Ten of the world’s most popular investor immigration schemes
By International Adviser, 17 Nov 15
With investor immigration programs rapidly rising in popularity around the world, the Global Investor Immigration Council publishes its latest report giving an overview of a number of investor visa schemes.
Australia has had provisions for entrepreneurs to migrate since 1976 and introduced a business migration scheme since for those investing at least A$500,000 (£234,000, €334,000, $356,000) in 1982.
Programme types have varied greatly over the years, and often factors such as age, language skills, and business background taken into consideration, and consequently they may not be defined as traditional investor immigration programs.
From 2007 to 2012, Australia averaged an intake of more than 7,000 people per year under its business skills visa.
In May 2012, the minister for immigration and citizenship announced the introduction of the Significant Investor Visa, which was later opened in November 2012.
This scheme represents a more traditional investor immigration program, with clear requirements and investment thresholds.
Minimum of four years
Under the program, immigrant investors are required to invest A$5 million in complying investments for a minimum of four years.
From its inception in November 2012 through to the end of March 2015, 751 primary visas have been granted under the Significant Investor program.
In the most recent five quarters, there has been steady growth in the number of visas granted, and applications lodged continues to exceed the number of visas granted.
Tags: Visa
