On Tuesday 14 February, the Irish government announced the closure of the Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP). IIP applications via approved projects may be granted a grace period of three months to submit the finalised application. Any interest in IIP is the last chance and would have to apply on an urgent and immediate basis or the programme will no longer be available. Contact us now.
Welcoming, open and safe, despite its small size Ireland has become an international hotspot for investment and immigration. In 2021, while the world was in lockdown, Ireland’s population rose above 5 million for the first time since 1851. “We see many people moving in for better education, higher paid jobs, and greater accessibility to the EU or to our close friends like the US and UK,” said James Hartshorn, CEO of Bartra Wealth Advisors in our most recent Immigration Insights video. “It is the fastest-growing economy in the EU and was one of the very few European countries that was able to see positive economic growth during the first year of the global coronavirus pandemic. It had double-digit GDP growth last year of 13.5% and this year that’s forecast to be around 5-6%, which is not bad, given the current high inflation rate.”
“Ireland has high-quality education and a reputation as both the Silicon Valley of Europe, the leading force in Big Data, and a new financial centre,” he added. “Many multinational brands, international companies, tech companies such as IBM, Microsoft and Apple, financial services companies like JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank and State Street, and medical and pharmaceutical businesses, all have their European headquarters in Ireland. The country offers myriad job opportunities.”
James Hartshorn, CEO and Co-founder of Bartra Wealth Advisors
There are plenty of other reasons why Ireland has become a preferred immigration country for families. At Bartra, we always enjoy the conversations we have with our clients to understand how they plan for the future and their reasons for choosing Ireland as their immigration destination.
For our most recent Immigration Insights video, we spoke with IIP investor Sally Yeh, who is originally from Taiwan and has lived and worked in Hong Kong in the financial industry since 2009, about her reasons for choosing the IIP and Bartra over other immigration programmes.
Many high-net-worth professionals like Sally favour Ireland’s IIP due to the greater flexibility and cost certainty it offers. Simplicity is another reason. “Ireland is one of six English-speaking countries where permanent residency (PR) can be obtained by investment in one step, over a short period of time and through a simple application process,” says Jeffrey Ling, Regional Director of Bartra Wealth Advisors. Interested to learn more about the IIP? Click to read our blog.
As well as Sally, we have spoken to number of other Bartra clients, including Luna Wu, who has received repayment and interest from our nursing home project, and Bruce Zheng, who invested in Bartra’s social housing and was fully repaid last month.
We take pride in our client testimonials. At Bartra Wealth Advisors, we strive to provide our clients with the best IIP-qualified projects, world-class experience and end-to-end services, and the feedback we receive is motivation to keep expanding our business to new markets so we can offer our direct investment and immigration services to more clients, providing safer investment projects and reducing their risks along their immigration journey.
In March, Bartra proudly invited our clients in Ireland to visit Loughshinny Nursing Home, a project they invested in back in 2017 that is now complete and in operation. We are pleased to see that our clients are satisfied with their IIP investment journey with Bartra, not only because their principal amounts are secure with the agreed interest on the return on investment, but also having seen the project built to high specifications and now providing the highest quality of care to over 120 residents under Bartra’s successful management.
Ms Luna Wu is one of the investors. She invested in Bartra’s Loughshinny Nursing Home in 2017 and moved to Ireland with her family, including daughter Ellie, after receiving their Stamp 4 visa. She has now received the full repayment and interest from Bartra following the five-year investment term.
During the recent site visit, we spoke to Luna and Ellie. “I am glad to see my investment in Loughshinny has made a contribution to society,” says Luna. “The value of the investment is so meaningful beyond just the financial element. I am happy to see the project is well built, well managed, and that the people living in the care homes are happy.”
Luna’s family is planning to start a new business in Ireland using the repayment fund as capital. One of her ideas is to seed fund digital products related to cultural and lifestyle exchange between Ireland and China, while her husband plans to expand his retail business in Ireland. The couple enjoy their life in Ireland, and are keen to continue to explore all that the Emerald Isle has to offer.
Watch our interview with Luna to learn more about her journey to Ireland and her experience with the IIP and Bartra.
