Citizenship-by-investment programs evoke strong criticism all over the world, offering residence in lieu of investment. They are popular among developed nations and they are always in demand amongst wealthy investment immigrants.
While very few countries in the Caribbean region and Europe offer citizenship in lieu of investment, around half the constituents of the European Union offer long-term residence visas to wealthy individuals complying with minimum investment requirements. The UK introduced its Tier 1 Investor Visa in 1994. Greece, Portugal, and Spain joined the club and began offering residence to investors between 2012 and 2013. The USA was an early entrant with its EB-5 program in force since 1990. Canada launched its program in 1986 however has recently retreated from the industry with a limited investor immigration program.
However, such long-term residence permits come with a steep price. France requires investment immigrants to invest $12.7 in businesses in the country, which is the highest in the world. Britain is next requiring investment of £2 million in bonds, followed by Singapore, Netherlands, Australia, and Hong Kong—all requiring investments in businesses operating in the country.
Portugal and Spain require property investments while the USA's EB-5 program requires investments in commercial enterprises in the country. Cyprus is the comparatively inexpensive program with only crisis-hit Greece offering residence at a lower price.
Despite the high investment requirements, applications for such residence permits have been surging primarily due to demand from millionaires from China. Eight out of every ten Golden Visas issued by Portugal have been granted to Chinese applicants.
In 2014, nine out of every ten EB-5 visas were awarded to applicants from China. In 2004, Chinese applicants constituted just 20% of all successful applicants. For the past two years, EB-5 applicants from China have exceeded the total number of visas available under the program.
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