Immigrant investor programs are programs that allow individuals to more quickly obtain residence or citizenship of a country in return for making qualifying investments.
Broadly, the programs offer either citizenship by investment ("golden passport" or "cash-for-passports"), residence by investment ("golden visa"), or a hybrid with immediate residence followed by accelerated citizenship.
Program applicants must usually fulfill multiple qualification criteria. Investment can take a variety of forms including a contribution to government funds; purchase of qualifying real estate (for example, in specific government-sanctioned projects); investment in a qualifying business (for example, in a specific industry); or creation of a set number of jobs.
A growing number of countries offer immigrant investor programs, with approximately one quarter of all countries issuing such visas as of 2015.[1] As of 2023 about half went to Turkey.[2]
Citizenship by investment programs
Citizenship by investment programs enable the applicant to rapidly obtain citizenship with no required residence period, or only a short nominal period measured in days or weeks. These are often known as "golden passports" or "cash-for-passport" programs, offering visa-free travel and possible tax advantages.
Annually, an estimated 50,000 people, including family members of those who apply, obtain citizenship through investment programs, worldwide.[3]
Dominica
Dominica implemented its program in 1993 to provide investors the opportunity to gain Dominican citizenship via a contribution to its Economic Diversification Fund or the purchase of an alternatively approved project along with a fee.[8] As of 2022, Dominica requires a minimum donation of $100,000 in its Economic Diversification fund or a $200,000 minimum investment in a government approved real estate project.
St Kitts and Nevis was the first country to offer citizenship by investment, starting in 1984.[11] It requires a minimum of $250,000 as an economic contribution to the country or to invest at least $400,000 in an approved real estate development.[12]
Turkey
Turkey offers a relatively new program known as Turkish Citizenship by Investment (TCBI). Investors are required to purchase real estate worth at least US$400,000 and hold it for 3 years or deposit US$500,000 in a bank in Turkey for a period of 3 years. Upon investing as above and submitting citizenship application duly, a Turkish passport is granted typically within 6 months.[4]
Former schemes
Montenegro
Citizenship of Montenegro could be obtained within a year through an investment of €250,000 into approved development projects and a €200,000 government fee,[13] until closed in 2022.
Residence by investment programs
Residence by investment programs allow an applicant to obtain a permanent residency visa for a country by making an investment such as purchase of property or investment in a business. These programs are often known as "golden visas". The programs (on their own) do not allow the applicant to obtain citizenship (see "Citizenship by investment" and "Hybrid programs" below). However, the person may eventually be able to apply for citizenship using standard naturalization procedures after residing in the country for a required amount of time.
Many users of such programs are wealthy Chinese and Russian citizens seeking legal security and a better quality of life outside of their home country. Golden visas have been especially popular with Chinese nationals, over 100,000 of whom acquired them during the period from 2007 to 2016.[14] In 2015, the majority of golden visas were issued to Chinese nationals.[1]
Belize offers a investor residency program with a real estate investment of $250,000 and after 5 years an individual is eligible for Belizean citizenship which offers a CARICOM passport for travel.
Greece
Introduced in 2013, the Greek Golden Visa program offers residency to non-EEA nationals in exchange for specific direct investments in real estate or financial instruments, as an incentive to attract international capital flows. The program originally requires a minimum investment of €250,000 in real estate or €400,000 in securities or a bank deposit in Greece.[17] The investors' close family members also receive a residence permit without further investment requirements, including their spouse, children up to 21 years old, parents and parents-in-law.
By February 2023, the country had issued 10,105 residence permits to investors and 18,154 to their family members.[18] On 23 December 2022, the golden visa program was changed, setting the 5 year visa at a minimum of €500,000 for real estate investments in specific areas of the country, coming into effect on 1 August 2023.[19]
Hungary
Investing €155,000 in any completed residential property in Hungary or creating a local company to provide services, or to trade in goods, will give the investor a temporary residence permit for themselves and their family. Residential investment can give a permit lasting 5 years and the company route, 3 years. these visas are renewable. 3 years of continuous residence allows a permanent residence permit to be applied for. Seven years residency and passing a language exam will open the opportunity to acquire citizenship and a Hungarian passport.[20]
Italy
A two year residence permit achieved with buying a house, investing or donating €1,000,000. Investments being €250,000 in a start up, €500,000 in an Italian company or €2,000,000 in government bonds. Extendable for three years periods and after 10 years may be eligible for citizenship.[21]
Latvia
An investment of €50,000 into a Latvian company, provided the company pays at least €40,000 per annum in tax will gain the investor a five-year residency after paying a one-off €10,000 fee to the government. The residency is renewable or it can be converted to permanent residency after four years of residency. Citizenship is obtainable after 10 years.[22]
Portugal
Portugal introduced a golden visa during the 2007 Great Recession to help attract investment into the country's housing market.
