- Programs rest on layers: primary legislation, regulations, executive decrees, administrative practice and court rulings, from most stable to most changeable.
- The lower a rule sits in the hierarchy, the faster it can change, so read the current version.
- Check discretion (can the authority refuse a qualifying applicant?), holding conditions, revocation grounds, sunset dates and transitional provisions.
- Each of our profiles cites the instruments behind the summary so you and your lawyer can verify them.
- Ask any adviser to name the statute or regulation behind every claim, and have local counsel confirm what you rely on.
Almost every disagreement about what an investment-migration program "really" offers can be settled by reading its legal basis, and almost no one does. Brochures describe a program; statutes, regulations and administrative rules define it. Knowing which of those you are reading, and which one controls, is the difference between a claim and a right.
The hierarchy of legal sources
Programs are usually built on several layers of law, from the most stable to the most changeable:
- The constitution and primary legislation. The act of parliament that creates the program or the nationality or immigration power it relies on. Hardest to change; sets the framework.
- Regulations and statutory instruments. Detailed rules made under the act: amounts, categories, procedures, fees. Easier to amend, often by the executive, sometimes with little notice.
- Decrees, orders and resolutions. Executive instruments that may add, change or time-limit a route. Panama's qualified-investor threshold, for example, moved by decree and carries a decree-set end date.
- Administrative guidance and practice. How the agency actually handles applications: forms, policy manuals, interview practice, processing priorities. Rarely binding, frequently decisive.
- Case law and external rulings. Court decisions can reshape a program, as the EU Court of Justice did to Malta's citizenship scheme in April 2025.
The lower down the list a rule sits, the faster it can change, and the more it matters to read the current version, not the one in last year's brochure.
Why the layer matters
- Stability. A route established in primary legislation is harder to remove than one that exists by decree or by practice. See program risk.
- Discretion. Some statutes give an authority absolute discretion to refuse. Hong Kong's immigration authority, for example, holds absolute discretion under its ordinance, so meeting the threshold is not an entitlement.
- Rights on closure. What happens to pending applications is a transitional-provisions question, answered in the instrument that closes or changes the route, not in the original program.
- Conditions you accept. Holding periods, retention requirements, residence rules and grounds for revocation are all in the law, and they bind you after approval.
What to look for when you read one
| Question | Where to find the answer |
|---|---|
| Who is eligible, and who is excluded? | The eligibility and disqualification provisions; nationality restrictions are often in regulations |
| What exactly must I invest, and in what? | The qualifying-investment definitions and any approved-project lists |
| How long must I hold it? | Retention and holding-period provisions; renewals may add conditions |
| Who can refuse, and on what grounds? | The decision-maker and discretion provisions; appeal or review rights |
| What can be revoked? | Revocation and cancellation provisions, including for fraud or later unsuitability |
| Who counts as a dependant? | Definitions sections: age limits and relationship categories |
| Does the route have an end date? | Sunset provisions and the instrument that sets them |
| What happens to pending files if rules change? | Transitional provisions in the amending instrument |
How our program profiles use it
Each of the forty-nine profiles in the programs directory cites the instruments that define it: for instance the Citizenship Act 1984 and the Saint Christopher and Nevis Citizenship by Investment Regulations 2011 for St Kitts and Nevis; Legal Notice 121 of 2021 under the Immigration Act for Malta's residence programme; Executive Decree 722 of 2020 and Executive Decree 193 of 2024 for Panama. We cite them so that you, and your own lawyer, can check our summary against the source.
Practical steps
- Ask for the instrument, not the summary. Any adviser should be able to name the statute or regulation behind a claim.
- Check the date. Confirm that the version you are reading is current, and look for amendments since.
- Identify the decision-maker and their discretion. It tells you how much of the outcome is rule and how much is judgement.
- Read the transitional provisions whenever a change is announced.
- Have local counsel confirm anything you are about to rely on with money. A summary, ours included, is a map and not the territory.
For the cost side of the same discipline, see the true cost; for the dated record of changes, Program Watch. If you would like us to walk the legal basis of a shortlisted program with you, ask for a consultation.
This guide is general information, not legal, tax or immigration advice, and programme rules change, sometimes at short notice. Confirm current terms with Indohill and your own qualified advisers before acting. See our Disclosures.