Investment: No Investor Permit, but a Statutory Promise of One Attached to a Fiscal Facility
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of France on this topic. That is the answer, not a gap - everything below is the rule you get, unchanged.
81 exceptions recorded across 33 countries · none match France to Suriname · Residency through investment
Suriname grants no residence for investing. What the Investeringswet 2001 does instead is rarer and in some ways stronger: where the Minister of Finance grants a facility under the Act, article 15 provides that the competent authority shall also grant a permit for residence and settlement of foreign personnel, for employment of foreign personnel, for establishment of an undertaking, and for import and export of goods and services. The immigration consequence is statutory rather than discretionary, and compliance with it is policed by the aliens department of the Ministry of Justice and Police. It attaches to the enterprise and its personnel, not to the investor as a person, and there is no qualifying amount: the facilities are open to investment in named sectors, with a separate regime for investments of at least the equivalent of USD 50 million and for bauxite, hydrocarbons, gold and radioactive minerals.
At a glance
- Investor residence permit
- None
Article 15(1) of the Investeringswet 2001, quoted here, promises that the competent authority will grant what is needed, which is a direction to another body rather than a permit the Act creates. The Vreemdelingenwet 1991 has one residence permit and no investor category.
- What an investment facility brings
- A permit for residence and settlement of foreign personnel, for their employment, for establishing the undertaking, and for import and export
- Qualifying sectors
- Agriculture, livestock, fisheries, aquaculture, mining, forestry, tourism excluding casinos, industry, trade, construction, services and professional transport
- Threshold for the departing regime
- The equivalent of USD 50 million
Article 25(1). Investments in bauxite, hydrocarbons, gold and radioactive minerals qualify without reference to the amount.
- Who polices the residence facility
- The aliens department of the Ministry of Justice and Police
Requirements
- A regular bookkeeping with annual closings, and investment in business assets in one of the sectors the Act names
- An application to Investsur, which verifies it and sends it on for sectoral advice and ministerial decision
- For the departing regime: a total investment of at least the Surinamese-dollar equivalent of USD 50 million, or an investment in bauxite, hydrocarbons, gold or radioactive minerals
In detail
A permit that follows from a fiscal decision
Article 15 is written as an obligation on the competent authority rather than as a right of the investor, and it is bounded twice over - "voor zover vereist", insofar as required, and "met inachtneming van ter zake geldende bepalingen", with due regard to the provisions applicable. It is therefore not a self-executing residence right. What it does is remove the discretion to refuse residence and work permission to the personnel of an enterprise the state has already decided to favour fiscally, and article 24 then makes the aliens department responsible for checking that the facility is being applied correctly. No other investment record here wires the statute into the immigration administration in those terms.
Country-level policy
Suriname's laws are published by the National Assembly in four collections, and the boundary between them is a date. The first is Geldende teksten tot en met 2005, texts in force to 2005: the amendments were worked into the parent Acts in a project in 2005 to produce consolidated texts. The second and third are the Acts passed after 2005 and the amendments made after 2005, published as facsimiles of the Staatsblad, one instrument at a time. The index page states in terms that the new Acts and amendments have not since been incorporated into the consolidated text. That is a cut-off stated by the publisher rather than inferred from an edition's name, and it is unusually honest: most revised editions in this comparison say nothing about their own staleness. The practical consequence is that reading a consolidated Surinamese Act is only half the work. The other half is the list of post-2005 amendments, where the Income Tax Act alone has ten entries.
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of France
We have no rule recorded that treats your citizenship differently here, so the general rule above is the one that applies to you. That is an answer, not a gap.
