Two families from Kerala were on the news recently when they arrived in Dubai on an Emirates flight despite a temporary suspension of flights from Covid-hit India. The key to their entry – a golden visa.
In the course of the Covid-19 situation, “privilege visas” have become a very valuable acquisition, as they enable individuals to travel despite travel bans, especially from countries affected by Covid.
What are Privilege Visas?
The privilege visa system is a type of immigrant investor program that enables individuals to obtain residency or citizenship of a country in exchange for qualified investments.
These programs can be either citizenship through investment, often referred to as a “gold passport” or “cash on passport,” residency through investment, known as a “gold visa,” or a hybrid of immediate residence followed by expedited citizenship.
Investments can be of many types. These include contributions to state funds, the acquisition of qualified real estate usually in certain state-sanctioned projects, investments in a qualified company (e.g. a certain industry) or the creation of a certain number of jobs.
Rich or poor, investment is something that all countries seek to maximize. Around a quarter of all countries in the world offer such programs.
Former Foreign Ministry Secretary Amrendra Khatua, who also headed the Visa and Passport Division, told India Today: “With globalization, many countries are taking advantage of the stability of their economies and societies to attract investors – the rich and powerful and the elite – through them special visa category. This facilitates easy entry and exit and a longer stay as well as facilities that are equivalent to those of a citizen of this country. “
Different categories of visas
A visa is basically a permit on the passport or outside the passport on a piece of paper to enter a country.
Typically, visas are divided into two categories: “general” (for tourist purposes) and “functional” (business, work, spouse, student, conference, cultural performances, transit, etc.).
The third category is staying in a country without a visa as an asylum seeker, refugee or extradited person until their stay is regulated by the host country.
However, a subgroup within the functional category is when individuals obtain “privilege visas” as a result of their investments or through the purchase of long-stay visas.
Business people, white collar criminals, etc.
There are countries, particularly in Central America, Africa, Pacific island states, and island states, that use visas as a commercial lure to attract business people to tax-free residence as they do not have double taxation treaties with other countries.
They also attract white-collar criminals like Vijay and Mallya. at Mehul Choksi, who want to avoid repatriation and punishment in the motherland, former dictators and corrupt heads of state and officials who want to avoid trial, and money launderers. These countries have no extradition treaties or banking restrictions as they are not signatories to treaties and have not built confidentiality into their internal banking operations.
These countries mostly sell Diamond / Gold / D Visa / Visa with special privileges. These countries include Belize, Reunion Island, Dominica, Haiti, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Grenada, etc.
However, “golden visas” issued by Spain, Singapore, Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, Cyprus, Greece and Malta are designed to attract investment, start industries, etc. and are known for the elite residence of the person who is granted the visa .
D visa in the USA
The category of “D visas” varies from country to country. In some regions, category “D” refers to long-stay visas. However, in other countries such as the US, it is intended for airline and ocean-going crew members who cannot purchase a visa for every trip.
According to the US Department of State website, “Crewmember (D) Visas” are nonimmigrant visas for those who work aboard commercial ocean-going vessels or international airlines in the United States providing services necessary for normal operations and intending to travel to the United States on the same vessel to leave or another ship within 29 days. If you are traveling to the United States to join the ship you will be working on, you will need a transit visa (C-1) or a combined C-1 / D visa in addition to a crew member visa (D). “
D visa in the EU
In the countries of the European Union, however, the “Schengen Type D Visa” refers to a long-stay visa, which in other countries is categorized as a “functional” visa.
According to the website with information on Schengen visas: “The national visa is the type D Schengen long-stay visa. It is compulsory for all foreigners who want to study, work or live in a Schengen country for more than 90 days (up to 1 year). It allows its holder to travel and reside in the Schengen area outside of the originally selected Schengen country for a maximum period of 90 days, over 180 days and for the entire period of validity of his visa. “
The purposes of travel that may justify applying for a Category D visa are:
- Tourism or private visits
- Professional Activities
- study, take part in an apprenticeship or do an internship
- family reasons
“The national visa or type D visa is issued by the consular authorities of the intended Schengen country in accordance with national legislation. Therefore, it is necessary to contact the services of the country in order to know the various conditions and formalities that must be met. Under certain conditions, it can be issued either as a single or multiple long-stay visa, ”the website says.
