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Ireland Golden Visa Scheme

Published: 19 Jun, 2020
Author: Kevin Greene
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Whether you’re honouring your Irish roots or eyeing a strategic EU base, Ireland offers two key visa routes for non-EEA nationals: the Investor Visa and the Start-Up Entrepreneur Programme. Discover how you can live, invest, and innovate in Ireland.

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Do you have an interest in Ireland

Maybe your ancestors came from the Isle, and now you’d like to give something back by making a significant investment into the country? Or, maybe you have an innovative business idea, and Ireland, with its educated workforce, good standard of living and its access to the EU would make the country the perfect location to launch your idea.

There are two main business Visa types

Both would allow you the time to stay in Ireland to set up your company or be allowed to enter the country multiple times. One of these is the Investor Visa Programme (IIP), this is open to non-EEA citizens and requires a minimum of €1million investment from their own resources. The second is the Start-Up Entrepreneur Programme (STEP) also open to non-EEA citizens, this is Ireland’s entrepreneurial visa.

The Irish Investor Visa scheme

This was introduced in 2012. There have been 100s of applicants since its introduction — most of them within the past year or two. The Visa requires the investor to make a contribution that will help the Irish economy.

As outlined by Citizens Information.ie The type of investments made generally fall into four categories: 

  • Enterprise Investment: A minimum €1 million aggregate investment into new or existing Irish businesses for a minimum of 3 years. The enterprise can be a start-up registered by the investor. Your investment can be in a single Irish enterprise or spread over a number of enterprises. The enterprise must be registered and headquartered in Ireland and the investment must support the creation or maintenance of employment.
  • Investment Fund: A minimum of €1 million investment in an investment fund for at least 3 years. Investment funds must invest in Irish businesses and projects. The route for a fund to be accepted as an investment for the purposes of the Immigrant Investor Programme is for it to be part of an application by an individual investor. There is no list of approved funds but you can read about the criteria for investment funds on the Inis website.
  • Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT): A minimum investment of €2 million in any Irish REIT listed on the Irish Stock Exchange. The investment may be spread across a number of Irish REITs.
  • Endowment: €500,000 to a public project benefiting the arts, sports, health, culture or education. The endowment can be €400,000 per investor if it is pooled by at least 5 individuals.

Entrepreneur Programme (STEP)

This programme is aimed at entrepreneurs with a high potential startup idea, that would like to set their business and reside in Ireland on a full time basis. The minimum investment required here is €50,000.

The remaining application dates for 2020 are as follows:

  • 22 June 2020 – 26 June 2020
  • 31 August 2020 – 4 September 2020
  • 26 October 2020 – 30 October 2020

At Gibson & Associates Solicitors our immigration department has already successfully secured several Investor Visa application to date. Talk to our friendly team today for a no-obligation talk about your options and eligibly.

Author

Immigration FAQ's

Do I need to apply for a work permit?

A non-EEA national who has been granted permission to remain in Ireland on one of the following grounds does not need to apply for a work visa:

  • Permission to remain as a spouse or dependant of an Irish/EEA national
  • Permission to remain as the parent of an Irish citizen
  • Temporary leave to remain on humanitarian grounds, having been through the asylum process
  • Explicit permission from the Department of Justice and Equality to remain as a resident and employer in Ireland
  • Permission to be in the state as a registered student who is permitted to work 20 hours during term time and 40 hours during holiday periods
  • Permission to be in the state under the terms of the Diplomatic Relations and Immunities Act 1967, and are assigned to a mission of a country with whom the government has entered into a working dependents agreement
  • Swiss nationals in accordance with the terms of the European Communities and Swiss Confederation Act 2001

All other non-EEA nationals are required to make an application for an Irish work visa.

Can you help me if I have an employment permit application refused?

We help with employment permit refusals. If you have had a work permit application refused, our experienced immigration team will help you to submit an appeal or a new application that follows all the relevant procedures and legislative requirements to ensure you stand the best chance.

Can you help with group work permit applications?

We can help you to submit group employment permit applications for your company, so you can bring employees from abroad to your business in Ireland. We have helped many multinational companies from various industries, including construction, haulage, health care and technology, to make successful group applications.

However, an employment permit will not be issued if it will result in more than 50% of a workforce being made up of non-EU/EEA nationals.
An exception to this rule is where a business is a start-up company, is within its first two years of establishment and is supported by the IDA Ireland or Enterprise Ireland.

What are the penalties of working without a relevant permit?

Under the Employment Permits Act, it is a criminal offence for a non-EU/EEA national to work without an employment permit.
Penalties, including a fine of up to €250,000 can be enforced on parties who breach regulations.

What is a Van der Elst visa?

A Van der Elst visa entitles non-EEA employees already working in an EEA member state to work for their employer in Ireland temporarily. Our immigration team can help you make an application for a Van Der Elst visa.

Got Questions? We’re Here to Help!

If you have concerns or would like to understand your eligibility,get in touch with our expert team for advice [email protected]

Don’t forget to share this post!

I was very happy that I received my Irish citizenship in less than two years. You must gather all your “original” documents establishing the connection to the Irish-born grandparents; all understandable. The staff guided us each step of the way. Very pleased.
Kris Laurenti

Everyone made the naturalization process so easy. It was very daunting when we first started out, but the kindness and helpfulness of all the staff made us feel confident we had done all the paperwork correctly. It was nice to have several pairs of professional eyes looking over our application and giving us the thumbs up that everything turned in was pointing to a successful outcome. Thank you to everyone.
Michelle

I understand the challenges trying to sortout my visa application but the moment I choose Gibson and Associates LLP they assisted me in my application with a very good lawyer, I rate Gibson and Associates LLP five stars and I still give Thanks for the good work from the Solicitor
Ehigiato Michael

I used the service from Gibson and associates to apply for a work permit. First of all thanks to Gibson and associates for all the service they rendered for this. Especially, thanks to Kellie. She provide detailed guidance regarding the work permit type I need to apply for and the requirements that needed for this application. These guidance really helped me to secure the work permit successfully. Also thankful to Jade for the valuable assistance provided in submitting the application. Once again thanks to Kellie and Jade for the services they rendered on behalf of Gibson and associates for this.
Jeswin Jose

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