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The new law extends the EB-5 Regional Center program through September 30, 2027, with changes that will impact existing and future investors. First, the minimum EB-5 investment amount will increase to $800,000 from the current $500,000 for TEA and $1.05M from the current $1M for Non-TEA for both regional center and direct EB-5 investments.
For Investors currently already filed, I-526 petitions, adjustment of status applications, and consular procedures will resume.
Going forward, for future investors:
- For targeted employment areas (TEAs) or “infrastructure projects,” the needed investment amount will increase to $800,000. The investment amount will be $1,050,000 if this is not the case.
- Gifts are still allowed, and the funds will not be restricted to family members.
- Capital investments, administrative fees, and any fees “connected” with the investment are also subject to source of funds restrictions.
- If a regional center or new commercial enterprise (NCE) closes, there is a process in place to switch projects.
- If the EB-5 program lapses in the future, grandfathering laws require USCIS to continue processing EB-5 petitions as long as they are filed by September 30, 2026.
- The bill allocates 20% of total EB-5 visa numbers to investments in rural areas, 10% to investments in high-unemployment areas, and 2% to infrastructure projects. So there will be less visa numbers for most of the popular large TEA projects and green card quota backlogs are more likely.
- In some instances, protection for dependent children who have reached the age of majority.
This year witnessed a turning point for the Portugal Golden Visa program as the long-awaited changes took effect. As of January 1st, the real estate acquisition route has been limited to certain areas, while the minimum investment amounts for most other routes, such as capital transfer and fund investment, have increased. Investor demand had already increased when the announcement was first made in early 2021. But in November and December, as applicants rushed to complete their applications, the applications skyrocketed. Still, some investors will need to make it under the new regulations.
Current Portugal Golden Visa prospects are only able to buy a residential property in designated interior areas as a result of the changes. As the residential property option in Lisbon, Porto, and the majority of the Algarve is now taken out of the equation, the investors who want to buy a house in the country turned their attention to interior areas. Aljezur and Monchique are two popular spots where most investors have already started their search. The beautiful Douro Valley is in the spotlight too.
Commercial Property Investment Rises Although buying residential property in Lisbon, Porto, and most parts of the Algarve region will not qualify investors for a Portugal Golden Visa, buying commercial property in these same locations is still an option. Those who don’t want to compromise from these hot spots lead to an increase in their quest for commercial properties. Considering the growing popularity of Lisbon as a digital hub for both companies, top talent, and digital nomads, a commercial property investment might turn out to be a profitable investment, along with Portugal Golden Visa benefits.
Investment Funds Are Here to Stay The fund subscription investment amount increased to €500,000 from €350,000 with the new regulation. This may appear to be a significant increase, but when compared to other residency by investment programs in Europe, it is still a reasonable amount. Portugal Golden Visa funds were already popular in 2021. But, some investors did not want to rush their application under the old rules so that they could analyze the funds, vet the fund managers, and assess the risks and returns more carefully. As investors become more confident with this route and the fund market grows. We’re waiting for new funds to be introduced to the market through CMVM, which will make the market more competitive.
Less Popular Investment Options Might Come Forward The most common methods to a Portugal Golden Visa are real estate investment and fund subscription. Other, less popular investment options, on the other hand, may become utilized once the changes are fully digested. One of these methods is a €250,000 donation to the preservation of national heritage in Portugal. It may be appealing because the investment amount lower than other routes. Still, I don’t think it can substitute a real estate investment or a fund subscription because it’s a “donation” that doesn’t guarantee a financial return.
Increased Mobility Will Attract New Investors Most investors who completed their Portugal Golden Visa in 2021, were already familiar with Portugal. Once – and hopefully – the pandemic slows down this summer, Portugal will welcome visitors from all around the world, who will set foot in the country for the first time. As global mobility increases, the investors’ appetite for Portugal will see a rise too. This is especially going to be the case for Americans, Australians, and Canadians who have not been able to travel and do proper research or house hunting.
The Bottom Line As I’ve explained, Portugal Golden Visa is still a favorable method for those who are looking for a solid Plan B in an EU country. The changes may have an effect “for a short while”, but the program is still almost unmatched, thanks to its low stay requirement only 14 days on average per two years, and its direction towards citizenship – only after five years.
(By Charles Taylor Harris)
(Photo by Richard Hewat)
The Residency Malta Agency, which governs the country’s Permanent Residence Program (the MPRP, known in its pre-2021 guise as the MRVP) has shared, for the first time, statistics on its residence by investment programs, going all the way back to 2016. The figures show that a grand total of 2,273 main applicants, as well as 5,303 of their family members, have received residence permits in Malta through either the MPRP or the MRVP since the start in 2016. Of those, nearly nine in ten have been Chinese nationals. At a distant second, Vietnamese applicants accounted for 2.9% of the total, followed by Russians (2.6%), South Africans (1%), and Turks (1%).
The Agency reveals it has rejected some 10% of all applications to date, while about 3% of applicants voluntarily withdrew their applications during the due diligence process “as a result of questions posed to the applicants by the agency”.
Approval volume grew steadily from the outset, peaking in 2020 at 988, making the MRVP (the current MPRP’s precursor program) the second-biggest EU golden visa during that year. 2021 volumes landed at roughly half that level, with 500 main applicant approvals, which still makes it one of Europe’s most applied-to golden visas in that year. The drop from the previous year is in large part explained by the transition from the old MRVP to the new MPRP. “Though it may not have looked strategic to have launched a new program during COVID, for us it was the culmination of a thorough analysis of propositions, markets, and competition,” Charles Mizzi, CEO of the Residency Malta Agency, tells.