Which countries offer “citizenship through investment”?
Here is a list of countries that offer “Citizenship by Investment” or “Privilege Visa”:
St. Kitts and Nevis
St. Kitts and Nevis was the first country to offer citizenship through investment in 1984.
Dominica
Since 1993, a contribution to his economic diversification fund or the purchase of an alternatively approved project along with a fee confers Dominican citizenship. It requires a $ 100,000 investment in Dominica.
Malta
Malta has been running its Individual Investor Program since 2014 and is limited to 1,800 applicants. The minimum investment for this program is $ 870,000 with a non-refundable contribution of $ 700,000.
Turkey
Turkey also offers citizenship through investment. Investors must purchase and hold real estate worth at least $ 250,000 for three years or deposit $ 500,000 in a bank in Turkey for at least three years.
Which countries offer “residence through investment”?
Residence through investment programs allow an applicant to obtain a permanent residency visa to a country by making an investment such as buying a property or investing in a business. These programs are often referred to as “golden visas”.
Numerous countries offer these programs. These include Abkhazia, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Latvia, Monaco, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Canada
Canada had a national-level gold visa program in the past, but it was suspended in 2014.
However, Quebec has its own program – the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program – as the province has the right to set its own immigration policy.
Portugal
Portugal offered a golden visa during its economic recession to attract investment in the country’s housing market. By 2016, the country had issued 2,788 gold visas, 80 percent of which were issued to Chinese nationals.
United Kingdom
The UK requires an investment of £ 2 million or more in the UK and some other eligibility criteria must also be met.
Visa holders can reside in the UK for a maximum of three years and four months with the option to apply for an additional two years. The visa holder can apply for settlement after five years or less – the higher the investment, the shorter the waiting time.
According to the Interior Ministry, 255 visas of this type were issued in the first half of 2019.
United States
There are two main investor visa programs in the United States – the E-2 and EB-5 visas.
EB-5 Visa (green card)
The EB-5 visa program is administered by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Successful applicants and their families can apply for a green card.
The EB-5 visa program requires applicants to invest between $ 900,000 and $ 1.8 million, depending on the project location. In addition, at least ten jobs must be created or maintained. There is an annual limit of 10,000 applications under the EB-5 program.
E-2 (non-immigrants)
The E-2 investor visa program allows foreign nationals of certain countries to invest in a start-up, buy a business or a franchise in order to be legally resident in the US.
The initial length of the visa varies from three months to five years, depending on the US reciprocity plan with the applicant’s country of citizenship.
Hybrid residence and citizenship programs
There are also hybrid residency and citizenship programs. These allow applicants to first obtain a place of residence and then, after an accelerated period of residence (up to two years), obtain citizenship.
This type of program is offered by a growing number of countries including Bulgaria, Mauritius, and Samoa.
Controversies over golden visas
The sale of passports and golden visas has sparked controversy in several countries. Some criticisms include doubts about economic benefits and safety concerns.
“Small and corrupt countries use the lure of special visas to protect money launderers and white-collar criminals in their country,” said former diplomat Amrendra Khatua.
Golden visas have also been criticized by members of the European Parliament for not advocating the concept of citizenship. In 2014 the European Parliament passed a non-binding resolution according to which an EU passport should not have a price tag.
Money laundering scandals involving banks in Malta and Latvia have made citizenship regimes more controversial by drawing attention to the lack of control over Russian funds entering EU countries.
Many users of such programs are wealthy Chinese and Russian citizens who are looking for legal security and a better quality of life outside of their home country. Golden visas are especially popular with Chinese citizens, of whom over 100,000 acquired them between 2007 and 2016.
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