If you are prepared to invest in a second passport, you can take advantage of two opportunities: citizenship by investment and a golden passport. The first one implies that you invest the required amount into the economy of the desired state and acquire citizenship in a matter of several months. The second one can be called residence by investment: you get a residence permit and can become a citizen in a few years after you fulfill certain requirements.
Choosing a country that will suit you best may be challenging as there are a lot of factors to be taken into account: the amount you are prepared to invest, how long you can wait, your current country of residence, your plans for your future life, and so on. We would like to invite you to our portal where you can read a more detailed article on the trends in the golden passport market and find a lot of other useful information on economic citizenship programs.
We also have seasoned experts who can help you obtain second citizenship. If you struggle with the choice of a country, book a session and we will help you for free. However, if you make a decision, you will need an immigration agent’s services as the authorities of countries that offer economic citizenship do not work directly with individuals. You can delegate this task to us and obtain your citizenship or residence permit without much effort.
Current Trends
More Programs Appear
Countries that want to attract more foreign capital launch citizenship- and residence-by-investment programs as effective instruments to achieve this goal. As a result, the number of programs in the market is steadily increasing.
Diverse Opportunities
The conditions offered by different programs may vary greatly:
- Some countries only require you to properly pass a due diligence check to offer full citizenship.
- Some countries allow economic citizens to vote, while others do not.
- If you want to obtain an investor passport and run for a public office in your new homeland, you will sometimes be prohibited from doing so.
- Programs differ by investment requirements.
- Some countries want their new citizens to reside in their territory, while others don’t.
- The benefits offered to new citizens vary from country to country.
- Dual citizenship is allowed in some countries only.
- Finally, programs differ by the number of visa-free countries they provide access to.
Various Investment Options
Programs also differ by the number of investment options they offer. These may include non-refundable and refundable donations, investment in real property, acquisition of governmental bonds or local company stock, setting up a business, investment in the local fund, bank deposit, or creation of a certain number of jobs for the locals.
Attractive Conditions
The requirements set by the local authorities are not very stringent:
- You will not be required to live in the country before you apply for economic citizenship (the only exception is Malta).
- There is no need to pass language, history, or culture tests.
- Economic citizens are not liable for military service.
- Your application is processed for six months, which is not very long when it comes to citizenship matters.
- Procedures are being constantly improved for your convenience. For instance, you can submit your application online for pre-approval and start preparation of the remaining documents after receiving a positive answer.
Small Countries Are the Most Active
The countries with small areas have to focus on providing services to sustain their economy, so it is hardly surprising that they are very active in the sphere of citizenship-by-investment programs. They use the money obtained to construct roads, protect the residents from natural disasters, build schools and other infrastructural objects, and so on.
Tough Competition
As more and more countries are willing to launch their economic citizenship programs, the competition is becoming fiercer. The players have to find a way to make potential investors interested – and they do so by offering lower prices, shorter application processing timeframes, less stringent requirements, and so on.
Due Diligence Checks
The reputation of the citizenship-by-investment program is of utmost importance.
This may be illustrated by a recent case with Dominica when the program was audited by an international organization that found some infringements. Dominica offers visa-free entry to the UK for its passport holders, and the local authorities were discovered to have issued passports to several individuals who had been rejected a British visa earlier. As a result, Dominica passport holders now have to apply for a visa to enter the UK.
It practically means that jurisdictions will tighten the requirements for due diligence checks to keep off undesirable persons and preserve the prestige of their passports.
More Benefits Expected
Countries seek to provide other opportunities to potential citizens in addition to visa-free travel to some countries. For example, Antigua is especially welcoming to large families, and it gives an opportunity to one family member to study at its West Indies University for one year at no fee. St. Kitts and Nevis exempts foreign investors from taxes on their global income if they live in the country for a certain period of time.
Sustainable Development
The funds received from citizenship-by-investment programs are used by countries to invest in economic projects that will make their countries better:
- Dominica is planning to build a geothermal power station
- Kitts and Nevis invests in social housing
- Turkey needs more money for infrastructure and more jobs for the locals
It means that the investors who choose these options will be especially welcome.
Cooperation Between Countries
There are five Caribbean countries that offer investor passports, and they make up the Caribbean Community, or CARICOM. If you get a passport from one of these countries, you get a CARICOM passport which allows you to live, work, and study in all CARICOM states, which is very convenient.
Conclusion
You can follow the link above to read more about the current tendencies observed in the market of golden passports. And if you are interested in obtaining a second passport for yourself or the whole family, please book a free initial session with our experts to discuss the details.