What the law says
«1. Indien de Minister een faciliteit uit deze wet verleent, zal voor zover vereist en met
inachtneming van ter zake geldende bepalingen door de daartoe bevoegde instantie
tevens een vergunning worden verleend ten aanzien van :
a. verblijf en vestiging van buitenlands personeel;
b. tewerkstelling van buitenlands personeel;
c. vestiging van een onderneming;»Our translation - not official
If the Minister grants a facility under this Act, then insofar as required and with due regard to the provisions applicable, a permit shall also be granted by the competent authority in respect of: (a) residence and settlement of foreign personnel; (b) employment of foreign personnel; (c) establishment of an undertaking;
Paragraph (d), import and export of goods and services, follows. Sub-section (2) allows the application of this article to be extended by State decree.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The National Assembly's legislation portal, and the only public collection of Surinamese law we found. Four collections, divided by one date. `Geldende teksten t/m 2005` holds consolidated texts: amendments were worked into the parent Acts in a project in 2005. `Wetten na 2005`, `Wijzigingen na 2005` and `Overeenkomsten/verdragen` hold the Acts, amending Acts and treaty-approval Acts published since, each as a facsimile of the page of the Staatsblad van de Republiek Suriname in which it was promulgated. Together about five hundred instruments. It also publishes `Naturalisatie wetten`, because in Suriname naturalisation is granted by an Act of Parliament.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The consolidation stops in 2005 and the portal says so on its own index page: "De nieuwe wetten en wetswijzigingen zijn daarna niet opgenomen in de geldende tekst." So a text from the first collection shows the law as the 2005 project left it and nothing more - the Income Tax Act's consolidated text carries amendments only to S.B. 2003 no. 30, prints its rate table in a currency withdrawn in 2004, and has ten later amending entries in the portal's own list. Every money figure in that collection is in Surinamese guilders. Instruments in the other three collections are as enacted and carry no cut-off, but they are scans with no text layer, so they are readings of a picture. The collection carries Acts, amendments, treaties, naturalisation Acts and budgets, and does NOT carry staatsbesluiten, ministeriële beschikkingen or resoluties - which is where much of Surinamese immigration practice lives, so the absence of a measure here is never evidence that it was not made. It also does not always carry the parent Act: the Rijwet 1971 and the Wet Tarief van Invoerrechten 1996 appear only through instruments amending them, and the 1989 Act amending the Rijwet has a page with no document attached.
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«Tenzij in deze wet anders is bepaald, komen voor de in deze wet genoemde faciliteiten in
aanmerking investeringen in de sectoren landbouw, veeteelt, visserij, aquacultuur,
mijnbouw, bosbouw, toerisme, met uitzondering van de inrichting en exploitatie van
casino’s, industrie, handel, bouwnijverheid, dienstverlening en beroepsvervoer.»Our translation - not official
Unless otherwise provided in this Act, investments qualify for the facilities named in this Act in the sectors agriculture, livestock, fisheries, aquaculture, mining, forestry, tourism with the exception of the establishment and operation of casinos, industry, trade, construction, services and professional transport.
About this source
The National Assembly's legislation portal, and the only public collection of Surinamese law we found. Four collections, divided by one date. `Geldende teksten t/m 2005` holds consolidated texts: amendments were worked into the parent Acts in a project in 2005. `Wetten na 2005`, `Wijzigingen na 2005` and `Overeenkomsten/verdragen` hold the Acts, amending Acts and treaty-approval Acts published since, each as a facsimile of the page of the Staatsblad van de Republiek Suriname in which it was promulgated. Together about five hundred instruments. It also publishes `Naturalisatie wetten`, because in Suriname naturalisation is granted by an Act of Parliament.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The consolidation stops in 2005 and the portal says so on its own index page: "De nieuwe wetten en wetswijzigingen zijn daarna niet opgenomen in de geldende tekst." So a text from the first collection shows the law as the 2005 project left it and nothing more - the Income Tax Act's consolidated text carries amendments only to S.B. 2003 no. 30, prints its rate table in a currency withdrawn in 2004, and has ten later amending entries in the portal's own list. Every money figure in that collection is in Surinamese guilders. Instruments in the other three collections are as enacted and carry no cut-off, but they are scans with no text layer, so they are readings of a picture. The collection carries Acts, amendments, treaties, naturalisation Acts and budgets, and does NOT carry staatsbesluiten, ministeriële beschikkingen or resoluties - which is where much of Surinamese immigration practice lives, so the absence of a measure here is never evidence that it was not made. It also does not always carry the parent Act: the Rijwet 1971 and the Wet Tarief van Invoerrechten 1996 appear only through instruments amending them, and the 1989 Act amending the Rijwet has a page with no document attached.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«1. Investeringen waarvan het totale bedrag in Surinaamse gulden tenminste de
tegenwaarde van vijftig miljoen US dollar is en investeringen ten behoeve van de
winning en verwerking van bauxiet, koolwaterstoffen, goud en radioactieve
delfstoffen, kunnen in aanmerking komen voor faciliteiten die afwijken van de in
deze wet genoemde faciliteiten.»Our translation - not official
Investments whose total amount in Surinamese guilders is at least the equivalent of fifty million US dollars, and investments for the extraction and processing of bauxite, hydrocarbons, gold and radioactive minerals, may qualify for facilities departing from those named in this Act.
