Citizenship by Investment

Citizenship by investment programs

Citizenship by investment programs enable the applicant to quickly obtain citizenship with no required residence period, or only a short nominal period measured in days or weeks. These are often known as “golden passports” programs, offering visa-free travel and possible tax privileges.

Citizenship by investment programs provides families with the advantage of acquiring alternative citizenship, which in turn gives them the right to travel freely to multiple destinations and to stay or reside in another country. More than ever before, wealthy individuals are after citizenship options as the most efficient way to access previously impossible opportunities.

 

Citizenship and Nationality

Citizenship is the relationship between an individual and a governing state, defined by the laws of that state and it brings along both duties and rights. It implies the status of freedom but with responsibilities. Citizenship is the most privileged form of nationality, a wider term that is used in international law to mean all individuals a state is entitled to protect. Nationality also serves to denote the relationship between a state and entities other than individuals.

Dual Citizenship

Dual (or multiple) citizenships is the result of the interaction of the laws of two or more countries. People can become dual citizens in different ways: automatically by birth within a certain territory, by descent from a citizen parent, by marrying a citizen of another country, or after successfully applying for the citizenship of a territory. You can become a citizen of another country without losing your current citizenship only if the laws of the country of your current citizenship allow dual citizenship.

Obtain another Passport with Alternative Citizenship

You have an important business meeting abroad, and you find out that you need a visa. You have to fill out a long-form listing every country you have visited over the past five or even ten years and the information of everyone in your family. You may need to travel to a consulate or embassy for an interview. The visa may usually cost as much as your plane ticket and you may have to send your passport to the consulate or embassy and not get it back for two or three weeks. You begin to wonder whether you really need to go on this trip, and you decide not to bring your family along since you do not want them to go through the same frustrating procedure as well. There are many cases that you are not even granted the visa despite all these troubles.

Due to political circumstances, citizens of many countries find it difficult to travel abroad and are dealing with visa restrictions every time they want to travel to a foreign country. Moreover, although you may well be granted the required visa, this is always a very exhausting procedure, during which the passport on which the visa is stamped is not available for some time, and this can be an important factor in delaying your trips.

The Benefits of a Second Passport

In case you cannot get or renew a passport in your home country because of political issues, for example, the right to another passport can be extremely useful. Even if you simply lose your passport, it may take some time until you can get it replaced, and having an alternative passport may be very crucial. In the same way, if you apply for a visa and have to send your passport to a foreign embassy or consulate for processing, you cannot travel overseas during the processing time unless you have an alternative passport.

Security

Having citizenship and a passport from a small, peaceful country, can even save your life when traveling and in times of political unrest, civil war, terrorism, or other sensitive situations. For rational reasons, many international business people and important persons who are actively working and travelling worldwide consider an alternative passport as the best life insurance money can buy.

Future Investment

In this unsettled, ever-changing world, having alternative citizenship is a wise decision and an investment for the future. Your alternative citizenship of choice is for life, your partner and children, and in some cases, your parents and siblings too can be included, and there is often no need to give up your current nationality while you enjoy the benefits of a legal second passport. However, the laws of your current country (or countries) of citizenship may cause some restrictions and you need to ensure that you are in a position to legally obtain an additional nationality.

How to Acquire an Alternative Citizenship

The conditions under which citizenship or naturalization is given vary from state to state, but family relationships or periods of residence are usually essential, besides other requirements such as knowledge of the national language.

Citizenship by Investment Programs

Residence permits are granted to investors and high-net-worth individuals in most European countries; however, there are now some countries that have granted citizenship based on economic considerations and without residence requirements.

These programs allow an individual to become a citizen by investment in real estate or by contributing donations to national funds instead of by marriage or birth. Citizenship by investment programs offers you the opportunity to legally acquire a new citizenship quickly and simply.

Points to Remember

Other important points to consider when deciding to become a citizen of choice include the geographic location of the country you plan to get the citizenship from, its official language, its legal system, political and economic stability, the banking and business conditions, visa-free travel availability for passport holders of that country, the reputation and status of the country and the passport, and most importantly the initial and future overall costs of the procedure.

At Cross Border Freedom, we analyze the individual situation carefully, offer the possible options. Our experienced team deals with government procedures quickly and efficiently on your behalf. By working closely together as a team, our specialists put together their knowledge and experience to reassure the specific details of each case are considered from all perspectives.

For more detailed information on the requirements for obtaining Citizenship by Investment, please contact one of our advisers in the UAE, Denmark, or Canada, or fill in the inquiry form so that we analyze your eligibility and contact you.

We will accompany you and your family until you obtain your second passport.