Canada immigrant investor program sputters

Canada's new immigration investor program designed to lure the wealthy from China and other countries has gotten off to a rocky start, attracting only six applicants.

Richard Kurland, an immigration lawyer in Vancouver, obtained data on the Immigrant Investor Venture Capital plan by filing an Access to Information request. The plan requires applicants to invest C$2 million (US$1.53 million) for a 15-year period, with no guarantee of any returns. It also requires investors be worth $10 million, and have fluency in either English or French.

Kurland said the program has a design flaw. "What millionaire is going to cut a check for $2 million and then hope to see a profit in 15 years?" he told China Daily. "Canada is competing with many other countries for these investors who can get a visa for much less in many cases."

Charles Burton, a former Canadian diplomat in China who is now a professor of political science at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, said that "obviously these conditions (in the new immigrant investor program) have led to a very limited response by people in China who possess the wealth to qualify to apply for this program and move towards Canadian citizenship."

Sonia Lesage, a media relations representative for Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) said the agency has extended the application until Dec 30 to allow more time for interested candidates to prepare their applications.

In 2014 the federal government announced plans to phase out the existing immigrant investor program. Under that program, investors seeking to immigrate to Canada were required to make a five-year, interest-free loan to the government of $800,000 and have a net worth of $1.6 million.

Eliminating that immigrant investor program meant that a backlog of approximately 60,000 pending applications were shut out of the program. About three-quarters of those applicants were Chinese, prompting some to take legal action.

Burton noted there has been considerable debate in Canada over the benefit of the previous investor immigrant program. "There has been a perception that it was used by corrupt Chinese officials and businessmen to park their ill-gotten gains in Canadian real estate.

They are blamed for the current bubble in real estate prices particularly in Vancouver. Moreover many of them did not do business in Canada that created wealth and employment in Canada. It appeared that many wanted to participate in the program to achieve the security of a Canadian passport so that they could make a quick exit from China if they got caught in the anti-corruption net," he said.

Kurland said the new program has no oversight. "It's a departure from the protection of immigrant investor money," he added.

Kurland said British Columbia has an immigrant investor program that is overseen by professional money managers, the BC Immigrant Investment Fund Ltd. (BCIIF). Now the province splits all immigrant investor funds with the federal government on a 50-50 basis. The province established the BCIIF, which has a board of directors to oversee the investment of the funds.

These are professionals who know what to look for and the risks involved when it comes to startup investing, said Kurland.

In an email response, Lesage said CIC doesn't intend to change the program. "We want to ensure that we attract immigrant investors who are able to make a significant investment in Canadian venture capital and who will better integrate into our society. We believe that those who want to come to Canada as investors should live here, pay taxes here, and invest their money in the Canadian economy.

paulwelitzkin@chinadailyusa.com