By 2023, the country had issued more than 10,000 golden visas (not including the investors' family members), of which close to 50% had been issued to Chinese nationals. All visa holders bought properties, lived in them for 2 weeks before leaving them empty or renting them out to holidaymakers, resulting in rising property prices and long-term rentals became unaffordable for locals. €7 billion has come into the country, 90% being used to buy property. Only 2 visas a year were issued for job creation reasons.[23]
On 16 February 2023 the Government announced that it would close the programme as soon as possible.[24] However, on 7 October 2023, the Government announced that the Golden Visa will continue albeit without the real estate option.[25]
Russia
Russia opened its Investor Visa program on December 31, 2022.[citation needed] It provides the opportunity to gain permanent residency in Russia for the applicant and their direct family.[citation needed] To apply, one has to either sponsor a social project, purchase real estate, invest in a business, or start their own company.[citation needed] The residency can be converted to citizenship after 5 years.[citation needed]
United Arab Emirates (Golden Visa)
The UAE introduced the 10 year Golden Visa system in 2019.[26][27] It allows qualifying individuals to live, study and work in UAE without the need of a national sponsor. The residence visa program, offers various possibility to become a resident in the UAE for certain category of professionals, such as PhD holders, scientists, outstanding professional in a specific field or industry and/or to doctors and their families.[28] Other skilled professionals included are senior scholars, elite specialists in industry and fourth industrial revolution, specialists in health industry and education.[29]
Golden visa holders are allowed to sponsor their family members which includes spouse, children and support staff. The visa can be renewed if the required criteria is met. Unlike some other golden visa programs which requires the visa holder to maintain a duration of stay in the country, the UAE golden visa has no restriction on the maximum duration of stay outside the UAE to maintain validity of the visa.[30]
The UAE Golden Visa costs $136,000 for investors.[31][32]
United States
The United States has two main investor visa programs: the E-2 and EB-5 visas.
The EB-5 visa program, which is also called as the Golden Visa program, requires applicants to invest between US$900,000 and US$1.8million, depending on the location of the project, and requires at least 10 jobs to be either created or preserved.[33][34]
There is an annual cap of 10,000 applications under the EB-5 program.[35] The program is designed to encourage foreign investment in infrastructure projects, particularly in Targeted Employment Areas (TEA) with high unemployment. Funds are channeled through businesses known as regional centers, now designated only by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. An example of a project is a US$200million development by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.
In March 2022, the EB-5 program was overhauled with the passage of new legislation called the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act (RIA). Positive changes were introduced by RIA to enhance the appeal of the program. RIA allows concurrent filing which permits investors to live and work in the USA while waiting for the adjudication of their EB-5 applications.[36]
E-2 (non-immigrant)
The E-2 visa investor program allows foreign nationals of specific treaty countries to invest in a start up, buy a business or a franchise to reside legally in the U.S.[37][38]
The initial visa term varies from three months to five years depending on the U.S. reciprocity schedule with the applicant's country of citizenship. The E-2 visa can be renewed indefinitely and it is possible for the investor to change their legal status to a green card (e.g. EB-1A, EB-2, EB-3 or EB-5). The E-2 visa investor must commit to investing a substantial amount (generally US$100,000) and create American jobs (usually 2+). Most investments under US$200,000 will require the investor to work 40+ hours a week in the business at least for the first 12 to 18 months.
As per recent changes made to the US regulation, individuals holding a passport from a treaty country are required to be domiciled there for a period of three years before being eligible to apply for the E-2 investor visa. This amendment was introduced as investors who were not from the treaty countries would obtain citizenship in one of the treaty countries to become eligible for the E-2 visa program.[38]
Closed down
Canada
The country historically had a national-level Canadian Immigrant Investor Program since 1986, but it was suspended in 2014. Most of the applicants were Chinese, who preferred to settle on the Pacific coast. The program has been associated with the lack of housing affordability in Vancouver.[39]
Quebec maintains its own program, also established in 1986 – the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program – since the province has the right to set its own immigration policy due to the Canada–Québec Accord relating to Immigration and Temporary Admission of Aliens.[40] The number of applicants is subject to a cap. However, applicants with an intermediate-advanced aptitude in French are not subject to the cap. Suspended in 2019, it may re-open in 2024 with different rules.
Ireland
Introduced in 2012 the "Immigrant Investor Program" (IIP) offered non-EEA nationals residence permission based on long-term investment into enterprises, investment funds, real-estate or non-profits in the Republic of Ireland.[41][42] It did not offer permanent residency in Ireland, but could be extended every few years for an indeterminate period.[43]
The IIP closed in early 2023. Since 2012 the program has brought €1.17 billion to Ireland. The majority of investments were made by Chinese nationals.[44]
United Kingdom
The UK had a program known as a Tier 1 (Investor) visa, which opened for applicants in 2008.[45] Applicants were required to invest £2 million or more in the UK and meet other eligibility criteria. Visa holders could reside in the UK for a maximum of 3 years and 4 months, with the ability to apply for an extension of 2 more years. The visa holder could apply to settle after 5 years or less; the greater the investment, the shorter the waiting period.[46]
According to the Home Office, 255 visas of this type were granted in the first half of 2019.
