You’ve heard of refugees, internationals, and travellers, but have you heard of millionaire migrants? This year, more than 350 richies will find their way to the Lowlands, and we’re not really sure why…
This is clear from figures released by the migration consultancy group Henley & Partners, who make a living advising rich people on how to invest their money.
That typically means guiding them towards areas where “gold visas” or “gold passports” are available for people who invest a certain amount into the country. 💎
The Netherlands? Really?
Yeah, we don’t get it either. The land of bikes and potatoes is not generally known for its attractive power toward millionaires, and it doesn’t even have a proper investment migration program.
That means that the Netherlands doesn’t have one of those “gold visa” schemes many other millionaire-prone countries offer. So why do they come at all? 🤷🏽♀️
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First of all, it’s worth noting that many (at least more than normal) of these millionaire migrants have moved from the UK, thanks to Brexit. The brits seem to have had enough of their own land!
The second reason why the super-rich might want to have a change of scenery, is that the Netherlands offers a three-year residence permit to people who invest a minimum of €1,250,000 into a Dutch business. 💸
After that, you can extend the permit to last five years, and try to go down the citizenship route (if you wanna go all the way and become a dutchie).
Unpopular arrangements
While the Dutch treatment of the super-rich sounds nice, the Netherlands isn’t really the most attractive country to move to — if you have a few million to protect.
Why? The Netherlands actually has a very strict process before granting these millionaire permits. In fact, only 20 applications were filed between 2013 and 2019 (10 of which were approved)! 😅
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Instead, countries such as Portugal and Greece attract the most millionaires in Europe, while Russian richies have tended to move to Dubai (especially since the invasion).
After getting a “gold visa”, rich people can travel around the Schengen area for five years — cheat the system much? In Malta, you can even get a Maltese passport directly upon investing, to the great dismay of the European Commission… 🙄
In other words, there are way better places to move if you’re a millionaire — but the super-rich seem to like the Netherlands enough to come here anyway! We won’t complain.
What do you think of these odd findings?? Tell us in the comments below!