1. Moldova's Investment Citizenship Program Begins Accepting Immigration Applications, Becoming the First Investment Citizenship Project from a European Country
On November 5, 2018, at the "12th Global Residence and Citizenship Conference" held in Dubai, Mr. Vitalie Iurcu, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure of Moldova, solemnly announced that the Moldovan government would officially accept investment citizenship applications from qualified foreign investors starting in November 2018. This became the first fast passport program from a European country, requiring a minimum investment of only €100,000 for a family of three generations to quickly obtain a passport from a European country, with a fast approval speed. This Moldovan investment citizenship project, praised as "Caribbean prices, European citizenship," quickly became popular upon its launch, sparking market enthusiasm and becoming a new hotspot for investment immigration in 2018.
2. Greece's Real Estate Immigration Program Becomes Exceptionally Popular, Ranking Among the Hottest Immigration Projects of 2018
In 2018, as the European economy steadily recovered and the eight-year Greek debt crisis was officially resolved, Greece's tourism and real estate markets experienced explosive growth. The Greek real estate immigration program, starting at €250,000, swept through the immigration sector with unstoppable momentum. Purchasing real estate in Greece not only grants permanent ownership that can be passed down through generations, enjoying property appreciation benefits, but also allows a family of three generations to quickly obtain permanent residency in Greece. The multiple advantages of the Greek real estate immigration program made it highly sought after by investors, ranking among the hottest immigration projects of 2018.
3. Identity Planning Becomes an Important Consideration in Asset Allocation, Investment Citizenship Projects Gain Popularity
In recent years, Chinese investors have gradually turned to overseas markets. Driven by the internationalization of asset allocation, identity planning has become an important consideration in asset allocation in 2018—asset allocation, with identity as a priority. Meanwhile, as many countries continue to relax their investment citizenship project policies, and due to the introduction of high-cost-performance investment citizenship projects by some countries, investment citizenship projects suitable for high-net-worth individuals have gained significant popularity.
For instance, the Antigua National Development Fund donation project has been extended with substantial discounts until October 31, 2019; the Grenada Act amendment is about to significantly relax application requirements; Saint Lucia has expedited approvals, with clients receiving approval in just over a month. At the same time, investment citizenship projects have begun to spread from Commonwealth island nations to European countries, such as Moldova's investment citizenship project requiring only €100,000; Montenegro's investment citizenship project starting at €550,000/€350,000; and Turkey's adjustment of investment citizenship policies, reducing the investment amount by 75%, allowing citizenship through real estate purchases starting at $250,000.
4. Cyprus Investment Program Continues to Tighten, Limiting Applications to 700 Per Year
On May 21, 2018, the Cypriot government announced that the Cyprus Special Citizenship Program would be officially renamed the Cyprus Investment Program, while also amending relevant legislation. Starting in 2018, the Cyprus Immigration Bureau will accept a quota of 700 investment applications; the processing time for submitted applications has been extended to six months; each application must undergo due diligence; and applicants must hold their real estate investment for three years from the date of the planning permit issuance. This means that the high-quality and increasingly popular Cyprus investment program is facing rising scrutiny and higher application thresholds.
5. Canada’s Immigration Policy Adjustments Intensify
In 2018, Canada announced and implemented several new immigration policies, with frequent changes. The Prince Edward Island Entrepreneur Immigration Policy was adjusted twice in a year, reopening the EOI selection model in February, still allowing for direct entry, but after a pause in September, it reopened as a work visa model; Manitoba's Entrepreneur Immigration program announced its reopening in May after being closed for six months, with the EOI online system still not fully developed, temporarily following transitional application processes; New Brunswick's Entrepreneur Immigration program suspended EOI applications in October due to a surge in applicants; Quebec's Investor Immigration program reopened in September, significantly increasing asset and investment requirements for applicants. Additionally, the Canadian federal government announced its immigration quota plan for the next three years (2019-2021), stating that Canada will accept over one million new immigrants.
6. Australia’s Immigration Policies Continue to Tighten
2018 was a year of continuous tightening of immigration policies in Australia. The EOI submission threshold for skilled immigration was raised from 60 points to 65 points, affecting all independent skilled visa applicants; the 457 employer-sponsored work visa was abolished, and the 482 temporary skills shortage visa was established, eliminating the IELTS exemption for applicants transitioning to employer-sponsored permanent residency, increasing the difficulty of transitioning to PR; New South Wales suspended all business immigration applications, etc. This indicates that another traditional immigration country has begun to comprehensively tighten its immigration policies.
7. EU Countries Strengthen Anti-Money Laundering Measures, Immigration Scrutiny Becomes Stricter
In 2018, there were signs of tightening scrutiny in EU countries, with stricter bank account opening procedures, rigorous review of immigration funds, thorough background checks on investors and their families, and the Greek government halting the practice of purchasing real estate through credit cards for investment immigration, among other indications. These signs suggest that EU countries are gradually strengthening their anti-money laundering measures. This has prompted immigration agencies to raise their standards for business quality and service quality, as well as client selection. At the same time, these measures have been well received by various EU countries, contributing to overall market stability and healthy industry development.
8. Mainland China’s EB Visa Applications Nearly Enter Comprehensive Backlog Era
In 2018, applicants from mainland China for various employment-based (EB) immigration applications experienced varying degrees of visa backlogs.
The EB-1 immigration application category, which has extremely high requirements for applicants, includes EB-1A (Extraordinary Ability Immigration Application) and EB-1C (Multinational Executive Immigration Application). In recent years, due to an increase in applications, visa backlogs for mainland Chinese applicants in the EB-1 category have appeared for several consecutive months in 2018; even in October 2018, the first month of the new fiscal year 2019, EB-1 visa backlogs did not disappear, and backlogs continued in November and December. This indicates that the EB-1 immigration application visa backlog for mainland Chinese applicants has become normalized. For EB visa applications from mainland China, except for the special immigration category primarily for religious workers, namely EB-4 immigration applications, which have not yet normalized, the situation has nearly entered a comprehensive backlog era. Visa backlogs have become the primary concern for EB immigration applicants from mainland China.
9. National Immigration Administration Announces Cancellation of Qualification Recognition for Private Exit-Entry Intermediary Agencies
On October 23, 2018, the National Immigration Administration, established earlier this year, issued a notice regarding the cancellation of qualification recognition for private exit-entry intermediary agencies: In order to implement the nationwide rollout of the "Separation of Licenses and Certificates" reform, starting from November 10, 2018, the qualification recognition for private exit-entry intermediary agencies (excluding overseas employment) will be canceled. Local public security exit-entry management departments will no longer accept applications for qualification recognition of private exit-entry intermediary agencies (excluding overseas employment) and will stop approving and issuing "Private Exit-Entry Intermediary Agency Operating Licenses." This raises higher self-regulatory requirements for the Chinese immigration industry, while also making investors more cautious when selecting immigration intermediaries.
10. Chinese Immigration Company Successfully Hosts the First Large Sino-European Forum Organized by a Non-Governmental Organization
On September 8, 2018, the first large Sino-European forum organized by a non-governmental organization in China, the 2018 Sino-European Trade and Investment Forum, was successfully held, hosted by a Chinese immigration intermediary. This forum received strong support from relevant government agencies in China and the European Union, with ambassadors, ministers, and counselors from 18 European countries' embassies in China in attendance, drawing global attention with a thousand-person gathering. At the meeting, experts expressed views such as "immigration investment has become an important way for Chinese personal capital to enter Europe and is also a significant force in promoting Sino-European trade development," resonating strongly with many attendees.
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