Posted on 04/13/2014 4:02:56 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Tens of thousands of Chinese millionaires face an uncertain future after Canada's government moved to scrap its controversial investor visa scheme, which has allowed waves of rich Hongkongers and mainland Chinese to immigrate since 1986.
The surprise announcement was made in Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's budget, delivered to parliament in Ottawa on Tuesday. An estimated 45,500 mainland Chinese in the queue for visas in Hong Kong will have their applications "eliminated" and their fees returned.
The announcement came less than a week after the South China Morning Post revealed how the scheme was overwhelmed by an influx of applications from mainland millionaires at Canada's Hong Kong consulate. Applications to the scheme were frozen in 2012 as a result, as immigration staff struggled to clear the backlog.
"For decades, [the investor scheme] has significantly undervalued Canadian permanent residence, providing a pathway to Canadian citizenship in exchange for a guaranteed loan that is significantly less than our peer countries require," Flaherty's budget said.
Under the scheme, would-be migrants worth a minimum of C$1.6 million (HK$11.2 million) loaned the government C$800,000 interest-free for a period of five years. The simplicity and low relative cost of the risk-free scheme made it the world's most popular wealth migration programme.
A parallel investor migration scheme run by Quebec remains open, although it has been capped at a modest 1,750 applicants per year, with a maximum 1,200 from any one country.
Flaherty also announced the scrapping of a smaller economic migration scheme for entrepreneurs. Citizenship and Immigration Canada said yesterday that the investor queue stood at 65,000, and 70 per cent of the backlog, as of January last year, was made up of mainlanders whose applications were being processed in Hong Kong. That suggests about 45,500 mainlanders queuing via the SAR will have their applications scrapped
The Immigrant Investor Programme, which has brought about 185,000 migrants to Canada, was instrumental in facilitating an exodus of rich Hongkongers in the wake of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown and in the run-up to the handover. More than 30,000 Hongkongers immigrated using the scheme. About 67,000 mainlanders have migrated to Canada under the IIP.
Ma Xiaoxue, an agent with immigration consultancy firm Well Trend in Beijing, said the change would have little effect as most firms started adjusting the direction of their businesses two years ago when the scheme was frozen.
"We haven't handled investment immigration to Canada for a long time. We don't care about the new rule," said Ma.
Ooops! I read this clause but overlooked the "visa" prior to it. Even so, the USA can use entrepreneurs with capital.
Done!
The Chinese (mainland China) have had thousands of years to practice their scams. They’ve gotten good at it.
The vast majority of these Chinese immigrants have landed in Vancouver British Columbia.
College students attend UBC...
...University of a Billion Chinese.
I guess there was sum ting wong with the program.
As an ex-canuck who goes back to canada 3 x a year, the Chinese pretty much own canada, especially Vancouver BC. Small cities such as Richmond in the Vancouver area is more vibrant and that’s the reason why the local population (aka native whites) detest the Chinese. Try reading the vancouver Craigslist rants page and it’s pretty much racist.
There’s a reason why Vancouver since the 90’s has been jokingly called Hongcouver.
“College students attend UBC...
...University of a Billion Chinese.”
Old joke as I;m originally a BC boy. The new name being passed around is canada is now called Chinada. Try using an ATM and it’s English THEN Chinese 2nd as languages vs French which is the official language of canada. In DT vancouver, they own the city.
Fascinating cartoon, the fear that Americans had was that the Chinese from one side and the Irish from the other would “take over” the US.
Although the Chinese had little or no impact on US society beyond China towns in each city there is no doubt that the feared impact of the Irish (and later, Italian, Jewish and now Hispanic) immigration did in some respects come to pass.
The mass immigration of the late 19th Century, whilst looked at now benignly did massively transform US society and politics.
The big city political machines that exist today and which favour the Democrats and are steeped in corruption were a product of the post-Famine Irish immigration. Get jobs for the boys, suck as much as possible from the government teat and keep the native-born blacks in their “proper” place; at the bottom of the heap.
Yes America, you’ve got those charming Irish immigrants to thank for your political situation today, makes you feel all sentimental for the Oul’ Sod, doesn’t it?
Reminds me of the scene from Blazing Saddles, “we’ll take the N*****s, we’ll take the C*****s, but we won’t take the Irish!”
“Yes we have the same deal here. Any Chinese that can come in with $1 million and create 5 jobs gets a green card.”
The trouble is they conveniently hire 5 fellow Chinese to fill those jobs.
I say welcome to America.
They are the type of immigrants this country needs.
>> They are the type of immigrants this country needs <<
I’m with you. I’ll take a legal Chinese or Vietnamese millionaire any day, versus an illegal Honduran or Nicaraguan with nothing but the (wet) shirt on his back.
I’ve lived in Vancouver my whole life. The Chinese are not hated at all. They are great citizens in general. In the second generation, when language issues are past, it doesn’t make a hoot of difference. Any grumblings come from kids who grew up in Vancouver but are now priced out of the real estate market and live out in the suburbs due to economics, not choice.
The Americans feared any non-WASP population; the Irish were simply the first. The legal discrimination against them forced them into the machines, and the leaders of those took the country to dark places.
The fears of the Protestants who founded this country were well founded indeed.
No thank you. I want new citizens who actually want to be Americans. Most of those people:
1.) Will retain their Chinese citizenship
2.) Will have no particular allegiance to the U.S.
3.) Will not even live in the U.S.
4.) Only want U.S. citizenship as a bolthole in case (when) things go bad in China
There is also the added bonus that many are here to help their country destroy us.
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