China’s Millionaires Are Leaving China

The jury may be out permanently on the old question of if money can buy happiness, but that hasn’t stopped wealthy Chinese families from trying. There is a growing trend among China’s richest to use their wealth to move themselves and their families abroad. This is done primarily in the form of investment visas.

On the flip side, a number of countries are opening the doors to the estimated 1 million Chinese millionaires … provided they bring their money with them. It’s something of a bidding war in reverse, for which Australia wins the prize:

All it takes is

AU$5 million

(US$3.7 million) 

 

of investment to apply for permanent residency.

Other countries are not nearly so greedy, although the different terms on offer make the price of a visa difficult to compare.

The U.S., for example, will take just $1 million for a green card, offering residence. That’s for an investment that generates 10 jobs for at least two years, although under the so-called EB-5 program, investment in a public development project can be a less-risky substitute. This figure halves if the investment is in a rural area or in an industry suffering from high employment.

Terms from other countries vary:

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