While much of Southeast Asia is undergoing financial struggles, Vietnam has increased its GDP growth rate to 7%, boasting the region’s fastest-growing economy. The country has produced over 72,000 millionaires, almost twice as many as there were just five years ago. A second passport, especially via EB-5, is coveted by many wealthy Vietnamese for better business opportunities and attractive family conditions. In FY 2021, Vietnam was issued 711 EB-5 visas, the second-highest number in the world.
Wealthy Vietnamese increasing in numbers
With a growing economy, more millionaires than ever, and historical interest in EB-5, Vietnam should be on the radar of anyone involved in the U.S. Green Card by investment program.
The country’s number of millionaires doubled in the last half decade and is expected to increase a further 59% by 2026.
Vietnam had 1,234 ultra-high-net-worth individuals (net worth of at least $30 million) as of 2021 and this is projected to increase by 25% by 2026.
Reasons for a second passport
The growing population of wealthy Vietnamese nationals are keenly interested in a second passport and global migration. They’re moving abroad “to better their children’s education or seek greater employment opportunities that are more readily accessed through a second passport,” says Troy Griffiths, of Savills Vietnam, a firm that helps find affluent Vietnamese nationals acquire global residences.
Veteran immigration lawyer Bernard Wolfsdorf agrees: “The EB-5 program has been particularly popular in Vietnam because many Vietnamese realize the U.S. presents excellent opportunities for business, education and quality of life.”
Vietnam and EB-5: recent numbers
Vietnam has consistently been the third-highest country in the world in EB-5 Form I-526 filings, with a peak of 761 filings in FY 2018, behind only China and India.
In terms of visa issuance, Vietnam recently ranked second — behind China and ahead of India — with 731 visas issued in FY 2021, comprising 25% of all EB-5 visas handed out that year.
With a growing population of wealthy families it makes sense that Vietnam’s EB-5 interest will continue to grow, especially given the opportunity for faster, priority processing and newly reserved visas provided for by the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022. By making an investment in a rural, high-unemployment, or infrastructure project, any new Vietnamese applicant can have an immediately available visa upon approval of the application, and potentially avoid a multi-year backlog known as retrogression.
Read the UGlobal article “Growing number of Vietnamese HNWIs seek global migration options”
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