IM Yearbook 2020/21

The Middle East
Turkey’s citizenship-by-investment
programme continues to attract
applicants. According to media reports,
the country has granted more than
9,000 citizenship through real estate
investment since 2016. However, the
lion’s share of applications was received
after the country reduced the investment
threshold in 2018. Since then foreigners
who purchase real estate in Turkey
worth a minimum of $250,000, instead
of the previous limit of $1 million, qualify
for Turkish citizenship. In addition to its
attraction as a regional economic hub,
many investors chose to first invest
in a Turkish passport and then apply
for the USA’s E2 entrepreneur visa
through their new Turkish citizenship.
Jordan aims to attract more investors to
its citizenship-by-investment programme
and reduced its minimum investment
requirements by 25-50% depending
on the investment option in 2020. The
programme, which started in 2018, has
reportedly raised some $1.38 billion and
created some 7,400 jobs from just 200
investors. Meanwhile, Egypt’s cabinet
also signed off on granting citizenship
to foreigners who either buy property
or invest in the country. Under the new
law, foreigners have three ways to obtain
Egypt passport: They can either donate
$250,000 to the state treasury, purchase
real estate of at least $500,000, or
deposit at least $750,000 into a local bank
account, which is returned after five years.
Australia & New Zealand
Australia and New Zealand have closed their borders to almost all
foreigners as part of their Covid-19 response, and it looks like borders
may remain closed until late 2021. However, there is the general feeling
that the current restrictions will not affect their positioning as top
destinations for migrating high-net-worth individuals, although both
countries require a relatively large investment. New Zealand has two
investor visas, which either require an investment of NZ$3 million or of
NZ$10 million, whereby a combined total of around 2,200 applications
were approved since 2009. Australia’s Significant Investor Visa (SIV)
continues to appeal to Chinese nationals, with the visa number for the
permanent residence visa being subclass 888 – meaning triple fortune
in Chinese numerology. With 88% of applicants in Australia originating
from China, it becomes clear that the Australian government is
prepared to further encourage growth of this market. Some 2,400
SIV have been granted since the start of the programme in 2012.
America & Canada
Demand for the USA’s EB-5 Investor Visa dropped when the minimum
investment was raised from $500,000 to $900,000 in November
2019. EB-5 practitioners believe the market will stabilise again.
However, for others it is not yet clear whether, or to what extent,
the US will remain its status as the world’s leading immigration
nation, highlighting that the country’s image suffered on the back
of social and political unrest, while the Covid-19 pandemic did not
help either. Interest in EB-5 increased in the summer of 2020 when
the US paused green card applications and visa processing, with
the exception of EB-5. The White House said the freeze, in place
till the end of 2020, is aimed at protecting the US labour market.
Neighbouring Canada meanwhile has built a reputation of welcoming
immigrants and valuing multiculturalism. There is huge interest in
Canada’s Start-Up Visa on the back of Canada’s expanding tech sector.
Some commentators say the programme has become increasingly
popular after the USA’s temporary visa ban. Quebec’s Immigrant
Investor Program meanwhile has been suspended until March 2021.
To participate in the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program, individuals
were required to invest $1.2 million. According to government
officials, the main reason for the suspension is a huge backlog of
applications have yet to be processed; however, Quebec also wants
to use the suspension period to review the programme’s criteria.
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