Dutch island of Curacao takes step to overhaul investment program

By Uglobal Staff

Foreign investors looking to get an EU passport while simultaneously enjoying the mandatory five-year-long residency period on the sandy beaches of the Caribbean can now seriously consider the Dutch island of Curacao, which is taking steps to make its investment immigration program even more enticing for high-net-worth individuals from around the world.

In a new statement released on July 1 on its official website, the Dutch Caribbean Securities Exchange (DCSX), reiterated the benefits of the island's Curacao Investor Permit Program (CIIP), highlighting the fact that foreign investors who apply for it not only get to live as a resident on the island, but now also have the option to invest in any company listed on the DCSX that is "admitted under the investment object rules of the CIPP."

The government of Curacao began the CIIP in 2014, and initially it offered only two pathways: investment via real estate or through one's own business venture in the island. It is only recently that the option to invest in a DCSX-listed company has been offered, a fact highlighted in the latest statement by the international exchange.

In a separate statement released on June 30, the DCSX Senior Commercial Officer Rene Romer confirmed DCSX-listed companies "can qualify as eligible investments under the program.”

THREE INVESTMENT OPTIONS IN CURACAO

All the three pathways -- investment via real estate, or business venture, or DCSX entity -- can be used in the following three investment options: three-year long residency program with at least $280,000 investment, five-year program with at least $420,000 investment and the indefinite period program that requires at least $838,000 investment. The three-year program will not make investors eligible for the Dutch passport, but if it is renewed for another three years, the applicant will become eligible after a lapse of five years in total.

The requirements to qualify for the program are simple: provide proof to authorities that you have sufficient money to meet the investment threshold throughout the period of residency; have no criminal record and have a valid health insurance policy.

In 2010, Curacao became an autonomous country with its own government under the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Dutch passport is ranked among the top in the world, giving its citizens access to more than 180 nations.

Powered by Froala Editor