The Act states the threshold in US dollars and the measuring currency in Surinamese guilders, which the 2004 redenomination replaced with the Surinamese dollar. The dollar figure is unaffected by that.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The National Assembly's legislation portal, and the only public collection of Surinamese law we found. Four collections, divided by one date. `Geldende teksten t/m 2005` holds consolidated texts: amendments were worked into the parent Acts in a project in 2005. `Wetten na 2005`, `Wijzigingen na 2005` and `Overeenkomsten/verdragen` hold the Acts, amending Acts and treaty-approval Acts published since, each as a facsimile of the page of the Staatsblad van de Republiek Suriname in which it was promulgated. Together about five hundred instruments. It also publishes `Naturalisatie wetten`, because in Suriname naturalisation is granted by an Act of Parliament.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The consolidation stops in 2005 and the portal says so on its own index page: "De nieuwe wetten en wetswijzigingen zijn daarna niet opgenomen in de geldende tekst." So a text from the first collection shows the law as the 2005 project left it and nothing more - the Income Tax Act's consolidated text carries amendments only to S.B. 2003 no. 30, prints its rate table in a currency withdrawn in 2004, and has ten later amending entries in the portal's own list. Every money figure in that collection is in Surinamese guilders. Instruments in the other three collections are as enacted and carry no cut-off, but they are scans with no text layer, so they are readings of a picture. The collection carries Acts, amendments, treaties, naturalisation Acts and budgets, and does NOT carry staatsbesluiten, ministeriële beschikkingen or resoluties - which is where much of Surinamese immigration practice lives, so the absence of a measure here is never evidence that it was not made. It also does not always carry the parent Act: the Rijwet 1971 and the Wet Tarief van Invoerrechten 1996 appear only through instruments amending them, and the 1989 Act amending the Rijwet has a page with no document attached.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
Practical notes
This is a negative claim about an investor route and it is bounded: the Vreemdelingenwet 1991 and Vreemdelingenbesluit 1995 contain no residence category of any kind, and the aliens department's own list of application types offers none for an investor. The Investeringswet is the only instrument we found that attaches an immigration consequence to money.
The Investeringswet is read in the consolidation frozen in 2005. Investsur, the institute the Act establishes to receive applications, was created by a separate Act of the same day, S.B. 2002 no. 41, which we have not read.
- consolidatesInvesteringswet 2001 (S.B. 2002 no. 42)
De Nationale Assemblee van de Republiek Suriname · consolidated to 2005
About this source
The National Assembly's legislation portal, and the only public collection of Surinamese law we found. Four collections, divided by one date. `Geldende teksten t/m 2005` holds consolidated texts: amendments were worked into the parent Acts in a project in 2005. `Wetten na 2005`, `Wijzigingen na 2005` and `Overeenkomsten/verdragen` hold the Acts, amending Acts and treaty-approval Acts published since, each as a facsimile of the page of the Staatsblad van de Republiek Suriname in which it was promulgated. Together about five hundred instruments. It also publishes `Naturalisatie wetten`, because in Suriname naturalisation is granted by an Act of Parliament.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The consolidation stops in 2005 and the portal says so on its own index page: "De nieuwe wetten en wetswijzigingen zijn daarna niet opgenomen in de geldende tekst." So a text from the first collection shows the law as the 2005 project left it and nothing more - the Income Tax Act's consolidated text carries amendments only to S.B. 2003 no. 30, prints its rate table in a currency withdrawn in 2004, and has ten later amending entries in the portal's own list. Every money figure in that collection is in Surinamese guilders. Instruments in the other three collections are as enacted and carry no cut-off, but they are scans with no text layer, so they are readings of a picture. The collection carries Acts, amendments, treaties, naturalisation Acts and budgets, and does NOT carry staatsbesluiten, ministeriële beschikkingen or resoluties - which is where much of Surinamese immigration practice lives, so the absence of a measure here is never evidence that it was not made. It also does not always carry the parent Act: the Rijwet 1971 and the Wet Tarief van Invoerrechten 1996 appear only through instruments amending them, and the 1989 Act amending the Rijwet has a page with no document attached.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