He indicates enough time has now elapsed since the program launch in March last year to enable analysis of the market’s reaction to the MPRP. Interest, he says, has been high all along and grew substantially in the second half of 2021. He expects application numbers to reach new heights in the near future
During the early years, the Agency labored under a significant backlog of unprocessed applications, which caused significant delays in processing. The Agency explains that, in essence, the popularity of the program had grown faster than the bureau’s own capacity to handle applications. The Agency’s response to the bottleneck caused by too many applications for a relatively small staff to handle was to expand its recruitment drive, devote more resources to staff training and development, invest in software-based processing solutions, and streamline procedures.
New Startup Residence Program in the works In June, Residency Malta launched the Nomad Residence Permit, a one-year permit for digital nomads and entrepreneurs who are location- independent and who would like to work from Malta for the short or medium term. Mizzi describes the program as a response to “increased global movements spurred by Covid as remote working became the norm” and a solution for digital “nomads from third countries wishing to try a remote working stint from Malta.” The permit is suitable primarily for those who wish to live and work in Malta on a temporary basis, as it is issued for a one-year renewable term.
Now, however, the Agency is preparing a program for third-country nationals who wish to start a business in Malta and reside there on a more permanent basis. The Startup Residence Program, the Agency explains, will aim to attract “entrepreneurs wishing to use Malta as a base to launch their new business and reach new markets [..] This new permit will be another step in the direction of enticing third country entrepreneurs to consider Malta and strengthen the country’s innovative industries.”
(By Christian Henrik Nesheim – IMI daily)
(Photo by Nick Fewings)
The cumulative number of Greek golden visas issued grew by 137 in December, bringing the 2021 annual total to 1,035 approvals, according to figures published by Enterprise Greece this week. That represents a 10.3% improvement on 2020.
The figure, which makes Greece’s Golden Visa Europe’s biggest as measured in approval volume last year, is considerably above the Portuguese Golden Visa’s 2021 total of 865, the UK’s investor visa’s 422 (we still have only Ql-Q3 2021 figures, but they will certainly not exceed 1,035 in the final tally), to say nothing of Italy’s “Dolce Visa”, which approved 40 main applicants last year. Applications for Latvia’s Golden Visa have dwindled to virtually nothing in recent years, while Spain’s Golden Visa approved 232 main applicants in the first half of 2021. The last time Ireland provided a statistical update for its Immigrant Investor Program, on February 25th, the record sho,”led it had approved 18 applications in the first two months of the year. Malta’s MPRP, the Cyprus Golden Visa, and the Luxembourg Golden Visa have yet to provide any data.
Of all the Greek golden visas approved in 2021, close to half stem from the year’s fourth quarter alone, hinting at a rising trend in approval volumes as we embark on 2022, a sanguine development for a program that was among those worst hit by the pandemic.
While annual main applicant approvals grew only modestly, the number of approved dependents rose markedly, from 1,971in 2020 to 3,383 in 2021.The implication is that the average family size for a Greek golden visa application last year was 3.3 individuals, up from just 2.1 in 2020. In other words, if Enterprise Greece’s figures can be trusted (which is a big “if”), Greece’s golden visa investors brought, on average, more than one full family member more in 2021than in 2020.
All told, close to 30,000 individuals (main applicants and dependents) have received Greek golden visas since the program opened in 2013, most of them Chinese.
Americans, however, are increasingly making their presence felt. in the Greek Golden Visa program, as they have been doing in the last year and a half in Portugal and the UK as’.veil.
While Greece approved about 20% more golden visa applications than its chief rival Portugal in 2021, the latter still raised some 48% more FDI thanks to its considerably higher average investment amounts.
(by Christian Henrik Nesheim – IMI daily)
(Photo by Xuan Nguyen)
Unprepared for COVID, Greece last year ceded the EU golden visa status to Portugal. Now, the Greeks are back – with a vengeance
Greek immigration authorities approved 193 main applicants and 1,078 of their family members for golden visas in the month of October , figures from Enterprise Greece this week show . · ” Thanks to the Q3 sprint , Greece has approved an aggregate of 747 applications so far in 2021 , a number that for the first time this year – exceeds that of Portugal’s golden visa , which has approved 698 applications in the first ten months of this year .
That makes the Greek golden visa Europe’s most popular ( again ) , and there is much to indicate the revival is still at an early stage . The 193 applications approved in October amounts to 48 approvals a week during the month , nearly twice the rate of 26 weekly approvals granted in the last reporting period , June 1st – September 30th ( where Enterprise Greece has previously only published golden visa data 3-4 times a year , this latest update comes but a month after the last one ) .
Should Greece be able to continue processing at this pace , the program will see more than 1,100 main applicants receive golden visas in 2021 . It also indicates that Greece will reach its 10,000th golden visa approval sometime in Q1 next year , a milestone Portugal’s program reached this September .
About one quarter ( 50 ) of investors issued golden visas in October were Chinese nationals . Russians accounted for 27 approvals , Turks for 21 , Lebanese 13 , and Egyptians 13 . Americans were the 7th biggest applicant national during the month , with six Americans approvals . On a cumulative basis , since the program’s beginning , Americans rank 9th overall , with 92 approvals . Most of these , tellingly , have been recorded in the last 18 months .
(Christian Club Henrik Nesheim imidaily.com)
