The federal government will not challenge Quebec over its investor immigration program despite British Columbia's claim its economy is being hurt by the French-speaking province's system.

November 14, 2017 - The Bahamas government says it has agreed in principle to increase the threshold of the Bahamas Investor Residence Visa from BS$500,000 to BS$750,000.

February 7, 2018 - Ontario immigration issues 13 Invitations to Apply for the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program's Entrepreneur Stream, with a lowest score of 137.

In a bid to attract investment towards redevelopment of Lisbon's city centre, the Portuguese government has reduced the minimum investment required under its Golden Visa Program to EUR 350,000.

May 19, 2017 - A plan to increase the threshold of the Bahamas residency-by-investment immigration program from has been rejected by the real estate industry.

March 9, 2018 - Candidates with advanced intermediate French language skills have until March 31,2018 to apply for Canadian permanent residence under the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program (QIIP), Canada's only passive investment immigration program.

September 20, 2017 - The U.S. EB-5 investment immigration program has been granted a further temporary extension until December 8, 2017.

More than 1,500 residency permits for Greece immigration have been granted since the introduction of the Golden Visa Investor Program.

The U.S. EB-5 program could see investment thresholds rise after new legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives.

Citizenship-by-investment programs evoke strong criticism all over the world, offering residence in lieu of investment.

October 25, 2017 - Antigua & Barbuda has seen a dramatic 95 per cent decline in the most popular stream of its citizenship-by-investment program after Canada withdrew visa-free access to passport holders in June 2017.

Quebec immigration authorities have announced they will begin accepting new applications under its highly successful Quebec Immigrant Investor Program for a limited period beginning May 29, 2017 and ending February 23, 2018.

November 8, 2017 - Investor immigrants to Prince Edward Island had $18 million withheld by the provincial government for failing to meet the requirements of the program by which they entered Canada.

Wealthy foreign investors hoping to gain residency to the US via the EB-5 program may lose their investment because of an alleged fraud, currently being reviewed by INS.

The US EB-5 program offers permanent residence to investors making at-risk investments of $1 million in an enterprise or Regional Center, or $500,000 in approved Regional Centers. The success or failure of the Regional Center is the primary factor that determines the fate of the investor's EB-5 visa application. Due diligence should be a dynamic and ongoing process conducted as a fundamental and integral part of the investment project to ensure regulatory compliance.

Popular programs offering wealthy investor citizenship or permanent residence are distinguished by the amount of investment, the class of assets and processing delays. Here are some of the more reliable programs

December 8, 2017 - The U.S. EB-5 investment immigration program has received another temporary extension in its current form as part of a short-term funding bill passed by Congress late on Thursday, December 7.

Cyprus has reduced the investment threshold for its citizenship-by-investment program from €5 million to €2 million across its asset classes.

The International Monetary Fund has congratulated St Kitts & Nevis for the dramatic improvements the country has made to its citizenship-by-investment program, once suspected of being a haven for financial criminals.

The US EB-5 visa program was introduced to promote job creation in the United States through issuance of permanent residence to individuals investing between $500,000 or $1 million in an approved commercial enterprise. While the program rules are the same for all investors, applicants must consider important practices in the application process.