A single article has stirred up a wave of interest! Recently, the "Top Ten Immigration Events of 2018" released by Worldway Group has garnered significant attention from the industry and numerous domestic media outlets. Within a short period, it was reprinted and reported by many media across the country, rapidly spreading through major platforms such as Sina, Phoenix, NetEase, and China News Network. This marks the fifth consecutive year that Worldway Group has compiled significant events in the immigration industry, making it a focal point of interest both inside and outside the industry.
In 2018, the global immigration landscape experienced significant fluctuations, with a series of major events having far-reaching impacts. The Moldova Investment Citizenship Program began accepting immigration applications, becoming the first investment citizenship project from a European country; the Greek property investment immigration program became exceptionally popular, ranking as one of the hottest immigration projects of 2018; identity planning became an important consideration in asset allocation, leading to a surge in popularity for investment citizenship projects; and the Cyprus investment program continued to tighten... As the trend of asset allocation strengthened, the demands of immigration applicants became increasingly diverse, with investors paying closer attention to changes in immigration policies across various countries. Below is the authoritative release of the "Top Ten Immigration Events of 2018" by Worldway Group, allowing us to revisit those events that garnered significant attention from both the industry and investors.
1. Moldova 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 project from a European country, requiring only a minimum investment of €100,000 for a family of three generations to quickly obtain a passport from a European country, with a fast approval speed. This Moldova investment citizenship project, praised as "Caribbean island prices, European citizenship," quickly became a hot topic in the investment immigration sector upon its launch.
2. Greek Property Investment Immigration Becomes Exceptionally Popular, Ranking as One of the Hottest Immigration Projects of 2018
In 2018, as the European economy steadily recovered and the eight-year Greek debt crisis was officially resolved, the Greek tourism and real estate markets experienced explosive growth. The Greek property investment immigration program, starting from €250,000, swept through the immigration sector with unstoppable momentum. Purchasing property in Greece not only grants permanent ownership that can be passed down through generations, enjoying the benefits of property appreciation, but also allows the entire family to quickly obtain permanent residency in Greece. The multiple advantages of the Greek property investment immigration program made it highly sought after by investors, ranking as one of the hottest immigration projects of 2018.
3. Identity Planning Becomes an Important Consideration in Asset Allocation, Leading to a Surge in Popularity for Investment Citizenship Projects
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—"identity precedes asset allocation." Meanwhile, as many countries have continuously relaxed their investment citizenship project policies, and due to the introduction of high-cost-performance investment citizenship projects by several countries, investment citizenship projects suitable for high-net-worth individuals have become highly popular.
For instance, the Antigua National Development Fund donation project has been significantly extended until October 31, 2019; the Grenada Act amendment is about to greatly relax application requirements; Saint Lucia has expedited approvals, with clients receiving approvals 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 launching an investment citizenship project requiring only a minimum investment of €100,000; Montenegro introducing investment citizenship projects starting at €550,000/€350,000; and Turkey adjusting its investment citizenship policy, significantly 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 officially be renamed the Cyprus Investment Program, and relevant legislation was amended. Starting in 2018, the Cyprus Immigration Department 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 property 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 again, changing to a work visa model; Manitoba’s Entrepreneur Immigration program announced its reopening in May after being closed for six months, but the EOI online system was not yet improved, so applications were temporarily processed under transitional procedures; New Brunswick’s Entrepreneur Immigration program paused EOI applications in October due to a surge in applicants; Quebec’s Investor Immigration program reopened in September, with significantly increased 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 Policy Continues to Tighten
2018 was a year of continuous tightening of Australia’s immigration policies. The EOI submission threshold for skilled immigration was raised from 60 points to 65 points, affecting all independent skilled immigration 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 powerhouse has begun to comprehensively tighten its immigration policies.
7. EU Countries Strengthen Anti-Money Laundering Measures, Immigration Scrutiny Intensifies
In 2018, there were signs of tightening scrutiny in EU countries, with stricter bank account opening procedures, rigorous checks on immigration funds, thorough background checks on investors and their families, and the Greek government halting the practice of purchasing property through credit cards for investment immigration. These signs indicate that EU countries are gradually strengthening their anti-money laundering measures. This has prompted immigration intermediaries to raise their standards for business quality and service quality, as well as for 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, various immigration applications based on employment (Employment Based) from applicants in mainland China, namely 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 (Outstanding Talent Immigration Application) and EB-1C (Multinational Executive Immigration Application). In recent years, due to an increase in application volume, visa backlogs for applicants from mainland China have appeared for several consecutive months in 2018; even in October 2018, the first month of the new fiscal year 2019, EB-1 category visa backlogs did not disappear, and backlogs continued to appear in November and December. This indicates that the EB-1 immigration application visa backlog for applicants from mainland China has become a norm. 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, it 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 and 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 and 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 and entry intermediary agencies (excluding overseas employment) will be canceled. Local public security exit and entry management departments will no longer accept applications for qualification recognition of private exit and entry intermediary agencies (excluding overseas employment) and will stop approving and issuing "Private Exit and Entry Intermediary Agency Operating Licenses." This raises higher self-regulatory requirements for the Chinese immigration industry, while investors are also 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, hosted by a Chinese immigration intermediary, the 2018 Sino-European Trade and Investment Forum, was successfully held. 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, attracting global attention with a thousand-person gathering. At the conference, 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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