right to live and work anywhere in the European Union,
and an EU passport will allow you to open a bank
account anywhere in the world. The United States
continues to be the most popular country for citizenship
– accepting nearly 10,000 applicants per year through
its EB-5 visa.
An EB-5 visa provides the same green card as other
qualifying processes, allowing the investor and his or her
immediate family to live, study, work and retire anywhere
in the United States. The EB-5 program helps foreigners
obtain a coveted piece of American life while stimulating
the U.S. economy through job creation. Malta and Cyprus are the only two countries in Europe
that offers a true citizenship by investment program,
known as the Individual Investor Program. Between
2015 and 2016, 450 people applied to Malta and about
half were approved, according to Malta government
statistics. Under the program, investors must make a
non-refundable contribution of at least $705,000 to the
National Development and Social Fund, invest at least
$162,000 in government approved financial instruments
and purchase a home for at least $380,000 or lease a
property for five years. The Malta passport allows for
visa-free travel to more than 160 countries - including
European Schengen states.
The EB-5 is followed by Portugal’s Golden Visa program,
which had more than 4,200 applicants between 2012
and 2016, according to a government report. Canada
is also an attractive destination when it comes to
investment immigration. More than 4,700 immigrants
have received visas under the Quebec Immigrant
Investor Program from 2001 to 2016, according to
Canadian government statistics. Under the Canadian
program, a foreign national needs to invest $600,000,
which is returned after 5 years. Cyprus has about 500 applicants per year in a program
where investors need to make at least a $2.16 million
investment before being able to gain Cyprus citizenship
and live, work and study in all EU countries, according
to government reports. Other popular countries in
Europe is United Kingdom, which has more than 2,000
applicants a year of people who wants to invest $2.5
million, and Ireland, where 380 applications have been
approved since 2012, resulting in an investment of about
$154 million, according to government statistics.
107 EB5 INVESTORS M AGAZINE