A Quick Guide to Choose Your Global Citizenship in 2022

2022 has just begun and so many of you would surely like to take a new path in your life as businesspeople, investors, entrepreneurs, retirees, and high-net-worth individuals. The last two years were exceptionally difficult for those who needed to move globally. It rose the issues of many restrictions citizens face, including the visa problems, the political and security matters, health and safety concerns, and more importantly the international trading. Obtaining a second passport of a peaceful and stable country is a great way to make sure you have a safe exit in case. A huge number of investors have successfully applied and earned second citizenship or residency by investment in a variety of offered programs. The CBI market has numerous suggestions to meet anyone’s need and perhaps that is why it has turned into a $2 billion industry annually and the Golden visa market is valued at $22 billion.

However, the year 2022 undoubtedly holds a long list of surprise developments in store for the investment migration market. If you plan to change and guarantee your future by investing in this market, we will discuss the current status of each program here to help you make a better choice.

CBI Programs

Let us first take a look at the most popular programs as of 2021/22.

1. Dominica

• USD 100,000 (contribution)
• USD 220,000 real estate investment

There are no residence requirements nor a visit to the country required to become a ‘Dominica Citizen’. It has been the top CBI program for the last five consecutive years and it is the most popular among the Iranians.

2. Grenada

• USD 150,000 (contribution)
• USD 220,000 (real estate investment)

There are no residence requirements and no visit to Grenada required to get citizenship and it has a visa-free waiver with China and Russia. Grenada has a small advantage compared to other Caribbean passports because it is the only CBI passport that has the option to apply for an E-2 treaty visa to the US.  (E2 is a cheaper EB-5 alternative which is a nonimmigrant visa)

3. St Kitts and Nevis

• USD 150,000 one time contribution
• USD 200,000 real estate investment

There are no residency requirements, nor a visit required to get the Kittitian passport.

4. St Lucia

• USD 100,000 (contribution)
• USD 300,000 (real estate investment)

There are no residence requirements and no visit to St Lucia required to get the St Lucian passport.

5. Antigua and Barbuda

• USD 100,000 (contribution)
• USD 400,000 (joint real estate investment)

There are no residence requirements when you apply for passport for the first time but when you renew your passport after expiry, you must have visited Antigua for 5 days in the previous 5 year period.  There is also no requirement to visit the country for receiving citizenship or passport initially.

6. Vanuatu

• $130,000 Donation to Development Support Program (DSP)
• $250,000 investment in Real Estate Option (REO)

7. Turkey

• $250,000 investment in real estate
• $500,000 enterprise investment in Turkey
• $500,000 worth of Government bonds or Bank deposit.

The Turkish CBI scheme is very popular with Arab investors and more than $1 billion already invested in Turkish real estate market through the citizenship scheme. Turkish citizens (passport holders) still need visas to travel to Schengen Area, Canada or United Kingdom.

In 2020, Turkey has made the program simple and accessible. Citizenship can be applied through Turkish consulates anywhere in the world by purchasing real estate without visiting Turkey.

8. Bulgaria

Bulgaria removed Government bonds for citizenship by investment legislation in 2021. Currently business capital investment route is the only possibility for fast track citizenship.

Bulgarian passport is also very valuable since it offers full rights of establishment in EU member states and United Kingdom and also has visa free travel to Canada. Language requirements also apply as Bulgaria recently tightened their citizenship rules.

Golden Visas and Residency Programs

If you are not interested in citizenship, we offer you the residency schemes:

Portugal 

280,000 euros (real estate), D7 and Angel Visa – Citizenship after 5 years

Greece 

250,000 euros (real estate) – Citizenship after 7 years

Cyprus

300,000 euros  – permanent residency

Malta 

350,000 euros  – permanent residency

Spain 

500,000 euros (real estate) – Citizenship after 10 years

United Kingdom 

£2M tier1 investor  – Citizenship after 5 years

Quick summary of the most popular residency and citizenship by investment schemes

Quick facts

• Dominica and St Lucia are the cheapest citizenship programs for single persons and programs for families.
• Antigua and Barbuda is the cheapest citizenship program for families.
• Vanuatu has the fastest passport times 1.5 months among all schemes.
• St Kitts is the most powerful Caribbean passport in terms of visa-free travel.
• Grenada, Turkey, Montenegro have an E-2 treaty with the United States, so becoming a citizen you have the chance to apply for an E-2 nonimmigrant visa to the United States.
• Cyprus has the cheapest RBI program in Europe.

Citizenship-by investment programs attract a number of high net worth individuals in developing nations, looking to gain a second passport in their investment portfolio. A second passport provides greater mobility along with visa-free travel freedom. It guarantees safety, privacy, and protection from war, and political problems. Most CBI programs provide the possibility for all family members to be included in the main applicant’s case. The advantage of having a dual citizen status, the opportunity to benefit from world-class education for children at best universities abroad, the chance to invest in international real estate markets, the ease of doing business, and tax-free planning on worldwide income, are among the attractive aspects of CBI programs.

The most important reason why these ‘ citizens by investment’ programs gained so much popularity recently, citizenships are approved very fast without any obligatory trip to the country and there are no residency requirements. If you are among those who want to have a safety net when it gets risky then a second passport is your answer.

For more detailed information on the requirements for obtaining Citizenship and Residency by Investment, please contact one of our advisers in the UAE, Denmark, or Canada, we will accompany you and your family until you obtain your Second Passport.

If you have any questions or comments about Citizenship and Residency by Investment, you can share them with us in the comments section.