Seven months ago I put proposals to the Minister for a new Enterprise and Investment Visa scheme, which he was already working on. Great to see it now being introduced. Details below.
24 January, 2012
The Minister for Justice, Equality & Defence, Mr. Alan Shatter, TD, today
announced that he had secured Government approval for the introduction of
two major new immigration initiatives aimed at facilitating (non EEA)
migrant entrepreneurs and investors who, in return for permission to reside
in the State, are prepared to invest here for the purpose of saving or
creating jobs.
The new initiatives will be known as;
§ The Immigrant Investor Programme
§ The Start-up Entrepreneur Programme
Announcing the programmes the Minister said “I am grateful for the support
of my Cabinet colleagues in devising these important initiatives. All of us
in our different Departments are committed to doing what we can to help
Ireland’s economic recovery and this represents a further instalment in my
Department’s efforts in this respect, following on from the Visa Waiver
Programme introduced last year”.
The Immigrant Investor Programme:
Approved participants in the Investor Programmes and their immediate family
members will be allowed enter the State on multi-entry visas and to remain
here for a defined period. Ordinarily this will be for a period of 5 years
- reviewable after 2 years. The sort of investments envisaged will include
a specially created low interest Government Bond, capital investment in an
Irish business – which may need it for the protection or creation of jobs,
or in some cases the purchase of property – including that held by NAMA.
Endowments in the cultural, sporting educational or health areas will also
be considered.
The level and duration of financial commitment required from the Investor
will depend on the nature of the investment but will generally range from
€400,000 for endowment-related investments to €2 million in the new
Immigrant Investor low-interest bearing Government Bond to be devised by
NTMA in conjunction with the Immigration authorities. The funds in this
Bond will be held by NTMA and, as is the case with other similar financial
products, they will be available for the benefit of Ireland.
The level of investment in business entities where jobs are being created
or saved will generally be €1 million and the Department will be guided by
and reliant upon the advice and expertise of IDA Ireland and Enterprise
Ireland in assessing individual proposals.
The Start-up Entrepreneur Programme:
Turning to the Start-up Entrepreneur Programme, the Minister said “We need
to do more to tap into the entrepreneurial potential that exists among
migrants”. The Department of Justice has operated a business permission
scheme for a number of years, but the conditions were considered to be too
onerous. The Minister continued, “Our existing business permission lacked
the sort of flexibility needed to attract start-ups. We have been looking
at this issue for a while and have had very useful input from State
Agencies and other Government Departments in drawing up the proposals”.
The Start-up Entrepreneur Programme provides that migrants with a good
business idea in the innovation economy and funding of €70k can be given
residency in this State for the purposes of developing their business (this
compares with a previous minimum funding requirement of €300k). No initial
job creation targets will be set as it is recognised that such businesses
can take some time to get off the ground. Projects will be evaluated by an
Evaluation Committee with State Agencies playing a key role in “picking
winners” or those who demonstrate a good idea or the potential to be a
winner.
All applications for both programmes will be considered by an Evaluation
Committee comprised of representatives of IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland,
the following Government Departments; Finance; Jobs, Enterprise and
Innovation; Foreign Affairs and Trade; Health; other Government Departments
as the need arises and the Minister’s own Department of Justice. The input
of the State Agencies and other Government Departments – bringing with them
their economic expertise – will be crucial in deciding which applications
are recommended for approval. Applicants must be of good character and be
able to support themselves while in Ireland. Applicants will be required to
attest to their bona fides on affidavit sworn here. False, misleading or
incomplete information submitted can lead to removal from the State as well
as revocation of the immigration permissions. An Annual Report will be
published on the operation of the Programmes and they will also be reviewed
to ensure that they continue to meet their objectives. The Programmes
offer no special access to Irish citizenship. Beneficiaries will be
subject to the same rules as other migrants in that regard – i.e. generally
residence in the State for at least 5 years.
Minister Shatter stated “These two initiatives are about protecting
existing jobs and creating new opportunities. Ireland clearly needs
investment and there is considerable potential out there. However we don’t
have the field to ourselves. We are in competition with other countries
who are already operating in this space”. This was a reference to the
existence of investor schemes in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New
Zealand amongst others.
Next Steps
Formal rules and official launch
The Minister indicated that he hoped to have the new schemes formally
launched by mid March when the detailed rules governing the Programmes
which are being worked upon by officials in the Department of Justice will
be published. He said no new legislation is required as the pre-existing
legislative powers of Ministerial discretion are sufficient to enable the
programmes to operate in a flexible manner.
