Sri Lankan government revises minimum investment required for Golden Paradise Visa.
The Morning: Sri Lanka will increase the minimum deposit amount for its 10-year Golden Paradise Visa Scheme to $ 200,000, according to the recommendation of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, as the programme has started gaining attention among investors, said State Minister of Investment Promotion Dilum Amunugama.
Speaking to The Morning Business, he said that the programme will be re-launched with the new minimum deposit requirement of $ 200,000, as Sri Lanka is already receiving a great number of inquiries about the programme. He said that the President was not happy with the $ 100,000 minimum deposit requirement, as the investor is allowed to withdraw $ 50,000 after one year, while retaining $ 50,000 for the granted period.
“This basically means we are giving a 10-year visa for $ 50,000, so the President did not agree to it,” he added. Amunugama said that after raising the minimum deposit requirement to $ 200,000, the investors will be allowed to withdraw $ 100,000 after one year, while keeping the rest for the granted period.
The State Minister said that the rest of the aspects of the programme, such as the privileges granted and other requirements, will remain unchanged.
The Golden Paradise Visa scheme, which was launched in May based on a proposal made by former Minister of Investment Promotion Dhammika Perera, enabled the issuance of 10-year residence visas for foreigners who deposit a minimum of $ 100,000 in a commercial bank recognised by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, according to the initial terms of the programme, while leaving them eligible to withdraw $ 50,000 after the first year while maintaining a minimum balance of $ 50,000 in the country for the rest of the granted timeline.
The programme provides privileges to invest in a Government-approved investment, Investing in purchasing a luxury apartment, purchasing Sri Lanka development bonds, and obtaining lands and buildings on a lease basis.
In June, the Department of Immigration and Emigration issued the first-ever Golden Paradise Visa to Baili Investments Lanka Ltd. Director Chai Yin Man for a five-year period.
Baili Investments is a Board of Investment (BOI)-approved Chinese company working on a 1,200-unit luxury apartment complex project in Rajagiriya with an investment of $ 60 million.
In July, former Minister Dhammika Perera said that the programme had attracted 50 people, while a further 300 with a combined investment of $ 30 million had shown interest in obtaining the visa, but were held back by pending approvals from the Finance Ministry.
OSL take:
The government of Sri Lanka has taken many steps to attract foreign direct investments to the country including the introduction of incentive schemes as well as the latest programme of issuing long term visas for foreigners engaged in businesses/investments in the country. Sri Lanka is also working towards becoming a business destination in the South Asian region. The country’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean and the many trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by the country have also helped boost Sri Lanka’s business/investment opportunities. Given Sri Lanka’s resilience to economic challenges and the impressive performance of the country’s private sector that has recorded profits, there is a growth and business potential in Sri Lanka that could be explored by foreign businesses/investors.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/11102022/X_3 |