In 2025, following the adjustments and reforms in immigration policies across various countries (regions) globally in 2024, what new trends will emerge in the overseas investment immigration market? How should investors plan their immigration journey? After careful research and analysis, tracking the development of immigration policies in various countries, and consulting with immigration experts and investors, Worldway Group releases the "Six Major Immigration Trends for 2025." This marks the 10th consecutive year that Worldway Group has forecasted immigration trends since 2015.
I. Trump's New Immigration Policy Launched, Efficiency of Legal Immigration Approval to Improve
In 2025, with Trump returning to the White House, a series of executive orders on immigration signed on his first day in office have continued to ferment, drawing widespread attention. These include: a crackdown on "illegal" immigration, ending birthright citizenship for children of those without legal status; simultaneously, fine-tuning legal immigration policies and establishing and implementing the "Department of Government Efficiency" led by Elon Musk, reporting directly to the Executive Office of the President; furthermore, Trump has even publicly declared that "America welcomes legal immigrants." It is foreseeable that with the launch of Trump's new immigration policy, the approval efficiency for legal immigration to the United States is expected to improve significantly. Based on this, EB-5 investment immigration, as a legal pathway, can both secure employment and promote U.S. economic growth, and may benefit from Trump's new policy. Coupled with Trump's previous announcement to reduce the tax burden on high-net-worth individuals, it may attract more attention from EB-5 investors, injecting new vitality into investment immigration policies. Additionally, according to the visa quota data for the 2025 fiscal year released by the U.S. Department of State and estimates based on the latest EB-5 application data from USCIS, the visa quota for TEA projects in high-unemployment urban areas is severely insufficient, and it is expected that the waiting period will become increasingly longer; while the supply and demand for visa quotas for rural TEA projects are still basically matched, an alarm has already been sounded. It is expected that to ensure the effective locking of quotas and priority dates, more investors will choose the non-visa-backlog EB-5 rural projects, and U.S. investment immigration may face a final sprint for non-visa-backlog options.
II. EU Immigration Policies Continue to Tighten in 2025, Demand for Immigration-Friendly Countries to Rise
In 2025, immigration policies in EU countries generally show a tightening trend. Previously, countries such as Spain, Hungary, and Malta have announced either price increases or closures, and the European Parliament has even proposed closing all investment immigration programs in 2025, which may prompt more people to accelerate their pace of acquiring EU status. Among the currently existing EU countries with friendly immigration thresholds—Greece and Portugal—their "Golden Visa" programs, which allow for rapid acquisition of EU status through simple investment and lower entry costs, will have strong appeal. Investors can apply for Greek permanent residency for the whole family of three generations by investing from 250,000 Euros in "commercial-to-residential" projects through the Greek Golden Residence Permit Program; or apply for Portuguese Golden Residence status for the whole family by purchasing funds from 500,000 Euros or donating from 200,000 Euros through the Portuguese Golden Residence Permit Program, and can apply for Portuguese citizenship 5 years after the date of application to receive a Portuguese EU passport; at the same time, with Cyprus joining the Schengen Area in 2025, the Cyprus Permanent Residency Program may once again become a hot market. It is foreseeable that despite the tightening of immigration policies in EU countries, the demand for EU countries with friendly immigration policies will rise in 2025, and the Greek Golden Residence Program, the Portuguese Golden Residence Program, and the Cyprus Permanent Residency Program will be highly sought after, and the number of people choosing to immigrate to EU countries through investment will continue to grow.
