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Australia is more liberal provided you have one of the "needed skills." The Australian government has listed some 90 different skills of which, as I write, 24 are deemed to be "in demand" compared to only 14 twelve months ago. So the situation is constantly changing: the skill that is not "needed" today may well be needed tomorrow. In Australia's case, if you qualify under one of the categories currently "in need" you would be granted Australian residency. After the normal residency requirement, you could become an Australian national.
4.
Retirees. Some countries will grant residency and citi- zenship to retired persons who can demonstrate that they will not become a ward of the state. This means the ownership of a house and proof that you have an income sufficient to support yourself without having to depend upon any government welfare programs.
5.
Refugee status. If you can make a case that you'd be persecuted for reasons of your political/religious beliefs if you were returned to your country of origin, you may be able to claim refugee status or political asylum.
Otherwise, you can only normally claim to be a refugee if you come from an area that has been designated as a source of refu- gees by the United Nations. Most countries take a certain number of such refugees every year. But you won't have much choice about which country you can go to.
The United States has, perhaps, the most liberal policy towards political refugees--if you come from a communist country. But it's recently tightened up its policies and has, for example, been sending people back to El Salvador claiming they were not escaping persecution but simply wishing to improve their standard of living.
Investment/business. Most countries will grant residency and possibly citizenship if you qualify on a combination of two
6.
counts:
a) You invest a certain amount of money in the country;
b)
You start up (or take over) a business which creates employment for locals (or preserves employment--for example investing into a company that may otherwise go out of business).
For Hong Kong residents, the most popular countries are Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. Here is a thumb-nail sketch of the investment/business requirements for immigration to each of these nations:
.... ANDA SAIL.