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Permanent Residency by Investment in Ireland

Ireland Immigrant Investor Programme & Start Up Entrepreneur Programme was first established in 2012. The Government of Ireland created the Programme to stimulate investment and create employment in the country and to attract successful individuals to Ireland. We are proud to promote an exclusive opportunity for candidates to secure their residency status in Ireland using the Enterprise Investment Option. Ireland’s inward investment promotion agency (IDA) has set ambitious targets for the country, aiming to attract €3Billion of foreign direct investment (900 new companies) by 2019. In conjunction with our partners, and in line with the IDA’s objectives, we have identified a number of well-established Canadian companies looking to establish subsidiaries in Ireland, and seeking to raise their required capital through the program. These companies will buy back the shares of the IIP candidate within 3 to 5 years.

The requirements and qualifications for residency in Ireland:

  1. Applicants must demonstrate a legally acquired net worth in excess of €2,000,000, including €1,000,000 in funds available for investment in Ireland.
  2. Applicants are not required to have previous management experience and do not need to be involved with the management of a company in Ireland.
  3. There is no requirement for applicants or their families to be able to speak English.
  4. The applicant can include their spouse, children under the age of 18, and children who are 18 to 24, provided they continue to be financially dependent on their parents.
  5. The applicant and family members 16 and over must submit Police Clearances for each country in which they have resided for more than 6 months during the last 10 years.

The applicant is expected to:

  1. Invest €1,000,000 for a 3 to 5-year period and pay the required legal fees (calculated individually depending on family composition and on the complexity of the case) and a government processing fee of €1,500;
  2. Hold preferred shares of an eligible Irish Company or Fund for 5 years;
  3. Redeem the shares (or get back the investment) at the end of the minimum required holding period.

Processing timeline lies between 4 and 10 months.

Conditions for Residency Renewal

  1. The applicant and dependent family members will receive a two-year residency permission under “Stamp 4” conditions, which permits them to work, study and/or start their own business in Ireland.
  2. After two years, an extension will be granted for an additional three years, and then every five years indefinitely into the future, provided:

-       the investment remained in place for the required time;

-       they have not become a financial burden on Ireland;

-       they have not been investigated, indicted, or convicted in relation to any criminal offence in any country.

  1. There is no requirement to create jobs (as in some other programs like visa EB-5, for example). There is no condition for business performance (success of business). The Government of Ireland recognizes that some of the businesses may be not successful or profitable; and this will not jeopardize the Irish Residency Permit received under the program.
  2. The Immigrant Investor Programme recognizes that applicants may have substantial business and financial interests outside of Ireland, therefore actual physical residence in Ireland is not a condition for renewal of residency. The applicant and family members must visit Ireland only once per calendar year.

Citizenship in Ireland & EU passport

After five years, the applicant and his family members may be eligible to apply for Irish citizenship and passport, provided the following conditions are met:

  1. they have resided in Ireland for five of the preceding nine years, including the 12 months prior to the application;
  2. they continue to be of good character, and free from criminal convictions;
  3. they intend in good faith to continue to reside in Ireland after naturalization.

There are no language requirements to become an Irish citizen.

Once an applicant has become a citizen of Ireland, he will enjoy the benefits of one of the most widely accepted passports, including visa-free access to over 170 countries, and the right to reside and work in other EU countries.

Education

Ireland is home to some of the world’s most prestigious and well-known boarding schools and universities, including Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, University College Cork, and Dublin Institute of Technology. Ireland is recognized as an education leader in health sciences, including medicine, pharmaceuticals and bio-technology, and is also home to some of the world’s finest business schools, law schools and arts programs. Residents of Ireland enjoy free education up to secondary school, and after three years of residence, enjoy subsidized tuition at the university level – a savings of 50-70%, depending on the course of study. English is the most widely spoken language in Ireland, and is the language of instruction at school and the language of business.

Quality of Life

Ireland is known for its quality of life. In its 2015 Human Development Index, the United Nations ranked Ireland № 6, ahead of countries such as Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. This is due largely to the high standards of living, low unemployment and crime rates, and the principles of racial and gender equality which guide the country.

Economy & Investment Climate

Ireland enjoyed the fastest growing economy in the European Union in 2014 and 2015, and is consistently ranked as one of the top countries worldwide to do business in. Its economy is fueled by:

- A young, highly educated, English-speaking workforce;

- A favorable tax regime which includes a corporate tax rate of

- 12.5% (reduced to 6.25% for technology companies), and an effective 0% tax rate on foreign dividends;

- An increasing number of well-known multinationals and foreign businesses relocating to Ireland due the country’s generous incentives;

- No tax on worldwide income for nonresidents.

If you have any question regarding above-mentioned material or wish to use our legal assistance in obtaining residency in Ireland, contact us today


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