The Minister was not prepared to offer a projection as regards the likely
uptake. “I am not going to make any predictions on this”, he said. “it
would be unwise to do so in any case. We are in new territory so let’s
wait and see. The relevant State Agencies fully support these initiatives;
they are about jobs – whether creating new opportunities or saving existing
jobs and my Department looks forward to working closely with them in a
positive “Team Ireland” approach in operating these Programmes”
Minister Shatter concluded “Immigration systems are often associated with
border control but that is only one part of the picture. Immigration
systems can assist in job creation and we need to think of migrants not
just as workers but as people who can create employment for others”.
ENDS
Notes for Editors
Immigration Scheme for Investors and Entrepreneurs
Background:
The current ‘business permission’ scheme for migrant investors, requires
the applicant to have a minimum of €300,000 to invest in an Irish business
project. The investment must create at least two full time jobs for EEA
nationals in a new project or maintain employment levels in an existing
business. This scheme has been in place for some time and is largely
inadequate for the purposes of (i) attracting high potential innovation
start-ups or for (ii) tapping into the potential pool of international
investors.
To avail of the potential opportunities for attracting job creating
investments into Ireland, the Government have approved two new immigration
schemes.
Start-up Entrepreneur Programme:
This entrepreneurial start up scheme recognises the need to foster start-up
enterprises in priority innovation sectors of the economy. The existing
business permission scheme is insufficient to support such business
proposals and a more flexible approach has been developed in consultation
with Enterprise Ireland, who have extensive experience of such schemes in
other jurisdictions.
To qualify an applicant must –
§ Have some form of financial backing of not less that €75,000 through
business angels, venture capital providers or a financial institution
regulated by the Financial Regulator. Personal funding transferred to
the State or a grant from a relevant State agency would also be
acceptable.
§ The business proposal must have a strong innovation component.
§ The applicant must not be a drain on public funds.
Immigrant Investor Programme
The investor scheme is designed to attract individuals with a successful
background in business to invest in and relocate to the State. A range of
investment options are provided for with different thresholds applied
depending on the nature of the investment;
§ A once off endowment of a minimum of €500,000 to a public project
benefiting the arts, sports, health or education.
§ A minimum €1,000,000 investment in a low interest immigrant investor
bond. The investment is to be held for a minimum of five years. The
details of the investment will be finalised with the National Treasury
Management Agency in the coming weeks. The bond will be offered
exclusively to participants in this scheme and will not be tradable on
any market.
§ A minimum €1,000,000 venture capital funding into an Irish business for
a minimum of three years. An investment into an Irish publicly quoted
company could be considered but the investment level would have to be
much higher.
§ A minimum €1,000,000 mixed investment in 50% property and 50% in
Government securities. Special consideration could be given to those
purchasing property, in the State, which have been enforced by NAMA. In
such cases a single €1m investment in property might be sufficient.
Evaluation of Applications:
Applications will be on a prescribed form and will be accompanied by a fee
to offset the administrative costs of the schemes. Admission to both
schemes will be subject to the approval of an Evaluation Committee composed
of suitably qualified and experienced people from relevant State Agencies
or elsewhere.
The Evaluation Committee will be formed from senior management
representatives from the Departments of Justice and Equality, Finance,
Foreign Affairs and Trade, Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation as well as
Enterprise Ireland and the IDA. A suitable qualified independent member
will also be appointed.
The first order of business for the Committee will be the adoption of a
code of practice for the operation of the schemes. The code will be
published and will articulate the integrity and transparency of the
evaluation process.
All communication between the Committee and applicants for the schemes will
be directed to the applicant or their nominated legal or financial
representative. No other third party or agency communications will be
accepted or considered.
The Evaluation Committee will co-opt expertise from relevant Government
Departments or State Agencies where the nature of the investment proposal
requires such input.
Immigration Permissions:
Successful applicants will be granted a residence permission for two years
which will be renewable thereafter provided the business is still
operational and the applicant is earning a living without being a burden on
the State.
No employment requirement will exist for the first two years and neither
will the business be required to be profitable at renewal stage.
Family reunification will be permitted for spouse/partner and children
provided that family needs are met from the resources of the
entrepreneur/investor or other private means. No access to State benefits
will be permitted during this period.
Naturalisation options
The two schemes offer interested parties the potential for residence in the
State and not Irish Citizenship. Successful applicants will only be able
to apply for naturalisation under the terms of the Irish Nationality and
Citizenship Acts 1956-2004, in the same way and under the same conditions
as all other non-Irish nationals.
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