Looking back at the first half of 2010 in the immigration market, various immigration countries have leveraged their respective strengths to "high-profile" combat the "cold winter," making the entire immigration market flourish. As senior investment immigration consultants mentioned at the beginning of the year: 2010 is a year of both opportunities and challenges for both the immigration industry and applicants. Traditional, established immigration countries like Canada and Australia remain classic and stable as always, while the United States and Singapore, as "rising stars," also possess deep developmental roots and a foundation that is widely favored.
Three Major Advantages of Immigration to the United States and Singapore
No strict residency requirements: U.S. law stipulates that green card holders cannot leave the country for more than 12 months at a time; if one wishes to apply for U.S. citizenship, the absence cannot exceed 6 months. Singapore has no restrictions on the interval between entries. This is the so-called "no immigration jail" requirement, which truly realizes the concept of "immigrating without relocating," making it very suitable for Chinese entrepreneurs who need to manage their businesses domestically.
Convenient application procedures: The current application procedures for both the United States and Singapore are relatively simple. For the United States, the applicant only needs to provide proof of the legal source of the $500,000 investment funds (real estate sales, corporate income, stock profits, gifts from others, etc., are all accepted). Singapore only requires the applicant to prove they are a successful entrepreneur (if the applicant is a business owner, they provide the company's financial operations; non-business owners are required to prove a certain amount of net family assets). The general process for both countries takes about one year. This is significantly faster than Canada and Australia.
No need for a "first pot of gold," and no need to declare all assets: Neither country has language or educational requirements for applicants, but both require applicants to be at least 21 years old. The United States only requires an explanation of the legal source of the $500,000 investment and the provision of corresponding transaction vouchers. Singapore requires the applicant to have a successful business background and be an outstanding entrepreneur. As for how the applicant obtained their "first pot of gold," neither country is overly "concerned" about it.
Choose an Immigration Destination Based on Your Own Needs
Since the advantages of established immigration countries are well-known and numerous, and the recent "dark horses" each have their own strengths and are unstoppable, the question applicants care about most is: with so many immigration countries, which one is more suitable to apply for? Is there any secret to it? Ms. Zang stated that there is no such thing as a good or bad destination country, only one that is suitable or not. For investors, selecting based on needs is the key to success. The most suitable one is the best, which can be viewed from the following three aspects:
First, look at the purpose of immigration: Many applicants follow the crowd blindly when choosing to immigrate, not knowing why they are doing it, let alone understanding the immigration policies of that country. Therefore, Ms. Zang suggests that the most important thing for applicants is to first clarify why they want to immigrate, and then make a comprehensive choice based on their needs. For example, some consider their children's education, in which case the United States and Canada might be better, as these two countries have relatively rich educational resources, are easily interchangeable, and offer a wider range of choices. Even if the goal is the same—to let children study abroad—some people prefer the bilingual education of Singapore, while others prefer the flexible academic system of the United States. It is indeed necessary to combine the child's situation for a comprehensive analysis.
Second, look at family planning: Many applicants process immigration but do not want to relocate. Even if they let their wife (or husband) accompany the child to live there for a period of time, it is only to take care of the child's daily life when they first go abroad, serving as a transition, not really intending to live in these countries. In this case, one must consider clearly that countries with explicit "immigration jail" requirements must be treated with extreme caution. There are also applicants who want their children to have an overseas status but do not meet the conditions for a separate application. In this situation, one can submit an application in the parents' name. After obtaining status, if the applicant truly cannot meet the residency requirements, they can choose to relinquish the status and then "restore status" or apply for "family reunion" when they are in a position to reside there.
Third, look at the investment method: Different immigration countries have different requirements for the applicant's investment method. Canada involves purchasing government bonds or paying interest in a lump sum, which is relatively safe. Regarding current investment methods, many people choose the one-time payment of 120,000 Canadian dollars; this method has low costs and is relatively economical. The United States requires an investment of $500,000 into a regional center approved by the immigration bureau, with various methods such as loans or equity investments. Project selection is very important and must be treated with particular caution. Singapore involves investing entirely in financial products approved by the new government, with a minimum investment of 1.5 million Singapore dollars, featuring both capital-guaranteed and non-capital-guaranteed pure financial operation models, with relatively high returns. In summary, the investment amounts and methods for each country are different, and applicants need to act according to their capabilities based on their actual cash flow situation.
Of course, in these countries, if one person applies successfully, the whole family obtains status simultaneously. After obtaining immigration status, children can study or work in that country without worrying about residency issues. For entrepreneurs who are only looking to obtain an overseas status for their children's education or to facilitate their own visits to their children or business trips abroad, choosing investment immigration is indeed a cost-effective plan.