1. Introduction
Immigrant investor programs are programs designed to attract foreign capital and businesspeople by providing the right of residence and citizenship in return. These are also known as citizenship by investment, golden visa, or golden passport programs.
Immigrant investor programs usually have multiple criteria that must be fulfilled for the investment to qualify, often pertaining to job creation, purchasing of real estate, non-refundable contributions, or specifically targeted industries. Most of these programs are structured to ensure that the investment contributes to the welfare, advancement, and economic development of the country in which they wish to reside or belong to. It is more often about making an economic contribution than just an investment.
2. Benefits
A clear benefit for people is the ease of travel that a residency card or second passport brings. In the last few years, international travel has become increasingly difficult and time-consuming especially when frequent and multiple visa applications are having to be made. Business visas for people become easier to obtain on many-second passports. Be it for business travel or leisure, second citizenship, and an accompanying passport can significantly ease travel and visa applications for Indian citizens. Many of our clients have invested in second citizenship for just that reason. Another popular benefit for people is education.
With real estate investment in Europe in countries such as Portugal and Spain, it will allow freedom of travel throughout the EU Schengen zone through a residency card. Countries such as Malta and Cyprus can issue second passports quickly. Likewise, the Caribbean countries of St. Kitts, Antigua, Grenada, and Dominica, all allow citizens of India to apply for a second passport. A second passport from any of these countries will enable visa-free travel for Indian citizens to many countries across the globe and faster more efficient processing of visa applications where travel or business visas are required. Typical investments start from around USD$600,000.
3. Countries
The below information is for different countries
- 1. USA : The EB-5 visa allows immigrants to gain permanent residence as soon as they enter the United States. To qualify one must be willing to invest between 500,000 USD and 1 million USD in a U.S. business and must also be prepared to take an active role in that business
- 2. Canada : The Immigrant Investor Program allows experienced business people to settle in Canada and contribute to the country’s growth by investing in Canada’s economy. Investors need to have a minimum net worth of 1,600,000 CAD and be willing to invest at least 800,000 CAD in order to qualify. They are also required to demonstrate that they have adequate business experience.
- 3. Australia : The Subclass 891 visa for investors allows persons who are already holding a Subclass 162 visa and are willing to invest 1.5 million AUD over a period of four years in Australian business to settle permanently in Australia.
- 4. Malta : The Malta Individual Investor Programme, 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. The minimum investment for this program is $870,000 with a non-refundable contribution of $700,000.
- 5. Domenica : Domenica implemented its program in 1993 to provide investors with 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.
- 6. Quebec : The Quebec Immigrant Investor Program is a Canadian program that 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.
- 7. UK : The Tier-1 visa allows immigrants to gain permanent residence as soon as they enter the UK. In order to qualify one must be willing to invest between £1,623 visa fee and £2 - £5 million in the UK business and must also be prepared to take an active role in that business.
4. Conclusion
The investor visa is one of the visas to enter the country. You will be getting a passport to stay in that country permanently. Though there are some restrictions you can get huge profits by doing good business.
