INVESTORS AND entrepreneurs from outside the EU will be permitted to come and reside in the State if they are prepared to invest for the purpose of creating or saving jobs, the Minister for Justice announced yesterday.
Alan Shatter said two new schemes have been approved by the Government and will be launched in March, to be known as the Immigrant Investor Programme and the Start-up Entrepreneur Programme.
The former describes a scheme where non-EU citizen investors can come to Ireland with their immediate families on multientry visas and stay for five years, reviewable after two, if they invest between €400,000 and €2 million.
The sort of investments envisaged will include a specially created low-interest government bond, capital investment in an Irish business, or in some cases the purchase of property, including that held by the National Asset Management Agency. Endowments in the cultural, sporting educational or health areas will also be considered.
The new Government bond will be devised by the National Treasury Management Agency in conjunction with the immigration authorities and the funds will be held by the agency and 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 IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland in assessing individual proposals, according to the Minister. The Start-up Entrepreneur Programme modifies a previous business permission scheme for migrants that was considered too inflexible. It provides that migrants with a good business idea and funding of €70,000 can be given residency for the purpose of developing their business. Projects will be evaluated by a committee based on State agencies, including the IDA and Enterprise Ireland, and relevant government departments.