The arrangements related to the end of the Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP), widely known as the Irish Golden Visa, following its closure on February 14, 2023, have now been finalised, as confirmed by Ireland’s Department of Justice.
Under the recently proposed arrangements, the following categories of applications will be given priority for processing in the coming months, “either because of the length of time the applications are on hand, or a decision can be issued quickly.”
- Projects that got approval and requested more funding while adding new elements to the project outside of their approved Business Plan
- Project Applications received before the closure of the program
- Projects submitted without a linked investor, including cases where an effort was made to transfer an existing investor application to support a new project.
- Projects sent outside the timeframe allowed after the closure of the Golden Visa Programme (including those projects where there was no previous substantive engagement with the IIP Unit),
- Projects that seem outside the scope of the Golden Visa programme
The Irish Department of Justice says that next, it will examine the categories of applications of approved projects that have requested additional funding based on increased construction costs and approved projects that have stalled, as well as decisions made on these requests.
Through a statement, the Department highlighted that the remaining categories of applications will be examined thereafter IIP approved investment funds and post-closure project applications, which require planning permission, as well as valid project projects which are in the scope of the IIP, and planning is not an issue.
Emphasising that the closure of the scheme didn’t affect already approved applicants and projects under the IIP, the Irish government department noted that these projects will continue to be monitored for delivery and compliance with Golden Visa conditions, stressing that approved applicants will still be required to meet specific conditions for renewal of their immigration permission.
The Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP) of Ireland, launched in 2012, was scrapped in February last year after, according to the Minister for Justice Simon Harris, it was under review for “quite a period of time.” The program was involved in several irregular affairs, such as money laundering and corruption.
The IIP scheme, equal to the Golden Visa program, required wealthy foreigners to invest at least €1m (£880,000) for at least three years.
Alternatively, they could give €500,000 (or £440,000) as a donation or €400,000 (or £350,000) as a joint donation to a project bringing public benefits to the arts, culture, education, sports, and health, among others, in Ireland.
The data provided in June last year by the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee revealed that from 2012, approved investments under this scheme amounted to €1.293 billion, with a total of 1,788 applications approved. This averages out to nearly €723,154 per investment.
The primary beneficiaries of this scheme are nationals from China, the United States and Vietnam.
