Immigrant investor programs

A golden visa is a permanent residency visa issued to individuals who invest, often through the purchase of property, a certain sum of money into the issuing country.

The roots of golden visas have been traced back to the 1980s when tax havens in the Pacific and Caribbean began "cash-for-passport" programs that facilitated visa-free travel and provided tax advantages.[6] For example, in 1984, St Kitts and Nevis began its program which offered not only permanent residency but citizenship to foreign nations.[7]

The issuing of golden visas expanded dramatically during the 21st century with around 25% of all countries issuing such visas as of 2015.[8] Statistics on the issuing of golden visas is scarce but the IMF estimated in 2015 that the vast majority of golden visas are issued to Chinese nationals.[9]

Golden visas require investments of anywhere from $100,000 in Dominica up to £2,000,000 in the U.K. The most common method for obtaining a golden visa is through the purchase of real estate with a minimum value.[10] Golden visas have been especially popular with Chinese nationals, over 100,000 of whom acquired them during the period from 2007 to 2016.[11]

Portugal's golden visa was introduced during the Great Recession to help attract investment into the country's housing market. By 2016 the country had issued 2,788 golden visas of which 80% had gone to Chinese nationals.[12]

Some countries such as Malta and Cyprus also offer citizenship ("so-called golden passports") to individuals if they invest a certain sum.[13]

The issuing of so-called "golden visas" has sparked controversy in several countries. A lack of demonstrable economic benefits and security concerns have been among the most common criticisms of golden visas. In 2014 the Canadian government suspended their golden visa program. But because of the Canada–Québec Accord relating to Immigration and Temporary Admission of Aliens that allows Quebec to maintain its own immigration policy, Quebec maintains its own golden visa program.[14] The golden visas have been criticized by members of the European Parliament for disfavoring the concept of citizenship[15] and in 2014 the European Parliament approved a non-binding resolution that an EU passport should not have a "price tag."[16]

According to a study, the EU has won approximately €25bn over the last 10 years through foreign direct investment programs.[17]

According to Corpocrat Magazine in 2016, the countries with the top-ranked immigrant investor programs in the world were Malta, Cyprus, Portugal, Austria, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Spain, Latvia, Monaco, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Grenada, Abkhazia, Saint Lucia, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, UAE and Dominica.[18] However, golden visas represent only a small proportion of new passports. In 2016, 994,800 citizenship applicants were granted across the EU, according to Eurostat, with just 0.1 percent of applications made under investment schemes.[19]

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.[20]

The Malta Individual Investor Programme,[21] which Henley & Partners was contracted in 2014 by the Government of Malta to design and implement, is similarly capped at 1,800 applicants. Applicants are subject to a thorough due diligence process which guarantees that only reputable applicants acquire Maltese citizenship. Moreover, applications from countries where international sanctions apply may not be accepted. Applications from a particular country can also be excluded on the basis of a Government policy decision.[21] The minimum investment for this program is $870,000 with a non-refundable contribution of $700,000.[4]

The Quebec Immigrant Investor Program is a Canadian program which allows investors who intend to settle in the province of Quebec to invest money in Canada. The Quebec government said it would accept a maximum of 1,750 applications to the Immigrant Investor Program during the period of 5 to 20 January 2015. Applicants with an intermediate-advanced aptitude in French are not subject to the cap and may apply at any time. The program has been associated with the lack of housing affordability in Vancouver.[22]

The United States EB-5 visa program requires overseas applicants to invest a minimum of anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million, depending on the location of the project, and requires at least 10 jobs to be either created or preserved.[23] When these criteria are met, the applicant and their family become eligible for a green card. There is an annual cap of 10,000 applications under the EB-5 program. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has offered its EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program since 1990. It is designed to encourage foreign investment in infrastructure projects in the US, particularly in Targeted Employment Areas (TEA), high unemployment areas. The funds are channeled through agencies called regional centers, now designated only by the US Department of Homeland Security. The funding opportunities allow the investor to make a sound financial investment and obtain a US “Green Card.”[24] One of the more successful examples of the program is Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission's program through the Delaware Valley Regional Center to raise over $200 million for completion of a major project on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.[25]

A large majority of users of such programs are wealthy Chinese seeking legal security and a better quality of life outside of their home country. More than three-quarters of the applicants to Canada's (since canceled) immigrant investor program were Chinese.[26] 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.[27]

The UK grants investor visas. As per the official statistics with the British Home Office, as many as 255 Golden Visas were granted in the first half of 2019 alone. As of March 2020, an individual can apply for the UK Tier 1 (Investor) visa if they wish to invest an amount of £2 million or more in the UK. The applicant must be from outside Switzerland and the European Economic Area to apply for such a visa, along with various other eligibility requirements. With this class of visa, a person can go to the UK for a maximum duration of 3 years and 4 months, with the ability to apply for an extension of 2 more years. The visa holder can apply to settle after 5 years or less; the greater the investment, the shorter the waiting period.[28]

• Economic citizenship
• EB-5 visa
• Immigration tariff