ISLAMABAD - The government is considering issuing 10 years resident visas to foreign investors and has proposed a list of 97 countries eligible for the programme.
To boost foreign investment in the country the Board of Investment (BoI) is preparing summary, for the issuance of 10 years resident visas to foreign nationals, and it will be presented to Prime Minister Imran Khan for his final nod, official source told The Nation.
The BoI had initially presented the idea of granting permanent residency to investors from Afghanistan. However, Prime Minister Imran Khan had directed the BoI to work on broader policy and should bring a proposal which is not specific to investors from any specific country. Following the PM’s directives, BoI has asked the input from various ministries/divisions on the matter of issuing 10 years resident visas to nationals of other countries.
Under the proposed policy, the government will launch residency scheme for foreign nationals and will offer 10 years resident visa in lieu of investment. According the source a list of 97 countries has been proposed for the issuance of resident visas.
Any one from the proposed designated countries interested in getting the 10 years resident visa will have to register a company with Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), the source said. The minimum investment of $200,000 will be required for the intended candidates, the source added. In addition $100,000 will be deposited as security with visa application. $100,000 will be returned anytime the resident visa holder decided to shun the visa, the source maintained.
Along with the investors four dependents will also be eligible for getting the visas, the source further said. For adding additional dependents, the applicants from the designated countries will be required to deposit $20000 per dependent, the source informed. The visa will be issued for 10 years and will be extendable for as many times the investors wants to stay, the source informed.
The resident visa holders will be entitled to the civic amenities such as health, education facilities etc, the source maintained.
He said that Turkey, Malaysia and several other countries have already started offering permanent residency to foreign investors, which is going successfully.
Some of the prominent proposed designated countries are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Indonesia, Japan, Lithuania, Malaysia, Norway, Oman, Panama, Qatar, Russia, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE, UK, USA and Vietnam.
Sources said that the concerned ministries and divisions have been asked to provide their input to the policy. In the light of the recommendations from the concerned ministries/divisions, a summary will be prepared which will be presented to the Prime Minister for final approval.