rebecca Romero Reyni.
Banks point to a fundamental difference in regulation.
Traditional deposit-taking banks must meet capital and liquidity requirements, be subject to consolidated supervision, and participate in the FDIC deposit insurance system. Companies with a national trust charter that do not take deposits are exempt from a significant portion of these requirements.
At the same time, the ICBA believes that a federal license may give customers the impression that a crypto company’s assets have the same government guarantees as funds held at a traditional bank.
The association is demanding that the final rule adopted by the OCC on March 2, 2026, and the related Interpretive Letter No. 1176 be declared unlawful.
Separately, the ICBA is demanding that the conditional approval of a national trust banking license for Protego Holdings be revoked. The company specializes in the custody, trading, lending, and issuance of digital assets.
The dispute extends far beyond a single license.
If the OCC maintains its current approach, crypto companies will be able to obtain federal banking status without converting into traditional commercial banks. This could simplify institutional custody of cryptocurrencies, settlements using digital assets, and the integration of crypto infrastructure into the U.S. financial system.
At the same time, traditional banks are stepping up pressure on the stablecoin market. The ICBA opposes paying interest and rewards to stablecoin holders, fearing a flight of funds from bank accounts into digital dollars. According to the association, a reduction in the deposit base could diminish small banks’ resources for lending to businesses and the agricultural sector.
More than 400 Ukrainian children, mostly from Ukraine’s frontline regions, had the opportunity to participate in a health and summer vacation program in Austria with the support of the Embassy of Ukraine and Austrian partners.
This was reported by the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Austria.
The programs for children were organized in cooperation with the federal states of Austria and with the direct participation of Austrian civil society organizations.
“One of the Embassy’s key priorities is to create opportunities for Ukrainian children to receive health treatment and enjoy a vacation,” the diplomatic mission noted.
In total, more than 400 Ukrainian children took advantage of the opportunity to vacation in Austria during the summer. The organizers focused primarily on children from regions located near the front lines that are regularly subjected to Russian shelling.
The embassy expressed gratitude to the federal states, civil society organizations, and other Austrian partners who contributed to the implementation of the programs.
“We thank everyone who participated and gave our children the opportunity to experience the joy of childhood. We hope for continued support in the future,” the statement reads.
Organizing recreational and health programs for Ukrainian children abroad has become one of the areas of Ukraine’s humanitarian cooperation with European countries since the start of the full-scale war. Such programs are primarily aimed at children from frontline regions and areas affected by hostilities.
Original source: Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Austria.
