What leads a humanitarian operating in the field to work for a global mobility firm? It’s about seeing the other side of immigration. How, despite a regulated field, people still relocate, move their assets, and make plans for their future and families out of a shared desire – to make a better life for themselves.
It is this core thread that led Ana Grolli to join Global Citizen Solutions as a Case Executive.
In this exclusive interview, we sit down with Ana to talk about how human rights intersect with global mobility, what gives her purpose in her line of work, and where she sees the industry heading from her frontline seat of supporting international individuals to plan their lives in Portugal.
From law to human rights in the field
In 2013, Ana graduated with a law degree in Brazil. Her final paper, centered on crimes against humanity, sparked a deep-seated curiosity to understand this field more. This led Ana to initially work with a human rights NGO, helping refugees navigate complex legal and social systems in Brazil.
“I started giving legal consultations and advice at this NGO. I ended up coordinating a group of 15 volunteer lawyers. We were the first NGO in the entire country doing the work we were doing. We won two national prizes, and one major television show filmed our work and interviewed us. I stayed in this field for five years.”
Ana’s advocacy work took her to Berlin and London, where the one constant was her volunteer work for the most marginalised, displaced populations. It wasn’t until she migrated to Portugal at the tail end of COVID-19, that Ana gradually transitioned from humanitarian work with asylum seekers and refugees to investment migration.
“I wanted to see the other side of immigration. I had always worked with vulnerable people, and I wanted to understand the process for people who have the funds to apply for visas and documents. There is a lot of bureaucracy. Although people’s situations are different, they are still people with stories. In investment migration, we need empathy. Some people fought very hard to build the funds they have. Some are simply looking for a better life.”
As an immigrant herself, Ana is no stranger to the motivations that make one uproot their life to pursue their dreams in another continent. The experience is similar; you must navigate new cultures, systems, languages, and ways of living.
“Everything is new when you move,” Ana adds. “This applies not only for vulnerable people, but also for people who are not vulnerable or in immediate danger.”
In investment migration, there are people who may not be vulnerable in the more immediate sense, but whose freedom or safety still feels at risk, so they decide to move.
For Ana, this link is apparent in her day-to-day interactions with Global Citizen Solutions clients.
“Many of our clients are from the LGBTQ+ community. They face danger and persecution, but they have the means to migrate safely.”
Ana is the main point of contact for clients undergoing a residency program or a relocation visa in Portugal. She onboards them and takes care of them throughout the entire process, accompanying them through the challenges, setbacks, and rewards of securing papers in a new country. Her work involves maintaining constant contact with Global Citizen Solutions’ immigration lawyers to ensure each client’s application progresses as smoothly as possible.
That’s not all. Ana helps clients apply for NIFS, bank accounts, health insurance and everything in between. When needed, she also refers them to Goldcrest Real Estate, Global Citizen Solutions’ sister company — an independent buyer’s agent — helping clients navigate relocation practically with rentals and property purchases.
As a case executive, she is the bridge between logistics, onboarding, and relationship-building, empowering clients to reach their full potential when starting out in Portugal and offering them peace of mind in what can be a fraught, bureaucracy-laden process.
In other words, she makes the whole journey a little less overwhelming for clients.
“We work in a business that impacts lives every single day.”
Ana is an empath. She has accumulated years of experience working with the most vulnerable populations, and has developed a nuanced, layered understanding of the frictions, challenges, and emotional labour that goes into relocating and uprooting your entire life.
“Clients rely on us. Some of their stories are very sensitive. They require empathy. After the first contact, I try to manage the clients’ expectations and background story. If someone for example, has a history of homophobia, I manage the case with this in mind. Some clients have lost spouses or children. Some have children with health problems. I always make sure the clients feel seen… so they know they are not just a case file. They’re human beings, with stories, struggles, hopes and dreams just like the rest of us.”
Everyone wants the same thing: safety
Against the backdrop of an increasingly volatile world with rapidly changing political systems and economic market dips, people are searching for the most basic human right – safety.
Amidst this, a new pattern is arising, where individuals from wealthy countries are increasingly pursuing residency and citizenship solutions because the ideals and way of life in their home countries no longer align with theirs.
For instance, Ana had a client who was worried about her personal safety, after experiencing prejudice in her home country. She chose Portugal specifically for its welcoming nature toward migrants, LGBTQ protection mechanisms, and low crime rates. Others are motivated by their desire to live in a place free from prejudice and without leaders making policies that directly harm them or reduce their quality of life.
