“For foreigners, it used to be that hard work and plenty of patience for bureaucratic red tape would garner access into a coveted country. But, these days, sometimes all it takes to grab that golden ticket is achieving multimillionaire status and promising to make a hefty investment in a new homeland. Countries such as the United States, Australia and New Zealand are all embroiled in a global tug-of-war for the wealthy, and each has either rolled out or reauthorized what are known as millionaire visas in recent years. These programs, which are aimed squarely at wealthy investors, fast-track these individuals’ path to permanent residency—and sometimes even citizenship.”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323665504579032922966616830.html