Hi, this video is about immigration to Ireland
and one of the best opportunities available to you
as a entrepreneur starting up a business in Ireland.
If you're interested in migrating to Ireland
and starting up a business there
then this video is for you.
We're gonna deal with all of the requirements
for you and your family and what the criteria are
and what the process is for applying.
So let's make a start.
Before we start, I'm Tom Bradford.
In relation to applying for immigration in Ireland
I have the Reach Abroad Ireland service
and this Reach Abroad Ireland YouTube series
is all about helping you select the best option
for business and investment in Ireland.
So if immigration in Ireland is of interest,
than do feel free to subscribe
and click the notification bell for more updates.
Let's have a look at the position in relation
to you and your family.
So this route requires an investment of €50,000
and you can apply as a main applicant
but also your wife and also your older children
between 18 and 24 and also minor children under 18.
So this is a route to residency and citizenship for you
and your family.
Citizenship comes under this route after five years.
So as I said, it's primarily about residency
in the first instance but once you've secured residency
you can apply for citizenship.
You're in the same position as anyone else
who has effectively permanent residence.
If you just want residency in Ireland
then it's renewable every five years
after the five year period
but there's no requirement to stay in Ireland
for any substantial amount of time after that point.
So let's have a look at the overview.
There's some other investment routes
which I said a little bit about in my last video
and I'm doing specific videos on these.
If you're looking not to start a business
but to invest and your route to immigration in Ireland
is through investment or business
then you should consider all of the options
and check out my other videos on this
including investing at the 500,000 level
and £1 million pounds and then £2 million
in relation to real estate investment.
I have, my service involves all of these routes
and I can cover all of them with my local Irish advisors.
Let's have a look at the eligibility criteria then.
If you're looking to invest €50,000
your €50,000 must be your own money
but it also can be a business loan.
It can be a business angel funding.
It can be venture capital funding or a grant
from an Irish state agency.
So this can be a loan from the bank.
I think this is interesting 'cause it really doesn't
exclude many people.
If you have a viable business idea
and you're able to raise €50,000
then this is definitely something worth considering.
If you have any business partners,
this is something I didn't touch on in the last video,
any business partners
who also want residency under the program
they only need to demonstrate access to £30,000.
So you can apply with your business partner or with a group
with you know, a total of €80,000
and that also includes others.
That's business partners, plural.
So this is a great opportunity if have
an entrepreneurial team.
Interestingly if you contrast this with the UK,
if you want an entrepreneurial team
and you're applying for UK immigration as an entrepreneur
then you can share funds but it's a maximum of two people
so that's a big difference
but also, you need to effectively show
that you're doing it on an equal basis
and you have equal control over the funds.
Share £100,000 each but this a much lower level for Ireland.
Just €50,000 and 30,000 for each business partner
who also wants residency under the program.
As for the type of business for your startup in Ireland
I spoke a bit about this in my last video.
It can't be anything to do with retail,
personal services, catering, that sort of thing.
Those sort of old school industries
where profitability is difficult to demonstrate.
This needs to be in relation to innovation.
You need to be targeting international markets.
This has gotta be much more forward thinking
and scalable as an idea, as a business idea.
So one of the things I do with my Reach Abroad service
with clients in different jurisdictions
is help them with their business plans
and making sure their business plan
meets the local immigration requirements.
So in relation to immigration to Ireland
this is really important.
If you're going under this route.
Everything hinges on the business plan.
You wanna be satisfied yourself
that your business plan is strong
but you've also gotta satisfy
the Irish immigration authorities
that it's a viable plan.
Now it's got to have the potential
for bringing on 10 people.
So creating 10 jobs.
It's, that's only got to be potential,
but nevertheless that's a real test that they apply.
So if you something that doesn't necessarily
involve that many other people.
Let's say it's pretty passive.
If it's an Amazon affiliate style business
or if it's an app which is basically already written
and it's a viable, scalable business model
but it doesn't involve many people.
I mean look at WhatsApp for example as a business.
They only had a handful of employees
when they reached you know,
a valuation of several hundred million pounds.
So you've gotta be a bit careful about that
although you can't be doing you know catering
or that sort of thing.
You've still gotta show that you can create jobs with this.
Now I don't think that's too difficult
because even if you have a,
a very passive, very automated style business
which fits with you know software,
model software as a service style business.
You can always incorporate jobs in terms of sales,
sales roles and that sort of thing.
And that's viable, that's,
that would meet the requirements
of the Irish immigration rules.
So let's have a look at the other points.
You've got to have an experienced management team.
Let's just go back to the diagram.
You've got to have an experienced management team
and your business has got have been,
has got to be a new business,
so within the last six years and it's got to be capable
of achieving one million in sales within three to four years
of staring up.
So if you think about it, that's not prohibitive really.
A million pounds in sales in the first three to four years.
Should be achievable.
If again, it just goes back to this theme,
if you're dealing with personal services,
retail, catering, that's gonna be a struggle
but if you've got a scalable business model,
let's say software as a service
and you can show that you can create some sales roles
or that sort of thing, that's enough.
Now presumably in the process of securing the funding
and if you want help with securing funding,
I offer this as part of the Reach Abroad service,
partnering with consultants.
You will have already put together a business plan
for the 50,000 or if you have, and will have to,
if you want to raise €50,000 through a bank loan
it's not, it's not difficult to do that
at such a low level.
But I think the business plan that you put forward
for the bank loan or for any bank loan
needs to be consistent with the business plan
that you put forward to the Irish immigration authorities.
