The Republic of Ireland has closed its Immigrant Investor
Programme on 15 February 2023, following a review of its
"appropriateness". An announcement was made a day earlier
on 14 February 2023. The programme was responsible for more than
€1 Bn in inward investment.
The Programme was established over a decade ago to stimulate
investment in Ireland. It has provided a route for wealthy
foreigners investing at least €1M (approximately
£900,000 GBP) into approved government investments, or
€500,000 into public benefit projects. The scheme offered
investors and their qualifying family members citizenship after
five years' continuous residence in Ireland.
The programme had been under scrutiny in recent weeks after
Ireland's Public Accounts Committee was asked to conduct a
review. With growing pressure from the European Union, which cited
the scheme as a high security risk, Ireland ultimately decided to
close the scheme.