Island migration

Satellite image of Saint Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean Sea.

Recently, Canada announced that it would end its investor program, closing off another path for Chinese immigrants.

However, as Canada closes the door, island countries such as St Kitts and Nevis have opened another window for Chinese entrepreneurs who are seeking immigration for various reasons.

Island nations have become the popular alternative immigration choice for rich entrepreneurs in China, because of benefits such as relaxed conditions and low investment requirements. Entrepreneurs such as Zhang Lan, the chairwoman of high-end restaurant chain South Beauty, and Feng Changge, the founder of Harmony Auto, are reported to have migrated there.

Fewer options

A newly released report conducted by the Hurun Research Institute said that 64 percent of Chinese millionaires have already migrated with their wealth or are preparing to do so.

On January 22, 2014, the Center for China and Globalization and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences jointly released a bluebook on the status of Chinese people migrating overseas. The bluebook showed Canada as the top destination for Chinese migrant investors.

An agent surnamed Zhou from St Kitts and Nevis Investment Services said that since the investment immigration service closed in Canada, many clients have set their sights on moving to smaller islands.

The service was created by the Greenfield Group Asia Inc., according to its official website, one of the many services in China that offer investment and immigration consultation to the federal two-island country in the West Indies.

There are two ways of obtaining nationality there: donating $250,000 per person to local foundations, or by investing at least $400,000 in real estate per family, Zhou said, a relatively low threshold compared to other countries.

"This country has no demands on applicants, including the source of investment. Besides, it only takes a short time before you can become a citizen and get a passport," she said.

"In the middle of 2012, St Kitts received fewer than 20 Chinese immigrants. That number has now more than doubled, and many clients of listed companies say they were forced to migrate to the island," a Hong-Kong-based agent surnamed Feng told the Legal Weekly.

There are many such clients, Feng said. Those people never live for a long period on the island, and they don't care about seeing the place. They just need an immigrant's status.

Even though the Chinese clients have acquired the nationality, it doesn't mean they are true immigrants, and they don't have election rights, Legal Weekly reports.

Zhou said if the clients don't live on the island, they won't enjoy the benefits. However, the local benefits aren't as attractive as the ones offered by Canada or the US, so the people who choose to migrate there usually don't care for such benefits.

She confirmed that Zhang Lan has indeed migrated to St Kitts, but through an agency service based in Taiwan.