Dutch trade residency for foreign investments over €1.25 million

State Secretary Klaas Dijkhoff is amending the scheme which gives foreign investors a residency permit for the Netherlands if they invest at least 1.25 million euros into Dutch companies. According to him, very few investors made use of the scheme since its implementation in 2013 and he wants to make it more attractive, the Ministry of Security and Justice announced . The first amendment is that the residency permit given to foreign investors will be valid for three years, instead of only one year. This is to remove the uncertainty among investors about whether or not they will be allowed to stay in the Netherlands after a year. Foreign investors will also no longer need an account statement. The Immigration and Naturalization Department will still check with the Financial Intelligence Unit to make sure that the investor is not linked to any suspicious transactions in the Netherlands or country of origin. Finally, the process to check whether an investment qualifies for the residency permit will be simplified. Instead of the current point system, an investment will only have to contribute two of three points to the Dutch business sector. The points are employment, innovation and non-financial contribution. The minimum amount invested to qualify for a residency permit will remain 1.25 million euros. The change will be implemented on July 1st, 2016.