澳政府吸引美国富豪入籍
Flush with the success of a millionaire visa program to attract wealthy Chinese, Australia is now promising citizenship to rich Americans who are willing to bring their cash and entrepreneurial talent Down Under.
澳大利亚的百万富翁签证项目成功吸引了大批中国富豪，现在澳政府又向那些愿意将钞票和创业人才带到澳州来的美国富豪伸出了入籍的橄榄枝。
But there's a rather large catch: participants in the invitation-only Premium Investment Visa scheme will need to invest A$15 million ($11.57 million) for the privilege of becoming an Aussie.
Launched earlier this month but not widely publicized, the scheme's investment requirements easily top the existing two-year-old Significant Investor Visa (SIV) program, which asks for a A$5 million commitment and has been especially popular with Chinese migrants.
Investment advisors who have been briefed on the plan by government officials expressed doubts about the wisdom of targeting Americans, with several telling Reuters the more obvious place to start was Australia's Asian neighbors.
After all, why would a successful U.S. entrepreneur want to invest a large chunk of cash in Australia - a country very similar to the United States, just further away from everything - in exchange for a passport that carries few additional benefits to their own?
"The U.S. has some problems that Australia doesn't have. It's got a lot more racial crimes, it's got a lot more gun-related crimes, but I don't think that is going to drive a whole bunch of ultra-rich Americans out of their country," said Bill Fuggle, a partner at law firm Baker & McKenzie.