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Bill lowers foreign retiree age to 35
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Posted on Nov 28 2008
A legislative committee has recommended passage of a bill reducing from 55 years to 35 years the minimum age requirement for foreigners seeking to live in the Commonwealth as retirees.
The bill also increases the required minimum investment to $125,000 for a qualifying property on Saipan and $100,000 on Rota or Tinian. Further, it provides an alternative scheme by which a foreign can qualify for the foreign retiree investment certificate. Under the bill, an alien can stay in the CNMI as a foreign retiree by simply investing $1,500 in monthly lease or rent.
Currently, to qualify for a foreign retiree permit, an alien has to be over 55 years old and invest $100,000 in a residential property on Saipan, or $75,000 on Tinian or Rota.
According to the bill, there are other affluent foreigners in Japan and other nearby Asian countries who want to retire or invest in a second home in the Commonwealth, but who do not qualify under current rules. Sponsored by Rep. Stanley Torres, the bill intends to accommodate them.
“[A]llowing foreigners to maintain a residence in the CNMI would generate much needed revenue, especially now during our ailing economy. Foreigners, and their extended families who could be expected to visit, would bring into the Commonwealth much needed foreign capital,” states the bill.
The bill also proposes to allow a holder of a foreign retiree investment certificate to stay in the CNMI for five-year periods. It sets out requirements such as health insurance and other coverage for the medical needs of foreign retirees and their dependents. Gov. Benigno R. Fitial, in signing the existing foreign retiree legislation in 2006, stated the benefits of a developing a foreign retiree community in the Commonwealth: “The CNMI…will benefit economically, socially and culturally. Not only will foreign retirees invest in real property, but also purchase goods and services from our businesses, while enjoying a quiet and peaceful retirement here in the CNMI and sharing their culture with our children and us.”
