Iranians’ billions of dollars investment in foreign property market

In the last 11 years, more than 190 billion dollars of capital have left Iran. More than one-fifth of this sum left the country in the past two years. All the while, Iran has been trying to attract foreign investors. However, since the US has left the JCPOA, it will face new challenges to attract money from other countries.

Iran newspaper has published a report about the money invested by Iranians abroad. The majority of this money was used for investment in order to acquire foreign residency and passports. Majidreza Heydari, Vice Chancellor of the Chamber of Commerce of Iran and China has mentioned the rapid rise in the number of requests for investor visas. There are over 100.000 people waiting for their investor visas to be issued by various countries. In addition, over 1.5 million Iranians have applied for residency in Canada and Australia. The capital required for such a visa is between 150 and 500 thousand dollars.

Turkey is one of the main destinations for Iranians seeking to buy property. The article says that in 2017, 3% of real estate purchased by foreigners in Turkey were bought by Iranians which shows a 19% growth compared with 2016. Another destination for Iranians seeking to buy property is Georgia, where under new laws in 2015, real estate owners will be granted residency.