09/02/23

CITIZENSHIP AND RESIDENCY: Ireland Has No Government Records Related to Golden Visa Commissions.

As published on schengenvisainfo.com, Thursday 9 February, 2023.

The Government of Ireland has no record regarding commission fees paid by companies and charities in return for the money they received under the 1.17 billion Golden Visa scheme for wealthy internationals.

Such comments came from the country’s Department of Justice, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

Through the country’s Immigrant Investor Program (IIP) that was introduced in 2012, wealthy internationals from outside the European Union countries as well as their family members can acquire residency in Ireland, provided they make an investment of at least €2 million.

Even though this scheme does not offer permanent residency in Ireland, once the needed requirements are met residency permission can be extended every few years for an indeterminate period.

According to some persons who work with IPP, the payment of large commission fees to private brokers in return for investments, in many cases is routine.

“You’ve seen fees of 20 per cent to 25 per cent,” an Irish adviser engaged in several multi-million-euro IPP projects pointed out in this regard, according to a report provided by the Irish Times.

Mentioning the increase in the number of applications from China, the adviser stressed that brokers who previously charged between 10 to 15 per cent to commission IIP deals have pushed the standard rate up to about 20 per cent.

However, the report provided by the Irish Times notes that such payments are unregulated, despite the fact that they have emerged as a frequent feature of the program that is otherwise subject to supervision by justice officials.

Regarding the issue, Trinity College Dublin, which received a total of 14.8 million euros from a total of 37 IPP donors for a period between 2017 and early 2022, didn’t provide any information on whether it paid any commissions.

On the other hand, Ireland’s largest provider of Housing First services, Peter McVerry Trust received a total of 4 million under the IPP and said that the trust never paid brokers for the money.

“Peter McVerry Trust have not paid any commissions or fees on endowments received through the IIP. We also do not pay legal fees on the transactions – that work is pro-bono,” has been emphasized by the Peter McVerry Trust.

The Irish Immigrant Investor Program is among the most favourite European programs for wealthy international investors, especially those from China.

However, a recent report provided by the European Parliament considered Ireland’s IIP vulnerable to abuse, taking also into account the easing of tax avoidance.

For further information: https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/ireland-has-no-government-records-related-to-golden-visa-commissions/

EUROPE: Shell companies should…