Canada’s new millionaire migration scheme gets just six applications, in snub from rich Chinese
Critics say Immigrant Investor Venture Capital scheme is too costly and risky compared to its defunct predecessor, which was swamped by thousands of mainland millionaires
Canada’s new wealth-based immigration scheme has received just six applications worldwide, in stark contrast to the thousands of mostly-Chinese millionaires who flocked to the programme’s defunct predecessor, according to data obtained by the South China Morning Post.
The new Immigrant Investor Venture Capital (IIVC) scheme was touted as a replacement for the Immigrant Investor Program (IIP), long the world’s most popular wealth-determined immigration vehicle. But the IIP was shut down by the federal government last year amid a huge backlog of applications at Canada’s Hong Kong consulate, nearly all lodged by rich mainland Chinese. There were also doubts about the IIP’s economic benefits to Canada.
The new scheme was branded “ridiculous” by Hong Kong immigration lawyer Jean-Francois Harvey. The IIVC requires applicants worth at least C$10 million (HK$60 million) to invest C$2 million in Canadian start-up companies in exchange for permanent residency for their family. Applicants face strict audits to confirm the source of their wealth, as well as language and education benchmarks.
“The failure to attract [more applications] despite the fact that they postponed the deadline again and again is simply [because] it is not competitive in front of the worldwide competition for investor [immigrants] from China and around the world,” said Harvey, founder of the Harvey Law Group, which is based in Montreal, with offices in Hong Kong, Beijing and Vietnam.
Harvey said the immigration industry in Asia “did not even try to market the deal” because it compared so unfavourably with schemes offered by other countries, notably those in Europe. For instance, Portugal offers permanent residency under its “Golden Visa” scheme to immigrants who spend 500,000 euros (HK$4.24 million) on Portuguese real estate and retain it for five years.
Harvey said the new Canadian programme was a “not so-subtle way to block the Chinese applicant”.
Under the old IIP, investment took the form of an interest-free C$800,000 loan to Canada, which was returned intact to the immigrant after five years. The IIVC scheme’s C$2 million investment will be held by Canada for about 15 years and will be fully at risk of loss.
