Investors’ interest in citizenship incentive on the rise

AMMAN — A total of 105 investors have applied to the Jordan Investment Commission (JIC) to obtain the Jordanian nationality or permanent residency, marking a 35 per cent increase compared with the previous month, a government official said on Monday.

In a JIC statement, carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, Minister of State for Investment Affairs Muhannad Shehadeh, who is also JIC chairman, noted that six investors had obtained nationality certificates issued by the Civil Status and Passports Department, while 15 investors have met all conditions necessary to obtain citizenship and are awaiting the process to be finalised.

The second group comprises seven applicants who applied for nationality through establishing and registering an investment project in designated productive economic projects, two through buying shares and investment in small- and medium-sized enterprises, and six through deposits and Treasury bonds at the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ), the minister added. 

The Cabinet in February set four conditions to grant investors citizenship or permanent residency, giving investors a choice among several scenarios.

One scenario includes a zero-interest, five-year $1.5 million deposit at the CBJ, or buying treasury bonds valued at the same amount at an interest rate to be decided by the CBJ and for a period not less than 10 years.

The third option for an investor is to buy securities, also valued at $1.5 million, from an active investment portfolio, while they can invest $1 million in SMEs for at least five years to become a Jordanian national. 

The fourth scenario is a $2 million investment in any location in the country, or $1.5 million if the project is registered in any governorate other than Amman, provided that such a project creates at least 20 job opportunities and remains operational for at least three years. 

To obtain permanent residency, any non-Jordanian can buy a property worth no less than JD200,000, provided that the Lands and Survey Department confirms the value, for 10 years without selling the unit in question or disposing of it in any manner.

Based on the two points above, any investor who obtains any of the two  said statuses will have the right to obtain a similar status for wife, unmarried, widowed or divorced daughters, sons who are below 18 years old and parents they are the sole supporter of them.