Buying in? The political economy of investor migration in Western Europe

Abstract

Residence-by-investment schemes, which enable wealthy people to acquire a visa in return for a financial investment, have become increasingly common. In this article, an original immigration policy index and case studies are used to examine the political economy of residence-by-investment policies in three European countries: France, Spain, and the UK. Two contributions are made to the literature. First, the article compares investment with work visas and shows that across all three countries investor routes are significantly more open and generous than work routes, including for the highly skilled. Second, drawing on theories of comparative political economy, it is explored how investor visas are shaped by capitalist diversity. Based on these three cases, it is argued that investor visa policies are conditioned by national-level economic models and the political interests that underpin them. The article aims to advance understanding not only of how investor visas vary, but why they do so.