Ireland has become one of the most popular investment destinations for ultra high-net worth investors since Brexit. Ireland offers investment based residency to HNWIs and UHNWIs through the Irish immigrant investor programme. The Irish investment scheme is twice cheaper than UK tier1 investor scheme which requires 2 million pounds.
The Irish Government created the Immigrant Investor Programme to facilitate investors and business professionals from outside of the EU to avail of the opportunities of investing and locating business interests in Ireland in order to support investment in Ireland and to enhance Ireland’s position as one of the world’s most globalised economies. The Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP) is open to non-EEA nationals who commit to an approved investment in Ireland.
Investors and their family members receive residence permit to live in Ireland for initial five years. The Investor is not required to live in Ireland, however required to visit Ireland for one day each year to maintain the Residency Permission.
Investors who wish to undertake one of four eligible investments in Ireland and must demonstrate of good character and have minimum net assets of 2 million euros.
- Investment Fund such as IDLF (€1 million euro)
- Real Estate Investment Trusts (€2 million euro)
Investment fund
A minimum investment of €1 million in an Approved Investment Fund. Investment Funds that have been approved for the purposes of the Immigrant Investor Programme by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS). Once such investment fund is IDLF.
Irish Diaspora Loan Fund (IDLF)
The IDLF is a Central Bank of Ireland approved and regulated investment fund which gives overseas investors the opportunity to invest in Ireland, while supporting Irish job creation. The IDLF provides lower cost, asset-secured finance to the Irish hotel sector. Loans are provided to suitable Irish hotels on more favourable terms compared with traditional banking institutions, and are secured against the hotel property. Loans are provided on a fixed 5 year term.
The Irish Diaspora Loan Fund is authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland as a designated investment company. The IDLF is an approved loan origination fund, meaning that funds under investment are used to issue fixed term asset secured loans to Irish hotels which meet eligibility criteria.
Successful Investor Applicants are required to invest €1,000,000 into the IDLF for 5 years and 6 months. In return, the Investor (and nominated family members) will secure Residency Permission for Ireland, enabling freedom of movement within Ireland and the UK (both European Union members). Provided the applicant abides by the programme rules,this Residency Permission will be renewed every 5 years without limit.
Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT)
Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT) A REIT is a listed company, used to hold rental investment properties. It is a globally recognised standard for investment in rental property assets, already established in many developed economies including the US, Europe, Asia and Australia. The aim of a REIT is to provide an after-tax return for investors similar to that of direct diversification. To eliminate the double layer of taxation that typically hinders the holding of property through a company, a REIT is exempt from corporation tax on qualifying profits from rental property. Instead, the company is required to distribute the vast majority of its profits to investors each year for taxation at the level of the investor. The company must have a diverse ownership – no one person or group of connected persons can control the REIT. The taxation provisions that permit REITs to operate in Ireland were provided for in the Finance Act 2013.
A minimum investment of €2 million in any Irish REIT that is listed on the Irish Stock Exchange. The €2 million investment may be spread across a number of different Irish REITs. The investor must declare an intention to invest in a REIT as part of the application process. The full REIT investment that has been approved for the Immigrant Investor Programme must be held for three years from the date of purchase.
An investment in a REIT provides an investor with a lower-risk property investment model in which the investment is diversified into a pool of properties. The debt limits within the REIT reduce exposure to negative equity risk, and REITs are income producing investments which are required to distribute the majority of profits each year, and so generate a regular income stream for investors.
Only REITs that have a listing or have applied for a listing on the Irish Stock Exchange and which have given notice to the Revenue Commissioners under Section 705E of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 are eligible for the REIT investment option under the Immigrant Investor Programme.
Note: The Immigrant Investor Programme requires a minimum investment of €1m, from the applicants own resources and not financed through a loan or other such facility, which must be committed for a minimum of three years. Immigrant Investor Programme guidelines do not provide for the transfer of investors between projects
The applications for the Immigrant Investor Programmes will be accepted by INIS during the following periods only:
1. 10 January 2018 – 24 January 2018
2. 14 March 2018 – 28 March 2018
3. 09 May 2018 – 23 May 2018
4. 15 August 2018 – 29 August 2018
5. 10 October 2018 – 24 October 2018
