Ireland IIP
Introduction
Ireland is the sister country of the United Kingdom. The two countries have similar lifestyle, culture and legal system. After Brexit, Ireland still remain as part of the EU country, hence Irish citizens can study, work and live freely in all the 27 EU countries & the UK.
Meanwhile, Ireland also allows dual nationality. After residing in Ireland for a certain period of time, you can apply for Irish nationality, which allow you to move to the United Kingdom under the CTA agreement signed by Ireland and UK.
Compared with the UK Investor Visa route, applicants only have to invest €1,000,000 to be granted a Permanent Resident status – half of the UK investment funds requirement. With no language or level of education requirement and a residency requirement of only 1 day per year, the Irish Immigrant Investor Programme provides a fast and flexible way for applicants to obtain residency status in Ireland.
Requirements
The Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP) offers a residency status in Ireland for high net-worth individuals who wish to invest in Ireland.
The advantages of this visa are the short processing time, secure investment options, no language or education requirements and flexible residency requirement.
Eligible Applicants
- Main applicant must be over 18 years old
- Dependent Spouse/Partner and children under 18 years of age
- Adult dependent children between the ages of 18-24, unmarried and in full time education
Financial Requirements
In order to qualify for the IIP, the applicant must have a minimum net worth of €2million and provide the details of source of funds. It can be in the form of property, investments, cash and so forth.
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A minimum endowment of €400,000 is required in an Irish public project benefits the arts, sport, health, cultural, or educational field. Once the endowment is made, no further financial obligation is required under the IIP programme.
Residency Requirements
- For Permanent Residency
- both applicant and dependents must have spent at least 1 day per calendar year in Ireland.
- For Irish Citizenship (Passport)
- Live in Ireland legally for 5 years out of the last 9 years before citizenship application for naturalisation
- Have 1 year continuous reckonable residence in the before the date of your application
- During the 8 years before that, have had a total reckonable residence in the State of 1,460 days* (4 years)
- Reckonable residence: If you leave for more than 6 weeks in one year, you should not count this period when you are calculating your reckonable residence.
Application Documents
- Valid passport
- Hong Kong ID card
- Marriage certificate
- Birth certificate
- Certificate of No Criminal Conviction (CNCC)
- Application form
- Evidence of source of net-worth
- Due Diligence report
- Property and/or Asset Valuation Report (if any)
Difference between UK investor visa and Ireland IIP
| UK Investor Visa | Ireland IIP | |
|---|---|---|
| Investment Funds | Invest £2,000,000 Via UK corporate bonds or shares | One of the following: 1) Enterprise Investment: €1,000,000 2) Investment Fund: €1,000,000 3) REIT: €2,000,000 4) Endowment: €400,000 |
| Investment Period | Until PR status granted | 3-5 years |
| PR Status Requirement | Invest £2,000,000 for 5 years Invest £5,000,000 for 3 years Invest £10,000,000 for 2 years | 2 + 3 years (Total 5 Years) |
| Visa Renewal | 3 years +2 years | 2 years +3 years +5 years+5 years+….. |
| Passport Requirement | 5 years +1 year | 5 years |
| Language Requirement | IELTS B1 level for PR registration | Not required |
| PR Residency rules | No more than 180 days outside UK each 12 months | 1 day per year |
| Citizenship residency rules | No more than 450 days outside UK in total for 5 years, no more than 90 days for the last 12 month. | Live in Ireland legally for 5 years out of the last 9 years before application and no absence for the last 12 months before application. |
Visa Benefits
- IIP application is simple in terms of visa requirements. There is no English language or required level of education and no interview required.
- Applicants can obtain permanent resident status – must spend only 1 day in each calendar year after visa granted and the standard approval time is only 4-6months.
- IIP offers secure investment options to investors. Applicants only have to invest in the investment options after receiving the approval letter.
- Both applicant and dependents are permitted to live work and study freely in Ireland
- Children will have free access to state primary and secondary school in Ireland. For tertiary education, if the visa holder has stayed in Ireland for over 3 years, they can enjoy tuition fee as an EU student.
- Based on the Common Travel Area (CTA) arrangement between the UK and Ireland, Irish and UK citizens can live in either country and enjoy associated rights and privileges, including:
- Access to social benefits
- Access to healthcare
- Access to social housing supports
- The right to vote in certain elections
Visa application process
The standard processing time of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Services (INIS) is 6-9 months.
Receive the pre-approval letter from the INIS and make the investment within 90 days
Travel to Ireland and receive a two-year residency status (Stamp 4)
Renew the residency status for another 3 years
Frequently Asked Questions
After Investing in the designated investment products for the fixed years, the investor may get back the principal or agreed interests. No further investment required.
Based on the CTA arrangement between the UK and Ireland, Irish and UK citizens can live in either country and enjoy associated rights and privileges, including:
- Access to social benefits
- Access to healthcare
- Access to social housing supports
- The right to vote in certain elections
We can assist with your IIP visa application and our service include:
- Full guidance and support throughout the application
- Case analysis and planning to identify legal basis of application
- Coordinating with the relevant qualified Irish Enterprise for investment planning
- Provide you a tailored list of documents required for your application
- Checking all supporting documents and source of funds to ensure eligibility
- Completion of application forms and upload of documents
- Completion of due diligence report
- Liaising with the INIS on your behalf
- Ensure of completion of investment within the specified 90 days period to ensure compliance with IIP’s requirement
The preparation time mainly depends on whether the applicant’s funds and documents are ready.
In general, you can expect that the entire timeframe would be around 9-12 months, the breakdown for each stage is outlined below:
- Our preparation time is around 2 months (including apply for CNCC, prepare relevant documents and due diligence report, complete the application forms)
- The processing time for the CNCC is around 1 months
- The standard processing time of the INIS to grant an approval is 6-9 months
With a good quality of life, well-developed economy, outstanding education, healthcare system and language advantages, Ireland has become a new hot spot for relocation.
The special connection between Ireland and the UK has also made Ireland a post-brexit stepping stone into the UK.
No, assets solely owned by other individuals, including a spouse, will not be accepted as evidence of net worth.
Yes, provided it has been obtained legally and can be legally transferred and the applicant can demonstrate a net worth of at least EURO 2 million.
Under no circumstances will a loan provided to the applicant for the purpose of making an IIP application will be considered as appropriate source of funds.
Yes, you can add additional family members, including spouse and dependent children under 24, to the permission. Documentary evidence of the marriage and/or birth will be required.
Currently there is no limit on the number of permissions available, however, there are limited quotations available to each enterprise investment projects.