The next requirement is, you've got to be headquartered
and controlled in Ireland.
So if you have an existing business
and you're just setting up a subsidiary in Ireland
you're gonna have to restructure your business, I'm afraid,
to get in under this route if you wanna take the full,
full advantage of residency and subsequently citizenship
under this program.
So those are the key points I wanted to highlight
in this video.
I've dealt with a case study in my other video
so do check that out if you haven't seen it already.
The case of Kabir, an Indian national
who sets up, who wants residency for his wife
and his daughter and sets up a business on Ireland
to achieve that
and I go through the processes but this is just an overview
that he prepares the application
with the help of me and my Irish lawyer.
He then has it approved by the evaluation committee
and it's only then that he transfers the funds
and that's the big advantage of this route
or one of the big advantages of this route.
You don't have to commit the funds
and show access to them
before your application has been granted.
So your application is basically granted or approved first
and then you invest the funds
and as I've said before,
that's, that's not to be taken for granted.
It's not the case under all of the other immigration regimes
for entrepreneurs that you're necessarily able to do this.
Within the US for example, under some of the routes there
you need to invest first and then you make your application
which may or may not be granted.
So you don't have that kind of uncertainty here
which is a big plus.
So you can see here his,
after the evaluation committee has considered it
he transfers the funds,
he then prepares an affidavit
in relation to his good character, et cetera
and then he starts on this path
to residency and citizenship.
Let's just zoom in.
So the initial application is granted for two years
and then as long as the business remains viable
he continues to live there for three years
until he reaches the point
at which he can apply for residency
and then subsequently citizenship.
I've said a little bit about the absence requirements
which you need to bear in mind.
If you're just going for residency
they're not particularly onerous
although you gotta show you're actively involved
in the business.
Let me just zoom in on this to show you my point.
But if you're going for citizenship
at the end of the process then you've gotta plan it out.
So resident and citizenship plan is extremely important
so you're not disappointed at the end of the process
but you need to be in Ireland for at least half of the year
and then for a full 12 months at the end of the process.
If you're going for Irish citizenship.
Now I want to speak now a bit about
the advantages of this in the context of Brexit.
And the important thing here
is that Ireland is a committed member of the EU.
It's very much emphasizing that in light of Brexit
and attempting to distinguish itself
from the UK's position as we, we reach Brexit.
So even within the transitional period
there is uncertainty including economic uncertainty
and I'm finding that a lot of my clients
are asking me about other options.
Perhaps they're starting with considering the UK
but then they start considering other options now,
asking about other options.
So this is an option that merits serious consideration.
Ireland is a friend of Europe and a friend of the EU
and what that means for you is that you can,
if you secure Irish citizenship
you can have free movement within the EU.
That's very significant and powerful.
EU citizenship may matter a lot to you
and the way citizenship works within the EU
is that you have two levels, two forms of citizenship.
Your have your national citizenship
and then insofar as your status,
a member of the EU, you have EU citizenship
in addition to that.
So you have two levels of citizenship.
That's important but the,
perhaps one of the unique features of Ireland
as opposed to Cyprus and as opposed to say, Portugal
is that Ireland is uniquely positioned
as we approach Brexit because being a member
of the common travel area,
being in the common travel area,
Irish citizens and you as an Irish citizen
if you secure citizenship under this program
will be able to enter the UK
as well as having free movement within the EU.
So Irish citizens are exempt from the settled status
application process which is being carried out
on EU citizens in the UK.
They can voluntarily do it but they don't have to apply
and you would be exempt as well.
And it's, it's certainly envisaged that immigration
is going to be stricter and more stringent
and more restrictive after Brexit
and after the transition period.
But that's not gonna apply to Irish citizens.
So you have, or you will have the best of both worlds
if you go down this route and you're successful.
You'd have access to the EU, and you'd also have access
to the UK.
So, if the UK is your primary destination if you like,
if see your future in the UK,
the Irish route is still one to merit consideration.
It may be that you can't afford the £200,000 now.
The current stage of your business,
as a kinda capital outlay to go down
the UK entrepreneur route
but you can raise in the form of say a business loan,
£50,000 or perhaps from family
or from a combination of savings and loans for example.
So if you go down that route
you can still have access to the UK
and then when you become a Irish citizen,
if that's your objective, you will then have
unfettered access to the UK.
In addition to the EU.
So that's why it's such a unique opportunity.
You won't necessarily have that if you secure
EU citizenship through Portugal or through Cyprus let's say
because it's not known what the immigration position will be
between the EU and the UK
but was know it's gonna more restrictive.
It's not going to be free movement.
Whereas if you're an Irish citizen
you will have free movement between Ireland and the UK
within the common travel area.
So those are the reasons why this is such a great
opportunity and a great option for you to consider.
In this series I give other options of course to you
as part of my Reach Abroad series
and the Reach Abroad service that I offer.
I help people select the best option
for them and their business
and then help them set up their business in the UK
to make a success of it, both in relation to the business
and from a commercial perspective
but also in relation to satisfying the residence
and citizenship requirements
depending on what your goals are.
And of course your goals may not be exclusive.
It may be that you want to achieve both business investment
and residence and citizenship outcomes
and in fact, your business and investment success
is often premised on the immigration position
in that residents must be lawful
and you've got to be on a route
that is gonna help you to secure residence or citizenship
if that's your final objective.
So if you're interested in more on this subject,
by all means subscribe and click the notification bell.
I will be producing more content on this
and the other routes and the options available to you
in relation to immigration to Ireland
and Irish immigration generally.
So thank you for your time
and I'll see you in the next video.