According to comprehensive news from WorldWay Immigration: The Canadian investment immigration program, which began in 1986, has introduced over 130,000 immigrants from various countries, with the majority being Chinese. With the passage of Canada's federal budget bill C-31 on June 19, the country's immigration department officially terminated the "Federal Investor Program" and the "Federal Entrepreneur Program." The "one-size-fits-all" approach means that the previously backlog of 66,000 applications is now void, of which 57,000 were from China.
Canada's "earthquake" is just the "tip of the iceberg" of the tightening immigration policies in various countries during the first half of the year, creating a butterfly effect that spreads and ferments in major immigration countries worldwide. Policy tightening, stringent conditions, and malicious slander have made the immigration "dream" for Chinese immigrants increasingly feel like a "chicken rib"—something that is tasteless but too regrettable to discard.
Subtle Changes in Immigration Policies Overall Trend Towards Stringency
With the closure of the Canadian investment immigration program, many Chinese applicants have begun to turn their attention to countries and regions such as the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe.
Whether it is the United States' "EB-5 Immigration Program," Portugal's "Golden Residence Permit Program," Cyprus's 300,000 Euro property investment immigration program, Greece's "Aegean Second Home Project," or Spain's 500,000 Euro property investment immigration program, each has its unique features. However, they are all favored for their lower thresholds regarding language proficiency and business experience, allowing immigration through investment. The U.S. investment immigration industry association predicts that the 10,000 quota will be filled for the first time.
Portugal, Spain, Greece, and other "small but beautiful" vacation countries have become dark horses in the investment immigration market, sparking a "property investment immigration" craze.
Compared to investment immigration with fewer restrictions, other immigration programs in various countries have seen stricter policy limitations this year, making the path to immigration for applicants increasingly difficult. The Canadian immigration department announced that starting August 1, the age limit for dependent children in immigration applications will be reduced from 22 years to under 19 years.
In June, the United States saw significant setbacks in multiple immigration deadlines, with the third preference (EB-3) for employment-based immigration for individuals born in China regressing from October 1, 2012, in May to October 1, 2006, which is shocking. The U.S. State Department explained that this adjustment was made to prevent a surge in applications from exhausting the annual quota too early, and it is expected that there will be further retrogressions in the coming months.
Moreover, the booming investment immigration sector is also facing "undercurrents." In response to the increasing number of Chinese immigrants through the EB-5 investment immigration program, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General has criticized the situation, calling for immediate measures to strengthen reviews, particularly to ensure that applicants' investment plans genuinely create more job opportunities in the U.S., which could likely put the brakes on Chinese immigration.
Profit First: Using Immigration to Stimulate the Economy
For major immigration countries, the "interest-free loans" and talented resources brought by investment immigration projects can positively stimulate domestic economic development, which undoubtedly serves as the fundamental basis for government policy formulation. "Profit first" has become the preferred strategy, and once the actual direction diverges significantly from policy design, incidents of "face-changing" are inevitable.
It was not until the 2008 financial crisis made traditional financing channels difficult to obtain that the U.S. began to pay attention to the EB-5 program. Since its implementation in 1990, this program has brought approximately $6.7 billion in investments and created 95,000 jobs in the U.S. Last year, as of September 30, a total of 3,696 EB-5 investment immigration plans were approved, with Chinese applicants accounting for 80%.
From 2012 to 2013, 494 people globally obtained residency through Portugal's "Golden Residence Permit Program." In the first half of 2014, 670 investors received Portugal's "Golden Residence Visa," which is 136% of the total for 2013. The total investment raised by the Golden Residence Program has exceeded 700 million Euros (723.8 million), of which over 662.5 million is from property investments.
Looking at the changes in immigration policies across various countries in the first half of the year, using immigration to stimulate the economy has become a consensus. However, contrary to expectations, a large number of foreigners who obtained citizenship through investment immigration programs choose to return to their countries of origin, neither working nor paying taxes in Canada, let alone creating a significant number of job opportunities. In response to the diminished effectiveness of "immigrating without residing," Canada ultimately halted its investment immigration policy.
At the same time, many countries have also coincidentally given special consideration to outstanding talents when formulating immigration policies, recognizing the increasingly important role of talent promotion.
The United States has increased its efforts to attract overseas talent by lowering thresholds, revealing a particular emphasis on talent strategy. It has emphasized that talents from countries with immigration restrictions prior to 1965, including Chinese immigrants, have become an indispensable force in the country's research, innovation, and economy.
Controversy Abounds: Chinese Immigrants Often "Caught in the Crossfire"
For Western countries mired in financial crises, guiding immigrant funds to purchase properties at low points has become an important means of stimulating the economy. They attempt to take a share from the Chinese immigrants who are leaving the country through various "clearly priced" visas.
Spain's "Entrepreneur Law," which came into effect last September, is known as the "Golden Visa," aimed at encouraging overseas investors to obtain residency by purchasing properties worth 500,000 Euros.
Portugal's so-called "Golden Visa," which allows residency in exchange for investment, has attracted over 440 million Euros into the country, with Chinese immigrants making up the majority.
Cyprus, Malta, and Greece are competing for immigrants, pricing their immigration visas at 300,000 Euros, 650,000 Euros, and 250,000 Euros, respectively, with Chinese immigrants undoubtedly being the primary target group.
Faced with rising housing prices and continuous criticism from the public, governments as designers of immigration policies have chosen to "remain silent," even shifting the responsibility to immigrants. Even complex social phenomena such as soaring housing prices and high unemployment rates have been maliciously "pinned" on immigrants by some governments and the public. While wealth and talent are being absorbed by various countries, the increasing number of Chinese immigrants is also frequently "caught in the crossfire" amid controversy.
Despite frequent reports that Chinese immigrant buyers are driving up housing prices in various regions, a study in Australia provides a contrary answer. A study by the University of Technology Sydney on personal property transactions over ten years found that, overall, due to lower purchase prices, Chinese buyers have not driven up housing prices.
Rising Thresholds: The Path to Immigration Abroad Becomes Difficult
In addition to increasingly stringent policies, harsh requirements such as language proficiency, residency duration, increased financial thresholds, and extended timelines have continuously raised the barriers for Chinese immigrants.
Canada has not only tightened investment immigration but also raised the thresholds for skilled immigration. The new regulations for skilled immigration in Canada took effect on May 1, expanding the occupational categories to 50 and increasing the quota to 25,000. However, the actual response has been quite lukewarm. Immigration experts believe that Chinese applicants do not have an advantage; on one hand, language remains a major barrier, and on the other hand, many occupations require local qualifications, making it difficult for Chinese applicants' credentials to align. Therefore, this policy is seen as an attempt to attract immigrants from Commonwealth countries and Europe.
At the beginning of 2014, the American Immigration Lawyers Association issued a warning about the retrogression of EB-5 visa quotas. Meanwhile, calls for price increases have been rising. As we enter the second half of the year, it has become urgent for investors to seize the best opportunity for the U.S. EB-5 program.
