The Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) has announced that decisions on a significant number of 2018 immigrant investor program applications will be made in coming weeks in a phased manner.
INIS clarified the reasons for delays of processing times caused by Department of Justice introducing highest standards of personal and financial due diligence checks on IIP applicants
The Minister of Justice reported during parliamentary question that, 421 applications have been received for 2018, out of which 54 applications had been approved. Of the approvals received,
- Enterprise investment – 27 (for total investment €26m)
- Endowment – 12 (€4.8m)
- Investment fund – 15 (€15m)
- REIT – 0
For 2019, a total of 30 applications were received, 20 of those applications for enterprise investment and 10 for endowment.
The processing times of INIS for IIP application takes 6-9 months per application and in some cases 12-24 months .
The Department of Justice and Equality has imposed Enhanced due diligence (EDD) applicants and sponsors, which includes tax compliance:
- Anti-Money Laundering (AML)
- Know Your Client (KYC)
- Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs)
- Sanction checks.
- Data sharing in accordance with the OECD common reporting standards
The Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP), also known golden visa, was introduced in April 2012 to create business and employment opportunities in the State attracting qualified foreign investors.
The scheme offers four types of investment options in exchange for stamp 4 permanent residence rights in Ireland. Stamp 4 holders can naturalize for Irish citizenship and passport after five years of uninterrupted living.
- Endowment – €500,000
- Enterprise Investment – €1m
- Investment fund – €1m
- Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) – €2m
Ireland took the third spot in Golden visa rankings for 2019 for its attractiveness in world class education, health care with highest standards of living and human development in the world.
Ireland was also recently ranked for having best citizenship in the world with powerful european passport.
