Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Chris Alexander told the media in Shanghai yesterday that in two months, Canada will announce the launch of a new investment immigration program. The processing time for this program will be significantly shortened; starting January 1, 2015, applicants who previously had to wait 5-10 years for approval are expected to receive their immigration visas in just 6 months.
In February of this year, the Canadian government announced the termination of the federal investment immigration program that had been in effect for nearly 30 years, with some media claiming that the dreams of 57,000 wealthy Chinese applicants were shattered. In response, the Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Chris, confirmed this yesterday. He believes that "terminating" the investment immigration program is a misinterpretation; in reality, Canada is "adjusting" an old immigration policy that has been in place for nearly 30 years. The affected "old" applicants can either switch to applying for the new investment immigration program or choose to apply for a refund, and legislation has begun in Canada to ensure they receive the corresponding refunds.
It is reported that the new investment immigration program, as a pilot project, will be announced in two months. Although some details have not yet been finalized, there are three changes compared to the previous policy.
1、Significant increase in investment threshold
In the future, applicants will need to invest at least 1.6 million Canadian dollars, which means the amount is doubled or even higher than the 800,000 Canadian dollars required by the original investment immigration program. Furthermore, this investment is no longer just "giving money," but rather invested in Canadian businesses as venture capital. This also means that applicants may receive investment returns, but they must also bear the risk of failure, and this money is very likely to be "gone forever."
Prior to this, foreign investors only needed to have a net worth of 1.6 million Canadian dollars (approximately 8.8 million RMB) and provide an 800,000 Canadian dollar, 5-year interest-free loan to any province in Canada to obtain permanent residency. After 5 years, the 800,000 Canadian dollars would be returned to the investor. Compared to this, countries like the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand have much higher financial thresholds and do not provide immediate permanent residency.
2、Significantly shortened approval time
In the future, applicants will only need to wait 6 months for approval. Chris emphasized that starting January 1, 2015, applicants for both skilled worker immigration and investment immigration will only need 6 months to know whether they have obtained an immigration visa. He stated that among Canada's new immigrant groups, skilled workers still make up the majority. These individuals have high levels of education and strong work capabilities, bringing significant contributions. Therefore, Canada hopes to attract more high-quality talent, and "no one wants to wait 10 years to be approved for immigration; if they are talented, they will cast a wide net, and they might have already moved to other countries while waiting."
3、New requirements for residency time
In the future, applicants must reside in Canada: immigrants who have obtained permanent residency must live in Canada for 2 years out of every 5 years, and those applying for citizenship must live in Canada for 4 years out of every 6 years. To ensure the smooth implementation of the immigration policy, Chris stated that starting next year, Canada will comprehensively strengthen the management of entry and exit records. Previously, many immigrants, due to feelings of loneliness or medical conditions while residing in Canada, would return to their home countries for long-term living after obtaining their immigration visa and landing. The Canadian side believes that this situation is difficult to bring benefits to the domestic economy. In the future, Canadian border officials will "not just take a look" at the passports of immigrants entering and exiting, but will also record the time of each entry and exit.
