Recently, the Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Alexander, announced that a new investment immigration program will be introduced soon, which will not only increase the minimum investment amount by at least double to CAD 1.6 million (approximately CNY 8.8 million), but will also strictly stipulate the duration of stay required for applicants in Canada.
Similar to Canada, non-traditional immigration countries have also raised the thresholds for investment immigration:
Australia significantly revised its business immigration (i.e., investment immigration) rules in April 2010, abolishing the 163B category of business immigration and substantially increasing the capital requirements for other categories of business immigration. The net asset requirement for families rose from AUD 250,000 to AUD 500,000 (approximately CNY 2.74 million), an increase of 100%. The minimum shareholding requirement for business immigration increased from an annual turnover of AUD 400,000 and a capital ratio of 10% to 49%.
In Singapore, the investment immigration regulations were amended in the third quarter of 2010. The original Plan A required an investment of at least SGD 1 million in a self-operated entity, which was changed to SGD 2.5 million (approximately CNY 12.04 million); Plan B, which originally required an investment of at least SGD 1.5 million in designated funds, was also changed to SGD 2.5 million; while Plan C, which was a combination of investment funds and real estate, was simply abolished, meaning that investment immigration for purchasing local real estate is no longer encouraged.
On December 23, 2013, Malta announced amendments to its citizenship law, raising the investment immigration threshold from EUR 650,000 to EUR 1.15 million.
At the end of 2013, the New Zealand Immigration Service announced the cancellation of the "Entrepreneur Immigration" program starting December 20, and a new entrepreneur immigration scheme will be launched at the end of March 2014, modeled after Australia’s points-based system. Factors such as business experience, number of employees, export potential, innovation, fixed asset investment, and age will all become scoring criteria, with a minimum score of 120 required to qualify for application. It is analyzed that 80% of current applicants will not meet the new requirements, and there are reports that New Zealand's "investment immigration" program may also tighten.
Meanwhile, not all countries are tightening their investment immigration policies; there are both strict and lenient approaches.
In September 2009, President Obama signed the EB-5 Immigration Act. According to this act, the United States established "EB-5 Investment Regional Centers" across the country to attract foreign immigrant applicants for investment. EB-5 regional centers approved by the government can recruit investment immigrants, and as long as they invest USD 500,000 in the region, establish a project, employ more than 10 local workers, and operate normally for more than two years, they can apply for a green card unconditionally.
The most obvious "lenient" trend is seen in Southern European countries struggling with financial constraints. In May 2013, Greece launched a new economic immigration program, allowing foreigners to obtain permanent residency by purchasing real estate worth EUR 250,000. Recently, the real estate transfer tax was reduced from 11% to 3%. The Greek Deputy Minister of Development and Competitiveness, Notis Mitarachi, personally promoted this project in China, although he also emphasized that "we hope that investment immigrants come to Greece to genuinely obtain residency, rather than to change identities or transfer assets," the intention to accept is evident.
In February 2009, Cyprus introduced a new immigration regulation stating that "purchasing property worth EUR 300,000 can apply for permanent residency," which was once very popular.
In September 2013, Spain launched a new policy of "buying a house for residency," stipulating that anyone purchasing real estate worth EUR 500,000 can obtain a renewable two-year residency.
At the end of 2012, Portugal launched the so-called "Golden Residence Permit Program," which allows for permanent residency for the whole family after five years of investment of EUR 500,000 in real estate, and eligibility for citizenship application after six years. During the five years, applicants can obtain a Schengen visa, and the "immigration monitoring" is merely seven days in the first year and 14 days every two years thereafter. According to the Portuguese embassy, as of last November, 248 Chinese applicants had obtained visas under this immigration program, accounting for nearly 80% of the total.
Investors should carefully choose based on their specific circumstances and immigration needs regarding the varying investment immigration policies across countries; what is suitable is the best.