“In the end, the most common pattern I see among the clients I help is that they want to raise their children in a safe place, free from violence, volatility, and harmful policies.”
In Portugal for instance, the typical reasons people tend to relocate for are wealth protection, financial security and quality of life. But beyond these immediate reasons, most just want to feel safe, with Portugal consistently scoring highly as one of the safest countries in the world, with low crime rates.
Transparency is ethics
The investment migration industry has received its fair share of misconceptions, with some questioning its legitimacy regarding screening applicants. Despite this, the industry is among the most vetted in the world, with applicants undergoing rigorous background checks that exceed those in most visa processes. While, like in any industry, there will be good actors and bad, how the industry guards itself against misconceptions is by remaining compliant and transparent.
What does ethical practice mean for Ana?
“It’s about being transparent, honest, and putting the clients’ best interests first. Always. Compliance of course, is non-negotiable. It starts with honesty, and managing expectations.”
At Global Citizen Solutions, this means having a thorough compliance system, and checks and balances in place to work strictly within legal provisions.
“If clients can’t get visa appointments we explain why. We also make sure to accurately represent options and respect people’s stories. In the end, it’s about managing expectations. That’s part of ethics. We always try to be honest,” Ana adds.
In addition, there is a strict security system for documents so clients can feel confident sending documents knowing their data is encrypted and safe from leaks.
Where mobility and humanitarian needs meet
What happens when someone has the financial means to apply for a residency or relocation visa, but can’t proceed because the law simply has no pathway for their situation?
These cases are becoming increasingly common.
Ana is currently working on one such file, where the lines between humanitarian protection and global mobility blur. The client’s relative recently had a refugee claim rejected in a third country. Returning home isn’t an option. Reuniting with her partner in Portugal is the goal. Yet she can’t renew her passport for security reasons, leaving her unable to travel or file a standard visa application.
“Our intention is to bring her safely to Portugal so she can submit an asylum claim here,” Ana explains. “But we’re facing significant barriers. AIMA doesn’t assume responsibility for individuals who aren’t on Portuguese territory, and embassies don’t issue humanitarian visas because officially, they don’t exist. For my master’s dissertation, I researched this exact dilemma. A person who intends to seek protection should be able to travel to do so, but governments everywhere are tightening their controls to prevent irregular migration.”
It creates a paradox. Someone seeking asylum often cannot legally travel without documents yet cannot obtain documents without being in a place of safety. Global Citizen Solutions is increasingly encountering cases that sit inside this grey zone where mobility planning intersects with humanitarian constraints.
In an attempt to assist vulnerable migrants, Global Citizen Solutions has partnered with Lisbon Project on a pro bono basis, a non-profit organisation focused on integrating and empowering migrants and refugees.
Ana also works with another private client whose story falls into this in-between space. He applied for a standard residency visa from the Gulf region, hoping to rebuild his life after a traumatic event.
“He had the financial means to apply and travel safely,” she says. “But many people in similar positions don’t. This grey area between humanitarian need and mobility planning often emerges when someone has the resources to relocate, but is blocked by bureaucratic hurdles, background checks, apostilled documents, insurance requirements, visa fees. If a person can reach safety and apply from there, that’s ideal. When they can’t, that’s when we see people take dangerous routes.”
The complex maze of mobility
Mobility isn’t straightforward. People need valid documents. They need to demonstrate (often more than once) that they can support themselves financially. And with every application, there is bureaucracy, administrative criteria, and regulatory fine print to navigate.
Within this complexity, the work of case executives like Ana is to recognize that every client comes with a unique story and set of circumstances.
Even when every requirement is met and every document is reviewed with care, visas can still be rejected.
“When that happens, we appeal,” Ana says. “It’s not as simple as people imagine. While most cases are approved, consulates have 60 days to issue a decision. Midway through, they sometimes issue a draft refusal, and we have 10 days to respond. Refusals often come down to means of subsistence. And sometimes, consulates simply don’t understand the documents they’re reviewing.”
This is why, at its core, mobility planning often requires professional guidance, a service provider who can interpret the system, intervene when needed, and help clients navigate a process that is fraught with challenges.
People arrive with different histories, pressures, and expectations, and the system doesn’t always give them an easy route forward. Ana’s role is to bring structure to the arduous process of relocating assets, families, and lives across borders, to explain what’s possible, set expectations early on, and guide clients through the steps that are rarely intuitive. It doesn’t remove every challenge, but it gives people a path they can follow, which for many is what they need most when they’re trying to rebuild their lives in a new place.