III. Major Adjustments to Canadian Immigration Policy, Entrepreneur and Business Immigration Programs to be Highly Popular
In 2025, the Canadian government broke the "quota increase" convention that had continued for over a decade and made significant adjustments to immigration quotas for the next 3 years for the first time. According to the 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan released by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the quotas for both permanent and temporary residents in 2025 have been sharply reduced, with the target for permanent residents decreasing from 500,000 to 395,000. This change means that temporary residents currently in Canada, including holders of work permits, study permits, and visitor visas, will face the dilemma of being forced to leave if they fail to change their status within the next year. Although Canada's immigration policy is being tightened layer by layer, it does not mean that the door to immigration has been completely closed; this move by the immigration department is to return quotas to pre-pandemic norms. This indicates that immigration opportunities in Canada still exist in 2025. In the context of obstacles to skilled immigration programs, the federal SUV Start-up Visa program, which has loose application thresholds and allows for quick acquisition of a Canadian Maple Leaf Card in one step, will become a popular choice, and entrepreneur immigration programs in various provinces will be highly popular.
IV. Optimization of Hong Kong's "Talent and Capital Attraction" Policy to Promote Continued Development of Hong Kong Immigration Programs
In 2025, to attract elite talent who truly meet the future development needs of Hong Kong, Hong Kong has not only implemented innovative reforms in talent introduction strategies but has also significantly relaxed the threshold for the project with the highest investment threshold in the immigration market—the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme. Starting from March 1, 2025, the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme allows applicants to include investments made through wholly-owned qualified private companies in the qualified investment amount, only requiring applicants to prove that they have had absolute beneficial ownership of 30 million HKD in assets over the past six months, and family joint assets are also recognized; at the same time, the first visa duration for Class A applicants under the Top Talent Pass Scheme has been extended to 3 years, and the list of mainland prestigious universities for Class B and C applicants has been expanded. As Hong Kong remains highly attractive to mainland individuals, and more and more applicants see the various dividends brought by Hong Kong status, the further optimization of Hong Kong's "talent and capital attraction" policy in 2025 will promote the continued development of Hong Kong immigration programs.
V. Commonwealth Countries' Investment Citizenship Programs Continue to Develop, Investor Choice Space to Increase
Driven by the concept of "asset allocation, status first," the appeal of a second passport is growing, and investment citizenship programs, as an effective means of status planning, are highly popular among investors. Among them, investment citizenship programs in Commonwealth island nations in the Caribbean and Pacific regions have always been the focus of investors due to their unique cost-effectiveness. In July 2024, five Commonwealth countries—Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Grenada—collectively raised the investment citizenship threshold to 200,000 USD. Although there were policy adjustments, they mainly focused on investment thresholds and background check requirements. Overall, the investment citizenship programs of Commonwealth countries have maintained a relatively stable trend; in November 2024, Nauru, a Commonwealth country in the Pacific region, re-launched a brand-new investment citizenship program for global investors after 21 years, requiring only 105,000 USD to allow the whole family of three generations to apply for a Nauru Commonwealth passport. This accessible investment threshold provides investors with a highly attractive investment citizenship option. It is foreseeable that under the trend of tightening immigration policies in EU countries, Commonwealth investment citizenship programs will continue to develop due to their uniqueness, and the space for investor choice will increase, especially Nauru, a Commonwealth country from the Pacific region, which may become a popular project in the global investment citizenship market in 2025.
VI. Children's Education Becomes an Important Driver for Continued Immigration Development, Demand for Balancing Status Planning and Education Planning to Rise
Driven by the wave of international education, in order to secure more educational resources and opportunities for their children, children's education planning is increasingly becoming a key consideration in the immigration decisions of many families. In 2025, several traditional immigration countries tightened their study-abroad immigration policies, adding hurdles to the path of international students. For example, many U.S. universities have issued warnings, reminding international students to return to the country in advance; Canada reduced the quota for international student visas and closed the SDS study permit fast-track channel; Australia implemented the new CAP plan policy, setting an enrollment cap for international students. In this context, many families who have high expectations for their children and have needs for studying abroad will more urgently combine status planning with their children's education planning. It is foreseeable that in 2025, due to the new adjustments and restrictions on study visas by key study-abroad countries such as the U.S., Canada, and Australia, more people will be prompted to carry out status planning and education planning simultaneously, promoting the continued development of immigration driven by education, and status planning projects aimed at children's education will be more attractive, with more people conducting status planning for the sake of their children's education.
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