Immigrant investor programs

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.

The Malta Individual Investor Programme,[9] which Henley & Partners was contracted in 2014 by the Government of Malta to design and implement, is similarly capped at 1,800 applicants. The minimum investment for this program is $870,000 with a non-refundable contribution of $700,000.[10]

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,[11] until closed in 2022.

St Kitts and Nevis was the first country to offer citizenship by investment, starting in 1984.[12] 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.[13]

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]

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.

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.[16] 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.[17] 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.[18]

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.[19]

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.[20]

The UAE introduced the 10 year Golden Visa system in 2019.[21][22] 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.[23] Other skilled professionals included are senior scholars, elite specialists in industry and fourth industrial revolution, specialists in health industry and education.[24]

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.[25]

The UAE Golden Visa costs $136,000 for investors.[26][27]

The United States has two main investor visa programs: the E-2 and EB-5 visas.

• EB-5 Visa (green card)

The EB-5 visa program is administered by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Successful applicants and their family can apply for a green card.

The EB-5 visa program, which is also called as the Golden Visa program, requires applicants to invest between US$900,000 and US$1.8 million, depending on the location of the project, and requires at least 10 jobs to be either created or preserved.[28][29]

There is an annual cap of 10,000 applications under the EB-5 program.[30] 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$200 million 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.[31]

• 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.[32][33]

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.[33]

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.[34]

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.[35] 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.[36]

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.[37][38] It did not offer permanent residency in Ireland, but could be extended every few years for an indeterminate period.[39]

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.[40]

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.[41] 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.[42]

On 16 February 2023 the Government announced that it would close the programme as soon as possible; it has published draft legislation to that effect, although this remains subject to amendment and/or legal challenge.[43]

United Kingdom

The UK had a program known as a Tier 1 (Investor) visa, which opened for applicants in 2008.[44] 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.[45]

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.[44]