Granting citizenship to investors 'will boost growth'

AMMAN — The Cabinet decision to grant investors nationality or permanent residency will be applied without bureaucracy, government officials said on Tuesday. 

During a press conference to announce details of the decision, Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Yarub Qudah and Minister of State for Investment Affairs Muhannad Shehadeh noted that the decision will include all investors regardless of nationality, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

They said that investors who are already residing in the Kingdom can also benefit from the decision under the new terms and conditions, stressing that the step aims at stimulating the investment environment, enhancing the national economy and providing jobs.

Investors can apply for the nationality or the permanent residence immediately, the ministers explained. 

Under the decision, investors are offered a list of scenarios, each of which makes them eligible for citizenship. They include a zero-interest, five-year $1.5 million deposit at the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ), or buying treasury bonds of the same amount at an interest rate to be decided by CBJ for no less than 10 years.

The third option for the investor is to buy securities worth $1.5 million from an active investment portfolio, while investing $1 million in SMEs for at least five years to become a Jordanian national. 

The fifth 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 the 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 at least JD200,000, provided that the Lands and Survey Department confirms the value, for 10 years without selling the property or dispose it in any manner.

Any investor who obtains any of the said two statuses will have the right to obtain a similar status for his/her spouse, unmarried, widowed or divorced daughters, sons below 18 years old and parents if the investor were their sole supporter.

Qudah said that the decision reflects the government's seriousness in taking all steps to facilitate procedures for investors, adding that this will also positively affect various economic sectors, Petra reported.

He also referred to the Cabinet decision to boost the medical tourism sector and increase the number of non-Jordanian patients seeking treatment in the Kingdom. 

For his part, Shehadeh said that the move is expected to improve economic growth and attract more investments of added value to the national economy.

Representatives of the private sectors described the decision on investors as "brave and courageous", according to Petra.