Thank you for sharing that story. Sounds like a very daunting process. When I was in the Philippines last year, there was an initiative to create a new visa that would grant permanent resident status to entrepreneurs who set up businesses that employed 10 Filipinos. I wish more countries would adopt this approach.

http://www.visasphilippines.com/sveg

Thanks for introducing Philippines to the discussion (in addition to Chile). Both countries provide an example of how to attract entrepreneurs. And both are emerging economies.

When I follow the discussion on "entrepreneurial immigration" in USA and in Germany I see the same flawed logic: Everything's OK now, "we're on the top of the world", "why risk letting people in, maybe there will be terrorists among them"... Essentially, it's the policy of building higher walls and being, in effect, repellent. But also not realizing that entrepreneurs are a rare breed.

Why do not intelligent people act differently? Why has the high civil servant from my story let a pretty sure bet (my friend) leave the country?

Yes, it's the risk of being accused for letting a foreigner in but that is the surface of the problem. Underneath is the hubris. "We don't need it, we've got it all" mentality.