Puerto Rico Act 60 (Individual Resident Investor & Export Services) vs EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa
A factual side-by-side comparison of two residency programmes. All figures are drawn from the canonical program pages — follow either link in the table header for sources and the full profile.
Key Differences at a Glance
- ›Puerto Rico Act 60 (Individual Resident Investor & Export Services) is faster: 3 months vs 30 months for EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa.
- ›EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa leads to citizenship (~5 yrs); Puerto Rico Act 60 (Individual Resident Investor & Export Services) does not.
- ›EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa requires a 800,000 USD investment; Puerto Rico Act 60 (Individual Resident Investor & Export Services) does not.
- ›Puerto Rico Act 60 (Individual Resident Investor & Export Services) uses territorial taxation; EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa taxes worldwide income.
Puerto Rico Act 60 (Individual Resident Investor & Export Services) United States · other | EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa United States · investment | |
|---|---|---|
| Country | United States | United States |
| Category | Other | Investment |
| Application Fee | $750 | $3,675 |
| Minimum Income | — | — |
| Minimum Investment | — | $800,000 |
| Processing Time | 3 months | 30 months |
| Family Included | Spouse and dependents are covered as part of the household relocation and face no separate immigration hurdle (they are already US citizens or otherwise share the applicant's existing US status); each adult who independently wants Individual Resident Investor tax benefits generally needs to separately qualify as a bona fide Puerto Rico resident. | Spouse and unmarried children under 21 included at no additional investment |
| Path to PR | No | Yes — 0 years |
| Path to Citizenship | No | Yes — 5 years |
| Physical Presence | Not a visa or immigration status — US citizens and other US nationals may relocate to Puerto Rico as freely as moving between US states. To claim Act 60 tax benefits, however, an individual must qualify as a 'bona fide resident' of Puerto Rico under IRC Section 937, generally requiring: (1) a presence test — at least 183 days in Puerto Rico during the tax year (limited alternative tests exist), (2) a tax home test — the applicant's tax home must be in Puerto Rico, and (3) a closer connection test — a closer connection to Puerto Rico than to the US mainland or any foreign country, evidenced by a primary home, family location, and registrations (driver's license, voter registration, vehicles) based in Puerto Rico. | Must reside in the US after receiving conditional green card; 6-month continuous absence voids residency |
| Dual Citizenship | Allowed | Allowed |
| Tax Impact | Bona fide Puerto Rico residents are, under IRC Section 933, excluded from US federal income tax on Puerto Rico-source income. Layered with an Act 60 Individual Resident Investor decree, this delivers 0% Puerto Rico tax on PR-source capital gains, interest, and dividends realised after the decree date and the establishment of bona fide residency — only gains accrued after relocating are covered; pre-move built-in gains generally remain subject to federal capital gains tax, subject to a bifurcation/phase-in rule tied to how long the asset is held post-move. Separately, Act 60's Export Services chapter (successor to Act 20) offers a flat 4% Puerto Rico corporate tax rate on eligible income from services exported to clients outside Puerto Rico, plus a substantial exemption on distributions of those earnings to Puerto Rico resident shareholders. This is the only route by which a US citizen can materially reduce federal tax exposure on qualifying investment and export-services income without renouncing US citizenship. | Grants US lawful permanent resident status; worldwide income subject to US taxation from day of admission |
| Tax Residency Trigger | 183 days/yr | 0 days/yr |
| Worldwide Taxation | Territorial | Yes |
| Renewal Cost | $5,000 | — |
About Puerto Rico Act 60 (Individual Resident Investor & Export Services)
Puerto Rico's Act 60 of 2019 (the Puerto Rico Incentives Code) consolidated dozens of prior tax-incentive laws — most notably Act 22-2012 (Individual Investors) and Act 20-2012 (Export Services) — into a single unified code effective January 1, 2020. It is not a visa: as a US territory, Puerto Rico requires no immigration process for US citizens, who can relocate as freely as moving between states. What Act 60 offers instead is a Puerto Rico tax decree layered on top of that existing right to relocate. Individual Resident Investor decree holders who become genuine bona fide Puerto Rico residents (183+ days per year, primary home, and closer connection to Puerto Rico than to the mainland or any other jurisdiction) pay 0% Puerto Rico tax on qualifying PR-source capital gains, interest, and dividends accrued after the move — a benefit rooted in IRC Section 933's exclusion of PR-source income of bona fide residents from federal tax. Separately, businesses that export services from Puerto Rico can access a flat 4% corporate tax rate under the Export Services chapter. The programme has drawn sustained local political scrutiny over housing costs and perceptions that wealthy newcomers extract disproportionate benefit; this pressure led to a 2022 increase in the mandatory annual charitable-giving requirement and continues to generate periodic legislative proposals to further tighten eligibility or compliance.
Full Puerto Rico Act 60 (Individual Resident Investor & Export Services) profile →About EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa is a US investment route that grants lawful permanent residency directly: the green card, conditional for its first two years, is issued without a separate PR step. It requires a minimum investment of USD 800,000 in a USCIS-designated Targeted Employment Area (or USD 1,050,000 elsewhere) into a new commercial enterprise creating at least 10 full-time US jobs, with funds lawfully sourced and kept genuinely at risk. Beyond the investment, realistic first-year costs run roughly USD 55,000-95,000. Processing is long, around 30 months, with the I-526E petition alone taking 18-48 months and mainland-China and India applicants facing multi-year visa retrogression. A spouse and unmarried children under 21 are included at no extra investment. Citizenship is possible after five years, and dual citizenship is allowed. A green card makes you a US tax resident from day one, taxing worldwide income and triggering FATCA/FBAR duties, with an exit tax if you later renounce. Guaranteed returns disqualify the investment, and a failed regional center has caused total loss of both capital and visa.
Full EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa profile →Gotchas to Watch For
Puerto Rico Act 60 (Individual Resident Investor & Export Services)
- ⚠Not actually a 'visa' — no immigration application is required for US citizens; the entire benefit is a Puerto Rico tax-decree programme layered on top of ordinary US citizenship rights
- ⚠Only income/gains accrued AFTER establishing bona fide PR residency and receiving the decree qualify for the 0% rate — built-in gains on assets held before the move generally remain subject to full federal capital gains tax
- ⚠Both the IRS and Puerto Rico's treasury have increased audit scrutiny of 'paper resident' claims — maintaining a mainland home, mainland driver's license, or spending significant time outside PR can disqualify bona fide residency and trigger back taxes and penalties
- ⚠Applies only to PR-SOURCE income; income from a mainland-based business generally remains fully taxable at ordinary federal rates even if the owner personally lives in Puerto Rico
- ⚠Growing local political backlash over housing costs and perceptions of inequitable benefit has led to periodic legislative proposals to tighten or sunset Act 60 incentives — current decree holders have historically been grandfathered under their original terms even when rates for new applicants were revised
EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa
- ⚠EB-5 Reform Act 2022: thresholds raised to $800k (TEA) / $1.05M (non-TEA); reserved visa categories added
- ⚠Mainland China + India face multi-year visa retrogression after I-526E approval
- ⚠Green card = US tax resident from day 1 = worldwide income taxation + FATCA/FBAR obligations
- ⚠Investment must stay "at risk" — guaranteed returns disqualify
- ⚠Regional Center selection critical — bankrupt/fraudulent RCs have caused total loss of both investment AND visa
Neutral reference — we don't recommend one programme over another. Programmes change: always verify each detail against the official source linked on the individual program pages.