‘Golden Visa’ Scheme That Awarded 1,500 Chinese Millionaires Irish Residency Scrapped

‘Golden Visa’ Scheme That Awarded 1,500 Chinese Millionaires Irish Residency Scrapped
Minister for Justice Simon Harris at a press conference at Farmleigh House in Dublin after the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference on Jan. 19, 2023. The Justice Minister announced the scrapping of Ireland's 'golden visa' scheme.
Patricia Devlin
Updated:
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Ireland has scrapped its decade-old “Golden Visa” scheme that awarded over 1,500 Chinese millionaires residency.
Irish Minister for Justice Simon Harris made the announcement on Tuesday, stating that the Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP) had been under review “for some time.”

The move comes less than a year after a European Parliament report described the scheme as being excessively vulnerable to abuse, including tax avoidance.

The cash-for-visa-type programme allowed wealthy foreign investors outside the European Union (EU) to have residency in Ireland in return for making investments.

Applicants to the programme were required to have a personal wealth of at least €2 million, and were expected to donate at least €500,000 to philanthropic projects.

The scheme was set up in the aftermath of the post-2008 Irish banking crisis, which forced the country to seek an IMF bailout.

While the scheme did not immediately provide passports, investors and qualifying family members could apply for citizenship after five years of residency in Ireland.

Mr. Harris said that since its 2012 inception, the programme has approved massive investments in the Irish economy.

“Since its inception, the IIP has approved investment of almost €1.252 billion, which has benefited many enterprises, both economic and social, including community and sporting organisations,” Harris told Ireland’s senate on Tuesday.

Since the scheme began, however, Chinese investors, including those from Hong Kong, accounted for more than 90 per cent of successful applicants to the IIP programme, according to the Financial Times.

Security Risk

Figures released by the Irish Department of Justice last year revealed that more than 1,500 Chinese millionaires had received residency in the past decade through the scheme, according to the Irish Independent.
The European Commission has previously called on EU governments to end similar cash-for-citizenship programmes it considers a security risk.
It also raised concerns that such schemes could be abused for money laundering, tax evasion, and corruption purposes.

Minister Harris said he had taken into account studies by international bodies such as the European Commission in making the decision to shut down the scheme.

“Since its inception, the Programme has brought ... significant investment to Ireland and has been operated by my department to the highest professional standards,” he said in his statement.

“However, it is important that we keep all programmes under review, including any implications for wider public policy, such as the continuing appropriateness and suitability of this programme for cultural, social, and economic use.

“We have also taken on board a number of reports and findings from international bodies such as the EU Commission, the Council of Europe and the OECD on similar investment programmes,” he said.

“Taking all of this into account, and informed by both internal and external reviews, I recommended to Government that it was timely to close this Programme to new applications.”

Following the announcement, state broadcaster RTÉ quoted the minister as saying he had received “strong advice” that led to his decision to close the programme.

“The closure of the IIP will not affect existing projects or individuals already approved under the programme,” Harris said.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman making a statement to MPs in the House of Commons, London, on Dec. 14, 2022. (House of Commons/PA Media)
Home Secretary Suella Braverman making a statement to MPs in the House of Commons, London, on Dec. 14, 2022. House of Commons/PA Media

Oligarchs Used UK Scheme

The UK scrapped its so-called “Golden Visa” for wealthy foreign investors in February 2022.
The Tier 1 Investor visa route was shut down to all new applicants regardless of their nationality “with immediate effect,” the Home Office said, adding that some cases had “given rise to security concerns, including people acquiring their wealth illegitimately and being associated with wider corruption.”

Launched in 2008, persons eligible for the visa were required to have at least £2 million in investment in UK-registered companies. Successful applicants were then allowed to study or work in the UK for up to five years and could apply to settle permanently in the country if they made further investments.

However, a lack of background checks on applicants meant the scheme was put under review, after fears arose that the system could be exploited. Former Labour minister Chris Bryant had claimed that visas were being handed out to “dodgy Russian oligarchs.”
In January, British Home Secretary Suella Braverman revealed in a written statement to Parliament that a small number of wealthy foreign investors who used the scheme were “potentially at high risk of having obtained wealth through corruption or other illicit financial activity, and/or being engaged in serious and organised crime.”

Ms. Braverman stressed this only “implies that a particular individual potentially poses a risk of having connections to criminality; it does not mean guilt has been proven,” adding that police had been given access to the information and were “taking action as appropriate.”

She also stated that 10 Russian oligarchs who used it have since been sanctioned as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The statement was published five years after a review of Golden Visas was announced by then-Home Secretary Amber Rudd in the wake of the 2018 Novichok poisonings in Salisbury.

The decision to close the visa scheme in February 2022 came amid concerns over Moscow’s influence in the UK as tensions rose over the impending conflict in Ukraine.

In her statement, Ms. Braverman insisted her department is “robust in refusing leave where this is appropriate,” but said it had found there were inherent difficulties with the scheme “both in terms of security and economic value,” adding: “I am determined this Government will ensure such mistakes are not repeated.”

Labour branded the response “totally inadequate” while the Liberal Democrats said it was “farcical” and called for the review to be published in full.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said ministers have “finally recognised and admitted that 10 of those sanctioned following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had come to the UK on golden visas” but had failed to provide answers to basic questions raised about the scheme, adding: “It is disgraceful for the Home Secretary to dodge scrutiny in this way.”
PA contributed to this report.
Patricia Devlin
Patricia Devlin
Author
Patricia is an award winning journalist based in Ireland. She specializes in investigations and giving victims of crime, abuse, and corruption a voice.
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