For China’s eager emigrants, the FOMO is real, and a move overseas may be now or never

Middle-class Chinese with means to move abroad see closing window of opportunity as countries tighten immigration policies, and the race is on as applications surge

Reading Time:6 minutes

Published: 6:00am, 7 Jun 2024

For affluent middle-class Chinese, 2024 may be the year they are most inclined to take action on emigration – seeing this as the final call for “the easy train” to a fresh start overseas – as some fear that the immigration outlook abroad could become derailed by factors beyond their control.

Dr Thomas Shen is among those who now see the light at the end of the tunnel growing dimmer with time. The deputy chief physician at a top-tier hospital in southern China’s Shenzhen recently decided to apply for a coveted EB-1A professional visa in the United States, where his daughter is in her final year of high school.

And if that doesn’t pan out, he would try to take advantage of an investment programme that would allow him to emigrate to Greece. Either way, his family has its sights set on permanent residency in a developed country.

But immigration policies in many countries and regions that have long been viewed as attractive to Chinese middle-class families are expected to start tightening in the coming year, according to those who specialise in expatriation.

“Various countries’ immigration policies are at a tipping point,” said Crystal Tan, an agent in Guangdong province who helps wealthy Chinese citizens emigrate and buy property overseas. “The timing is right this year, and as the cost is still within their financial capabilities, many middle-class individuals are willing to try.”

Meanwhile, the wealth of these affluent families in Chinese urban cities is dwindling, largely due to fallout from the plunging price of property, which had for years been seen as the most sensible safe-haven investment. As a result, budgets have shrunk and their purse strings have been tightened, effectively erecting a fresh roadblock in their path to overseas citizenship.

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