The Department of Justice and Equality has provided latest updates on the Irish immigrant investor scheme (golden visa). As of today, there has been 1200 applications received, of which 800 applications approved, the ministry announced according to Irish times.
The sharp rise in the number of applications, and an “enhanced control mechanism” introduced last year to ensure the programme is operating to the highest standards, has delayed the processing of applications, said Ministry of Justice.
The scheme suffered a backlog in 2019 with significant number of applicants pending to revised strict criteria for investors. Recently INIS introduced new rules for taking endowment payments and banned investments funded by loans.
The Enterprise investment route is the most popular route for ireland investor visa applicants, followed by endowment and investment funds.
Ireland also refused a small number of 63 applications
The Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP) was introduced in April 2012 to encourage inward investment and create business and employment opportunities in the State. The programme provides investors with the opportunity to invest in Ireland. Key to the programme is that the investments are beneficial for Ireland, generate or sustain employment and are generally in the public interest.
The Golden visa scheme in Ireland requires €500,000 philanthropic donation or €1m in businesses and enterprises. Investors must show a net worth assets of €2m euros. For rich investors Ireland has lower investment requirement, half the investment ceiling (€1m), compared to UK tier1 investor visa scheme (£2m)
The Irish immigrant investor scheme created more than 1500 jobs between 2012 and 2016, according to a evaluation report published by Government
Table 6.2: Summary of Construction Employment Associated with Enterprise Option (2012-2016)
|
Type |
Total Amount (€) |
Estimated jobs supported |
|
2012 |
€1.5m |
18 |
|
2013 |
€4m |
48 |
|
2014 |
€12m |
144 |
|
2015 |
€27m |
324 |
|
2016 |
€93.5m |
1,110 |
|
Assumption: Estimated additional direct & indirect jobs (FTE) per €1 million additional expenditure is 12 job years. This only includes employment during the construction phase of the project. We assume this lasts 1 year. Source: CSO data (Input-Output tables and multipliers, labour costs), methodology adapted from National Transport Authority paper, CEEU/DPER calculations |
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Ireland is touted as having the best citizenship and passport in the world. As of 02 July 2019, Irish citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 183 countries and territories, ranking the Irish passport 6th in terms of travel freedom
The Brexit turmoil has driven more demand for irish passports from Britons.
