Hospitality

Irish Diaspora Fund says scrapping golden visas is ‘potentially disastrous’ for hotels

The immigrant investor programme offered residency in exchange for investment in local businesses

The Nuremore Hotel in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan is owned by one of the state’s biggest cash-for-visa brokers. Picture: Pat Byrne

An investment fund targeted at overseas investors has said the closing of the state’s immigrant investor programme (IIP) is a significant blow for indigenous businesses.

The IIP, which offered visas to foreign nationals in return for investment in Ireland, has shut to new applications from today amid growing criticism of such schemes internationally.

The IIP has brought in around €1.25 billion worth of investment through high-net worth individuals from outside the European Union, but there ...