How a U.S. Visa-for-Cash Plan Funds Luxury Apartment Buildings – The Wall Street Journal explores how, in order to benefit from EB-5 investment, companies are gerrymandering to ensure that projects in affluent neighborhoods are still classed as being in areas of low income and employment.
The other immigrants: how the super-rich skirt quotas and closed borders – Independent news website The Conversation looks at the history of investor immigration programs.
St Kitts And Nevis – A Champion And Model In Economic Performance In The Region Under Denzil Douglas – Dr Min Zhu, Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, has praised St. Kitts’ policy with regard to the CBI program, highlighting the use of program income to reduce debt as a positive model for the region.
UBS sets up small cap investor visa fund – Investment bank UBS has launched a new Australian Significant Investor Visa Fund to take advantage of new rules that require, as part of the total A$5 million investment, A$1.5 million to be in ASX-listed small companies and A$500,000 in venture capital.
Taiwan a refuge for stressed-out Hong Kongers – Taiwan’s investor immigration is becoming more attractive to citizens of Hong Kong due to its proximity, more relaxed pace of life, and relatively affordable investment threshold of NT$6 million (US$184,000).
Failure to Investigate Could Mean “Game-Set-and-Match” for EB-5 Investors – Case against brother-in-law of tennis star Andre Agassi is one of several claims recently pursued by the SEC against developers and agents in the EB-5 industry.
Spain boosts ‘golden visa’ scheme to tempt well-off potential expats – The Spanish government is looking to adjust the rules of its ‘golden visa’ scheme after underwhelming uptake since its launch in 2013.
Critics: Visa program for wealthy foreigners is ‘Immigration Reform for the 1%’– Immigrant advocacy groups and a service workers’ union have organized press conferences criticizing the EB-5 program in cities including Seattle, Los Angeles and San Diego. Despite recent controversies surrounding the program, many experts predict it will be extended and reauthorized.
Portugal’s Golden Visa investment drops sharply following corruption scandal– Applications for Portugal’s Residence Permits for Investment Activity have fallen significantly following investigations into officials managing the program in late 2014; July 2015 saw only 10 visas issued, all to Chinese citizens. However, experts predict that the recent reduction in investment thresholds will boost visa-eligible property sales.
Greek crisis attracts EU-dreaming Chinese investors – Real estate firms advising wealthy Chinese citizens on European property investments say that falling prices in Greece have seen an increase in applicants looking to gain residence rights in Europe through the country’s investor program.