Recently, with relevant media reports revealing that immigration to the United States, Hong Kong, and Europe became extremely popular in China in 2013, while traditional Canadian immigration policies have closed, "immigration" has once again become a hot topic! With Canada announcing the closure of its investment immigration policy, investment immigration to the United States and Hong Kong continues to thrive, and European property immigration is rapidly rising, presenting a three-pillar structure.
The U.S. EB-5 Investment Immigration Remains Extremely Popular
The United States, with its world-class education system, high-quality living environment, diverse cultural life, and various career development opportunities, has always been one of the top choices for Chinese immigration applicants. The application conditions of only requiring an investment of $500,000 and no educational or language requirements are also considered very suitable for wealthy individuals in China.
Compared to other countries, U.S. immigration policies are relatively lenient: there are no educational requirements, and no business management experience is necessary. It can be said that as long as one has qualifying assets, immigration can be processed. For example, the U.S. EB-5 investment immigration program requires applicants to have legal assets of over $500,000, invest $500,000 in a project approved by the immigration bureau, and retrieve the principal after five years, or invest $1 million directly in the U.S. Moreover, there is no "immigration monitoring" for U.S. green cards, allowing the applicant's entire family to continue living in China or reside in any city in the U.S. after obtaining the green card, without affecting China's social welfare while enjoying many benefits of the U.S. green card.
It is rumored that the U.S. quota will change from 10,000 green cards (visas) to 10,000 families. Therefore, in 2014, the U.S. will not close its immigration doors to Chinese investors or investors from around the world, but will become more open. Meanwhile, senior consultants at WorldWay have pointed out that due to the closure of Canadian immigration policies, a large number of investment immigration clients will turn to U.S. investment immigration, and since the U.S. investment immigration has proposed quota restrictions, it is expected that there will be a surge in U.S. investment immigration in 2014.
The Golden Period for European Property Immigration
The recently concluded year of 2013 has been dubbed the "Year of European Immigration" by WorldWay, as several European countries have rushed to introduce immigration policies that allow residency through simple property purchases, which have been highly favored by Chinese investors. Influenced by the recovery of the European economy, property immigration in Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, and Spain, due to its fast approval speed and the advantage of investing in real estate, will continue to be very popular in 2014.
For Chinese investors, purchasing properties in these European countries not only allows them to obtain residency but also enjoy superior natural and living environments and welfare benefits, providing their children with a good European education, and opens a door to business and career expansion in Europe and the United States. Regarding concerns from some investors about the European economic situation, WorldWay immigration experts analyze that there are clear signs of economic recovery in various European countries, such as the rising trend in property prices in Portugal. Moreover, it is precisely due to the economic downturn that the current property immigration policies in Europe have simple conditions, with no requirements for applicants' education, language, or business experience, and fast approval speeds. These favorable conditions may likely increase in difficulty as the European economy improves. Therefore, now is the golden opportunity for European property immigration.
The Popularity of Investment Immigration to Hong Kong Remains Strong
With the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Leung Chun-ying, delivering the new annual policy address in the Legislative Council on January 15, without mentioning the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme, industry experts generally expect that the news of rising prices for investors needing to rush to catch the last train has gradually settled, highlighting Hong Kong's continued support for the immigration investment industry.
As one of the global financial centers, Hong Kong has a more mature financial market than the mainland, and shifting the investment destination from the mainland to Hong Kong itself is an optimization of the held assets. Hong Kong, with its superior education system, mature financial system, and free trade model, has always been favored by investors.
The threshold for investment immigration to Hong Kong is HKD 10 million, investing in government-approved financial asset categories for 7 years, and there is no need to review the source of funds. With the appreciation of the Renminbi, this means that the investment threshold has been effectively lowered. If one wishes to invest safely, they can choose financial products that guarantee principal and interest, which can yield an annual interest of 5%, equivalent to HKD 500,000, sufficient for a family's living expenses for a year. WorldWay experts believe that under the favorable conditions of unchanged policies and thresholds, investment immigration to Hong Kong will continue to be extremely popular in the future.