By Agnes Donato
Reporter
Sunday, October 01, 2006
The CNMI government is eyeing the possibility of "selling" residency to businessmen as a way of attracting foreign investment into the island.
The proposal, which is similar to the U.S. immigrant investor visa program, was one of the main points raised during the first meeting of the governor's "think tank" on Sept. 21, 2006, Gov. Benigno R. Fitial said Friday.
"We will be selling CNMI residency only to investors. We haven't decided how much.but we want to be competitive. We will undersell the states and Guam. We are looking at $200,000 to $250,000. This is not final, but we are already thinking along that line," Fitial said.
The U.S. alien entrepreneur program requires a minimum of $500,000 for targeted employment areas, or $1 million elsewhere, in exchange for permanent resident alien status, more commonly known as "green card." The business should employ at least 10 people. Guam also requires at least $500,000 investment, among other requirements.
Attorney General Matthew T. Gregory said the program would be established through legislation. No federal approval is needed, as the CNMI controls its own immigration, he added.
The plan also includes having a government-approved planned zone for immigrant investors, Gregory said.
"We will pick an area where we only allow developers to invest. We think this is the best way to make sure that the investments have low impact on the environment and there is continuing investment," said the attorney general.
He added that the impact on CNMI infrastructure and resources would be minimized. For instance, dependents of immigrant visa holders would be required to attend private schools, so as not to burden the Public School System.
During the Trust Territory period, the Marianas District Legislature enacted Public Law 5-11 to establish permanent residency in the Northern Mariana Islands.
"The intent of that act was to grow the population because the District Legislature believed in an economy of scale. Unfortunately, the [resulting] mix of population was not conducive to promoting the economy of scale, so they repealed it," Fitial recalled.
The permanent residency act was repealed on April 23, 1981, during the administration of former Gov. Carlos Camacho.
"The think tank members agreed with me that we should look into re-enacting the residency act. By doing so, we will only bring in investors to become residents. In other words, we will be selling CNMI residency only to investors," Fitial said.
