New Govt scheme to grant residency for ‘innovative’ entrepreneurs, investors
Irish residency is open to anyone with ‘innovative’ business ideas or capital to invest in Irish industry, under a new scheme launched by the Government.
Speaking about the two-tier Start-up Entrepreneur Pro-gramme, Justice Minister Alan Shatter said it was necessary to enable Ireland to “do more to tap into the entrepreneurial potential that exists among migrants”.
To this end, a new business permit scheme is open to applications from entrepreneurs with “innovative” business ideas and at least €70,000 in funding.
Crucially, anyone acquiring residency in the State under this scheme will not be expected to create jobs immediately.
The programme’s second tier includes provisions for immigrant investors. Minister Shatter said qualified participants who invest between €400,000 and €2m will be given multi-entry visas to live in Ireland for a period of five years, which would be renewable after two years.
Acceptable investments are endowment related investments, low-yielding Irish Government bonds, and equity funding or loans for Irish businesses aimed at creating or preserving jobs. Property investment, especially in Nama-owned properties, would also qualify.
The programme is open to all foreign investors including foreign students in Ireland and other legal immigrants who do not have Stamp 4 residency.
In a statement to Metro Éireann, the Department of Justice confirmed that “merely meeting the financial criteria does not mean acceptance. Applications will have to be evaluated on their merits with the involvement of the appropriate State agencies.” The evaluation committee will include representatives of Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Government departments such as Finance, Heath, Enterprise, Foreign Affairs and Justice.
Those accepted to either tier of the programme would be allowed to legally reside in Ireland with their families. They will also be allowed to apply for citizenship after the normal requirement of five years’ residency.
