Golden visas bring billions of dollars of benefits to the countries that offer them, and the proposed changes to two of the most popular residency programs could redirect more than a half billion dollars of investment and spending. Juwai IQI Co-Founder and Group CEO Kashif Ansari outlines the impact.

Both Thailand and Singapore are making changes to their visa programs. Only one country stands out as the best placed to benefit.

Five-Year Economic Benefits of Shifts in Visa Applicants from Thailand to Malaysia

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Thailand has indicated that on October 1 it will announce a completely new regime for its popular Elite Visa program, which has more than 20,000 participants. Insiders say fees may increase by as much as 500%. 

If Thailand changes its visa as much as expected, the Elite Visa could lose market share to Malaysia. The latter country offers similar lifestyle and economic benefits as Thailand and its Malaysia My Second Home visa is considered similar to Thailand’s Elite Visa. 

If the changes to the Thai Elite visa are as dramatic as early reporting suggests, annual applications could drop precipitously. Perhaps 5% to 25% of expected applicants could instead end up in Malaysia. Over five years, that could result in as much as $1.5 billion in new deposits in Malaysian banks. In the same time frame, it could also lead to the government earning $7.5 million in application fees and 

Perhaps most importantly, for the Malaysian economy, these new residents are reasonably expected to spend as much as $580 million on personal consumption in their country of residence over the next five years, assuming annual spending of US$28,320 per person. That’s a big boost for the local economy.

Singapore

Singapore is also revising one of its visa programs in ways that could benefit Malaysia. New rules coming into effect on September 1 will make it harder for companies to hire foreign employees under the popular Singapore Employment Pass visa. With its changes, Singapore hopes to increase local employment by making it more difficult for companies to hire foreigners.

An average of about 180,000 people hold a Singapore Employment Pass. It's not clear yet how significant an impact the rule changes will have. If the number of Employment Pass visas drops significantly and companies perceive Malaysia as a friendlier environment, some companies or employees may shift to Malaysia.