The Tier 1 (Investor) visa scheme was closed to new applicants on 17 February 2022.[45]
Hybrid residence-citizenship programs
Hybrid residence-citizenship programs allow applicants to first obtain residence and then, after an accelerated residence period (as short as 2 years), obtain citizenship.
The Bulgaria scheme allows a company, or part of a company, to be brought to the country, or to create a new company that will employ at least 10 locals, or to invest in residential property, to apply for a D class visa and Bulgarian residence.[47]
The Hungary program required a €300,000 purchase of interest free government bonds, repayable in 5 years, plus a €60,000 one off fee for the applicant, which covered all family members, the 5 year visa was renewable at no extra cost and citizenship could be applied for after 8 years. Opened in 2013, it closed in 2017.[48]
In Mauritius an investor needs to buy a luxury residential property in a specific development, or a ten year investment into a choice of businesses.[49]
Controversy
The sale of passports and "golden visas" has sparked controversy in several countries. Some of the criticisms include doubts about the economic benefits, as well as security concerns. A 2023 study found that citizenship-by-investment programs increase tax evasion.[50]
Golden visas have been criticized by members of the European Parliament for disfavouring the concept of citizenship[51] and in 2014 the European Parliament approved a non-binding resolution that an EU passport should not have a "price tag".[52][why?]
Money laundering scandals involving banks in Malta and Latvia have made citizenship schemes more contentious by drawing attention to the lack of controls on Russian funds entering EU countries.[53]
In 2023, the security problems caused the United Kingdom to withdraw visa-free travel from its former colonies, Dominica, Honduras, Namibia, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu, citing “clear and evident abuse of the scheme, including the granting of citizenship to individuals known to pose a risk to the UK”.[55] In 2023 the European Commission proposed revising the rules on visa-free travel from countries with golden passport programs.[56]
A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. Green card holders are formally known as lawful permanent residents (LPRs). As of 2019, there are an estimated 13.9 million green card holders, of whom 9.1 million are eligible to become United States citizens. Approximately 18,700 of them serve in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with such legal status is known as a permanent resident. In the United States, such a person is referred to as a green card holder but more formally as a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR).
Immigration law includes the national statutes, regulations, and legal precedents governing immigration into and deportation from a country. Strictly speaking, it is distinct from other matters such as naturalization and citizenship, although they are sometimes conflated. Countries frequently maintain laws that regulate both the rights of entry and exit as well as internal rights, such as the duration of stay, freedom of movement, and the right to participate in commerce or government.
Maltese nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of Malta. The primary law governing nationality regulations is the Maltese Citizenship Act, which came into force on 21 September 1964. Malta is a member state of the European Union (EU) and all Maltese nationals are EU citizens. They have automatic and permanent permission to live and work in any EU or European Free Trade Association (EFTA) country and may vote in elections to the European Parliament.
Visitors to the United States must obtain a visa from one of the U.S. diplomatic missions unless they are citizens of one of the visa-exempt or Visa Waiver Program countries.
Turkish nationality law is based primarily on the principle of jus sanguinis. Children who are born to a Turkish mother or a Turkish father are Turkish citizens from birth. The intention to renounce Turkish citizenship is submitted in Turkey by a petition to the highest administrative official in the concerned person's place of residence, and when overseas to the Turkish consulate. Documents processed by these authorities are forwarded to the Ministry of Interior (Turkey) for appropriate action.
The Maltese passport is a passport that is issued to citizens of Malta. Every Maltese citizen is also a Commonwealth citizen and citizen of the European Union. The passport, along with the national identity card, allows for free rights of movement and residence in all member states of the European Economic Area, as well as Switzerland.
Cypriot passports are issued to citizens of Cyprus. Every Cypriot citizen is also a Commonwealth citizen and a citizen of the European Union. The Cypriot passport, along with the Cypriot identity card, allows for free right of movement and residence in any of the states of the European Union, European Economic Area, and Switzerland. As of July 2023, Cypriot citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 179 countries and territories, ranking the Cypriot passport 12th in terms of travel freedom according to the Henley Passport Index. Cypriot citizens can live and work in any country within the EU as a result of the right of free movement and residence granted in Article 21 of the EU Treaty. The Republic of Cyprus was formed in 1960. All persons who were citizens of the Republic of Cyprus at this time are entitled to renew their citizenship and passport, whether living on the island or abroad within the diaspora. Their descendants, whether living on the island or abroad, are equally entitled to obtain Cypriot citizenship and passport. These citizens include the Greek and Turkish people, as well as the much smaller communities of Jewish and Armenian heritage.
