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Chinese flock to investor visa schemes
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THREE years ago, Susan Yang, 32, and her husband emigrated to the United States with their two daughters. They have a large house in San Francisco with a swimming pool.
“It is quite satisfying here. Food is not a concern — you can get almost all the Chinese ingredients. Plus, there are many decent Chinese restaurants. Our friends are mostly Chinese. Basically, life hasn’t change a lot, except for much better air quality and a nicer house,” Yang tells Shanghai Daily.
After becoming a millionaire, Yang’s husband, Jack Hu, 40, applied to immigrate to the US. He invested in an American factory to get a green card.
The family is now among an increasing number of Chinese citizens who have relocated to Western countries through investment immigration schemes.
“Over the past 10 years, Chinese immigrants have changed hugely. They now tend to come from the social elite, with large fortunes and good educations. Unlike the old days when most Chinese immigrants wound up doing manual labor in restaurants, today’s Chinese immigrants have huge financial and cultural influence and contribute to Western countries,” says Rachel Lin, an agent at an immigration-consulting agency in Shanghai.
Hu’s family participated in the US EB-5 visa scheme, through which foreign individuals can obtain US green cards by investing at least US$500,000 into projects in high-unemployment or rural areas that create at least 10 jobs for US workers.
As agent Lin explains, the quota for this program is capped at 10,000 people annually, yet its increasing popularity means that some would-be immigrants may face long waits before they can relocate.
Last week, the chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division at the US Department of State, Charles Oppenheim, announced that the country’s EB-5 visa quota had been exhausted for the year and attributed it to the increasing number of rich Chinese applying for the visa. The quota will reset in May.
On Wednesday, the US Consulate General in Guangzhou began issuing cancellation notices to individuals with scheduled immigrant visa interviews.
The US is not the only place where investment immigration is on the rise, according to the 2015 Report on Chinese International Migration issued by the Center for China and Globalization (CCG). From 2013 to 2014, Chinese spent US$22 billion purchasing properties in the United States, according to the report.
“My husband decided to move to America mainly for the children, so they can have a better environment to grow up and less pressure in studies,” Yang says.
As a businessman in Shanghai, Hu also had his own worries. He indicates that he’s uncertain about the future in China. In the US though, he says, life is stable.
“Now the only worry in my life is the education of my daughters — one four years old and the other 10. For them, San Francisco is like their hometown. They have Western ideas and speak little Chinese. There is a huge gap between us, and it will only become more obvious,” says Yang.
“Since they are Chinese. I want them to know and love their country. So I will take them back as often as possible,” she adds.
According to the CCG report, China is the world’s largest source of overseas immigrants, most of them moving to the US, Canada, Australia and Singapore.
Last year, 71,800 Chinese citizens obtained permanent resident status in the US, 34,000 in Canada and 27,300 in Australia.
Chen Gong is still waiting for her residency permit in Canada.
“Even though the sky is blue and the air is crystal clear here, I feel depressed. I will go back to China as soon as I get permanent resident status here,” Chen says via a Skype interview with Shanghai Daily.
So far, life in Canada has not lived up to Chen’s expectations. Every day she gets up at 6am to prepare breakfast for her two children. The rest of her day is usually spent doing household chores.
Chen, 38, immigrated to Canada a year and a half ago. Her husband is still in Shanghai, earning money for the family. After working as a department manager in an international company, Chen says she has found it hard to acclimatize to her new life as a housewife.
To provide a better environment for her children, Chen quit the job and invested 1 million yuan (US$161,300) to obtain visas for her family.
“I had to mortgage my house in Shanghai to have a nice financial statement that would prove I was qualified for investment immigration. And now I feel stupid,” she says. “After all these endeavors, I’m cleaning the house and mowing the lawn here.”
In Shanghai, Chen had an ayi (domestic helper) and parents to help take care of the children. This gave her time to go to work and relax with friends.
Chen’s husband, William Le, runs a trading company specializing in imported foods.
“We are not very wealthy but sure live an abundant life,” says Le, explaining that supporting his family in Canada has been very stressful.
“Investment immigration is convenience for sure, just you have to be rich enough for it,” he says.
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