In a letter to investors, Mike Flannery, CEO of Bartra Group said, “In January, Bartra completed the repayment to all of our Loughshinny Nursing Home investors. The Executive Team is proud to repay all principal amounts and the agreed interest to investors. It is also with great delight that several investors have decided to re-invest in other non-IIP Bartra projects, showing their confidence in Bartra’s management team. It also demonstrates Bartra’s ability to continuously create investment opportunities for its clients and proves Bartra’s commitment to guiding investors along their IIP journey.”
Best-in-class Loughshinny Nursing Home
What makes this IIP project successful? At Bartra, we believe a great healthcare project requires three things: a great location, great specifications and great people. Our Loughshinny home ticks all those boxes.
Overlooking the Irish Sea, Loughshinny Nursing Home has been constructed on a panoramic 3.5-hectare site approximately 15km from Dublin City Centre in Blacklands, Skerries, Co. Dublin. The site is located within Fingal County Council (one of four local authorities in the Greater Dublin Area), which has a population of 555,000, of which 72,000 (13%) are aged 65 and over.
The construction of Loughshinny Nursing Home was completed in June 2019, and is now in operation, providing 123 world-class single occupancy private ensuite rooms within a state-of-the-art residential setting.
In addition, residents’ comfort and safety has always been our utmost priority. Loughshinny Nursing Home accommodates some of the most advanced equipment to ensure high-tech and intelligent nursing services. All beds can be easily raised and lowered, and the mattresses in each room are customised in consideration of body pressure distribution. Furthermore, every room is equipped with an alarm system for daily needs or emergency assistance.
Our highly skilled and experienced care team is inculcating a culture of quality caregiving in all our facilities, ensuring a standard of care that recognises our residents’ needs for independence, choice, dignity, respect, compassion and advocacy.
Additional project details:
Mid 2016: Fundraising began
November 2017: Construction started
As of 2019: All investors in the project and their family members had obtained Irish Stamp 4 visas
April 2019: The first investor in the Loughshinny Nursing Home Project successfully obtained the Stamp 4 renewal. He was also the first investor to enjoy the cancellation of the programme’s landing requirement
May 24, 2019: Loughshinny was completed and delivered
June 19, 2019: HIQA staff visited Loughshinny and confirmed that all facilities fully met HIQA standards.
July 1, 2019: The HIQA certification was officially effective
July 5, 2019: Bartra and the National Medical Purchasing Foundation of Ireland (NTPF) reached an agreement on the bed rate of the Nursing Home Support Scheme, and the NTPF agreement was signed for funding €1210/bed/week
July 17, 2019: Loughshinny welcomed its first occupant
August 18-19, 2021, Manuela Cristea, inspector of the Irish HIQA visited Loughshinny for a two-day inspection. She spoke to residents, nursing home management and healthcare personnel, and assessed the overall capacity, quality and safety of the healthcare service. Loughshinny nursing home met the highest standards set by the HIQA and has been deemed fully compliant with all regulations. This is testament to Bartra’s successful management of the nursing home and all of its staff.
A successful IIP investment journey
Bartra is the only group that integrates development, operation and management in the IIP. The one-stop-shop services help investors mitigate risk during their investment journey. Successful applicants enjoy a fast approval time for the whole family with minimal residing requirements, and 100% capital repayment as well as a total of 20% interest for return on investment at maturity.
While investing in Bartra’s IIP nursing homes is a way to obtain Irish residency, it is also an amazing contribution to Irish society. Nursing care is an in-demand sector in Ireland. Due to years of under-investment in the country’s key infrastructure, the Irish nursing home sector is facing a major shortage of beds. Additionally, Ireland has an ageing population, which further increases the demand for nursing home facilities. By 2036, Ireland’s population aged over 80 is expected to rise from 170,000 in 2020 to more than double that at 343,000. Private sector investment in nursing home care plays an important role in supporting the sector in the medium to long term. It is also a safe investment funded by the government. More information is available about the benefits of investing in Bartra’s nursing homes here.
We are dedicated to providing our clients with the best IIP projects and services to ensure a straightforward and enjoyable journey to investing and living in Ireland.
Book an appointment to speak with one of our consultants.
