A government move to double the amount of money that wealthy foreigners must invest in Ireland to qualify for residency will cause a collapse in investment, immigration agents have warned.
Under revisions to the immigrant investor programme, introduced just before Christmas, the investment threshold has been raised from €500,000 to €1m.
According to one agent, 1,500-2,000 wealthy individuals who would have sought residency in Ireland this year will now invest in more welcoming jurisdictions such as Malta, which offers them a passport as well as residency.
Up to 30,000 construction jobs and 54,000 permanent positions could be lost as a result, the agent has warned the Department of Justice, which operates the immigrant investor scheme.
More than €67m has been invested by 130 individuals since the programme was introduced in 2012, according to the department. This could have facilitated a total investment of €250m when leveraged with bank borrowing by the businesses involved, according to sources.
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The decision to double the threshold was taken after 330 applicants for residency were received in 2016, compared with fewer than 100 in the previous four years.
The Department of Justice said the change simply restored a €1m investment requirement that existed when the programme was introduced. Further changes are planned, it added.
Up to 90% of applicants for the scheme are believed to have come from China. However, currency controls will make it more difficult to comply with the new higher investment requirement, even for the country’s growing ranks of millionaires.
More than 75% of the money they brought to Ireland is estimated to have been invested in healthcare facilities, such as primary care centres, or social housing.
Other investments were made in hotels and leisure facilities, including the Fota Island hotel and golf resort in Co Cork.