- administersType aanvragen en hun toelichting
Onderdirectoraat Vreemdelingenzaken, Ministerie van Justitie en Politie (Suriname)
About this source
The sub-directorate that decides residence, extension, settlement and naturalisation applications under the Vreemdelingenwet 1991, the Vreemdelingenbesluit 1995 and the Wet op de Nationaliteit en het Ingezetenschap. Its site publishes the categorisation of aliens it works to (Surinaamse origine, CARICOM staatsburgers, overige vreemdelingen), the application types it accepts, the authorisation-for-short-stay procedure, document lists, announcements and a register of granted residence permits.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: It states practice, not law, and the two diverge in both directions. It gives CARICOM nationals a six-month short stay where the Vreemdelingenwet gives a visa-free visitor three months, and it gives a recognised skilled citizen an indefinite stay the Wet Bekwame Burgers does not confer at all. It describes the marriage option right as open to any alien married to a Surinamese national for two years, where article 12 of the nationality law covers only a wife and states no duration. It attributes the Presidential naturalisation power to article 16 of that law when the power is in article 16a. Its page on categories of aliens announces that the Caribbean Community has fifteen member countries and then lists fourteen, omitting Haiti. It cites instruments it does not publish - the beschikking S.B. 2016 no. 17 on aliens of Surinamese origin and the resolution S.B. 2004 no. 120 on charges - so a figure or a condition found only here has no readable source behind it. Its own announcements page is stale: the latest dated notice is 15 November 2021. It serves a self-signed certificate on https, so a plain client rejects it; it reads over http and through the extraction service.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
- consolidatesWet Werkvergunning Vreemdelingen (S.B. 1981 no. 162)
De Nationale Assemblee van de Republiek Suriname · consolidated to 2005
Known to be out of date. Amended after this consolidation by S.B. 2022 no. 144, which replaced the fee in article 4(2), added a new article 4(8), rewrote the refusal grounds in article 7 and replaced the penalty in article 12. That amending Act is read and cited separately.
About this source
The National Assembly's legislation portal, and the only public collection of Surinamese law we found. Four collections, divided by one date. `Geldende teksten t/m 2005` holds consolidated texts: amendments were worked into the parent Acts in a project in 2005. `Wetten na 2005`, `Wijzigingen na 2005` and `Overeenkomsten/verdragen` hold the Acts, amending Acts and treaty-approval Acts published since, each as a facsimile of the page of the Staatsblad van de Republiek Suriname in which it was promulgated. Together about five hundred instruments. It also publishes `Naturalisatie wetten`, because in Suriname naturalisation is granted by an Act of Parliament.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The consolidation stops in 2005 and the portal says so on its own index page: "De nieuwe wetten en wetswijzigingen zijn daarna niet opgenomen in de geldende tekst." So a text from the first collection shows the law as the 2005 project left it and nothing more - the Income Tax Act's consolidated text carries amendments only to S.B. 2003 no. 30, prints its rate table in a currency withdrawn in 2004, and has ten later amending entries in the portal's own list. Every money figure in that collection is in Surinamese guilders. Instruments in the other three collections are as enacted and carry no cut-off, but they are scans with no text layer, so they are readings of a picture. The collection carries Acts, amendments, treaties, naturalisation Acts and budgets, and does NOT carry staatsbesluiten, ministeriële beschikkingen or resoluties - which is where much of Surinamese immigration practice lives, so the absence of a measure here is never evidence that it was not made. It also does not always carry the parent Act: the Rijwet 1971 and the Wet Tarief van Invoerrechten 1996 appear only through instruments amending them, and the 1989 Act amending the Rijwet has a page with no document attached.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source