Turkish passport are issued in accordance with the Passport Act from 15 July 1950 to Turkish citizens to travel abroad. Citizens of the de facto state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) are also eligible to apply for a Turkish passport.
The United States EB-5 visa, employment-based fifth preference category or EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program was created in 1990 by the Immigration Act of 1990. It provides a method for eligible immigrant investors to become lawful permanent residents—informally known as "green card" holders—by investing substantial capital to finance a U.S. business as long as it creates at least 10 new, full-time jobs for Americans and work-authorized immigrants. The EB-5 program is intended to encourage both "foreign investments and economic growth." The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa Program is one of five employment-based (EB) preference programs in the United States.
The Saint Kitts and Nevis passport is issued to citizens of Saint Kitts and Nevis for international travel. Prior to 1983, Saint Kitts and Nevis, together with Anguilla, was an associated state of the United Kingdom. The passport is a Caricom passport as Saint Kitts and Nevis is a member of the Caribbean Community. As of 29 July 2023, citizens of Saint Kitts and Nevis had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 154 countries and territories.
Nationals of many countries may visit Brazil without a visa, while others must obtain a visa from one of the Brazilian diplomatic missions. Nationals of some countries may apply for visitor visas electronically. For stays longer than 90 days or for employment in Brazil, all foreign nationals must have a visa or residency authorization.
The visa policy of South Korea allows citizens of certain countries to enter South Korea without a visa (Korea Electronic Travel Authorization or without a K-ETA at all.
The visa policy of the United Arab Emirates allows citizens of certain countries to enter the United Arab Emirates without a visa. Citizens of certain other countries must obtain a visa from one of the UAE diplomatic missions. Alternatively, they may obtain an online visa through Smart Service or airlines.
The Startup Visa is a temporary conditional residence permit in different countries. It aims at introducing a visa category for entrepreneurs raising outside funding and converts to a permanent residency visa if certain conditions are met.
Economic citizenship can be used to represent both the economic contributions requisite to become a citizen as well as the role in which one's economic standing can influence his or her rights as a citizen. The relationship between economic participation and citizenship can be considered a contributing factor to increasing inequalities and unequal representation of different socioeconomic classes within a country.
Emirati nationality law governs citizenship eligibility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The law is primarily jus sanguinis. Foreigners who meet certain criteria may be naturalized and granted citizenship. Gulf Cooperation Council citizens are allowed to live in the UAE without restriction and have the right of freedom of movement.
Henley & Partners is an investment migration consultancy based in London. The company offers services to individuals and consults governments on residence and citizenship programs. In some cases, the company even runs the programs on behalf of governments. The company has pioneered the industry of selling citizenship and passports.
Christian H. Kälin or Kaelin is a Swiss businessperson, author, government advisor and lawyer who is the chairman of Henley & Partners, an architect of citizenship-by-investment programs that allow wealthy individuals to obtain additional passports.
The Commonwealth of Dominica has been operating a citizenship by investment programme since 1993, making it the second Caribbean island-nation to launch one such programme – having been preceded by the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis.
↑ "Chinese investors spent $24B on "golden visas" in U.S. and elsewhere". CBS News. Beijing. Associated Press. 12 May 2017. Archived from the original on 5 February 2022. Over the last decade, more than 100,000 Chinese have poured at least $24 billion into "golden visa" programs across the world, an Associated Press analysis has found. These programs offer residence in exchange for investment in a country's businesses. Nowhere is Chinese demand greater than in the United States, which has taken in at least $7.7 billion and issued more than 40,000 visas to Chinese investors and their families in the past 10 years, the AP found.
↑ Hussain, Zainab. "Planning to work in the UAE? Here are five types of visas you can apply for". Retrieved 13 March 2023. Golden visa holders can sponsor their family members including spouses, children and support staff without any limit, and the visa is renewable, as long as you meet the required conditions for it. Also, there is no restriction on the maximum duration of stay outside the UAE in order to keep the Golden Residency valid.
1 2 "2023 outlook on US immigration and the EB-5 green card program". Gulf News. Retrieved 13 March 2023. The E-2 investor visa allows foreign investors only from specific Treaty Countries, to invest in a business in the US and through this investment, live and work in the business legally in the US. Many individuals from Treaty countries have utilized this visa to access the US due to its shorter processing times.
↑ Macais, Amanda; Franck, Thomas (1 March 2022) [2022-02-28]. "Biden administration expands sanctions against Russia, cutting off U.S. transactions with central bank". CNBC. NBCUniversal News Group. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022. A Biden administration official described the golden passports as a loophole that allows wealthy Russians connected to the Kremlin to become citizens in other countries and access certain financial systems.
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