Immigration for the rich
In 2009, Li and his wife started an immigration intermediary agency in Shanghai. According to Li, the business is completely different from what it used to. "Now Chinese immigrants have a comparatively high social status in foreign countries and their financial capability is different."
The time of working overtime in order to make a living has ended. Many immigrants in foreign countries enjoy the same lifestyles as local people, and sometimes even better.
In 2008, Xu Shuting and her family bought three apartments in Vancouver and moved to Canada as investor immigrants. The family then bought a villa in West Vancouver, where many rich Canadians settle.
Before buying the house, Xu consulted a local real estate agent who recommended East Vancouver, where housing prices are lower. But to the agent's surprise, Xu finally decided to live in the west, not because of the better living environment, but in defiance of the old saying, "No Chinese people can buy a house in the west."
According to the immigration policy of Canada, people who want to immigrate there must own personal property worth about US$1.6 million. Similar thresholds in other countries also require a large amount of money.
Still rooted in China
In recent years, many countries have increased the financial requirement for potential immigrants, hoping that the policy will help attract money while at the same time raise employment rates.
But for many Chinese immigrants, although their nationalities have changed, their business focus is still in China.
Before moving to Canada, Xu was a real estate investor in China. She used to think she could carry out her business in Canada, but the reality proved to be quite different. For a short period, together with some other Chinese immigrants, Xu invested in Canadian real estate, but the business was not successful.
"The social situation is different in Canada, so I could not earn any profit," said Xu, who later flew back to China to continue her career and business domestically.
"Many Chinese investor immigrants do business in the field of real estate, but if they leave the situation in China, they cannot make profit," said Li. "So most of them still do business in China."
For many Chinese who are able to immigrate to foreign countries, the first criteria for choosing a destination is whether or not the place will allow them to manage their domestic businesses.
Although some countries hope to improve their economies by attracting financial resources from immigrants, there are still many challenges to overcome when dealing with Chinese immigrants.
