EU members consider selling residency to attract wealthy Chinese

Jason Wu of Shanghai says he loves Portugal's scenery and climate. He admires Europe's education system. He's so enamoured that he bought a 1,200-square-foot apartment in Lisbon's riverside Parque das Nacoes district for €520,000 (HK$5.5 million), which gave him another benefit: permanent residency in the European Union.

To help attract foreign investment and boost the economy after a €78 billion International Monetary Fund and European Union bailout in 2011, Portugal's government introduced a so-called golden visa programme in October 2012. The scheme offers residency and work visas to families who invest more than €500,000 in local property or upwards of €1 million in local businesses.

Most developed countries have investment immigration schemes, but they tend to target prospects who can create jobs, such as entrepreneurs. But since the global financial crisis, more countries have introduced investment programmes in which qualifying is as easy as buying a piece of real estate.

As Europe's economy struggles to recover, offering permanent residency to rich foreigners from fast-growing markets like China is seen as a great way to attract capital and boost employment.

Last year Hungary offered permanent residency to investors willing to lock €250,000 into a five-year government bond. More recently, Greece and Cyprus launched property investment schemes linked to residency visas with a minimum requirement of €250,000. Holland also started a similar programme aimed at boosting employment, with investors needing to commit €1.25 million in local businesses that are expanding to qualify for residency status.

Generosity has its limits: the visa programmes typically require that the holders maintain their investments. Should someone sell his property or business, he would lose his new visa.