Hundreds of Chinese millionaires have been approved for Irish “golden visas” since the scheme was shut two years ago, after applications in train at the time of closure were kept open despite concern about weak controls.
The scheme granted Irish residency to non-EU millionaires in return for company investments and charitable endowments but Department of Justice officials had warned about the need to guard against potentially “unlawful” and “unethical” practices.
The immigrant investor programme (IIP) came to be dominated by Chinese millionaires, who had to have “at least €2 million” in personal wealth to take part. In return for an Irish visa they were required to invest €1 million in an Irish business or make a €500,000 philanthropic donation.
The Government has never formally disclosed the names of investment and endowment beneficiaries, prompting questions about the lack of transparency in a scheme that exchanges Irish visas for money.
RM Block
When scrapping the IIP with one day’s notice in February 2023, Ministers allowed thousands of applications already in the system to proceed. That decision was made despite anxiety about difficulties in the validation of requests.
Now, new figures from the Department of Justice show 1,002 applications were approved in 2023, 2024 and January-June 2025, mostly for Chinese participants.
There were 943 successful Chinese applications in that period, 24 from the US, 15 from Taiwan and 20 from “rest of world” countries. A further 890 mostly Chinese applications were refused or withdrawn.
Some 251 Chinese IIP applications were granted in 2021 and 282 in 2022.
“It should be noted that an approved IIP application does not guarantee that the applicant chooses to come to the State and register an immigration permission,” the department said in response to questions.
“It should also be noted that the [data] only shows the number of investor applications approved, and does not include any potential family members that may also arrive of foot of an approved application.”
Some 1,600 investor applications are undergoing or awaiting consideration, said Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan in a July parliamentary reply to Fianna Fáil TD Cormac Devlin. Such applications will take years to process.
The value of approved investments was €189.5 million in 2023, €314.3 million in 2024 and €146.3 million in the first six months of 2025.
The abrupt closure of the scheme on February 15th, 2023, followed warnings that a phased closure could prompt a flood of last-minute applications.
However, records show a record 1,954 applications were received in 2023. The data also shows 2024 was a record year for successful applications, with more IIP approvals and investments than in any other year since the scheme opened in 2012.
“The IIP is closed to applications relating to new project proposals,” the department said.
“Where project proposals (received prior to the closure) are subsequently approved, it is open for investors to submit applications for these projects up to the total amount approved.”
Asked to name the investment and endowment beneficiaries, the department said it “does not publish the details of individual IIP applications”.
IIP beneficiaries before the scheme shut were known to include property groups Bartra and Fitzwilliam, Trinity College Dublin, University College Cork and housing charities iCare and the Peter McVerry Trust.
The IIP came after the banking crisis to raise cash for the investment-starved economy.
But questions were raised within the government about the suitability of wealthy people with “no significant links” to the State apart from the visa scheme providing money for cultural, social and economic use.
A 2019 internal audit in the department called for stronger controls to confirm “applicants’ background” and sought tighter reviews on the source of funding.
That audit report led to a separate external review by accountants EY, who said private due-diligence providers “may come under pressure to provide favourable reports” on applicants.
