What you’re about to read may seem mind-boggling.
After all, when our experts explain the same concepts on this page to our high-net-worth clients, they react as though we’re rocket scientists.
But here at Nomad Capitalist, we’re not in the business of sending people to the moon.
Yes, we absolutely are in the business of helping you go somewhere, but not just anywhere. We want to help you ‘go where you’re treated best’ so that you can expand your freedom as well as grow and protect your wealth.
One of the most powerful tools we use to achieve this goal is the second passport, the ultimate backup plan and surest means of geopolitical diversification.
If dual citizenship and second passports already sound inconceivable to you – yes, you can have more than one citizenship – then check out our second passport page to learn the basics.
There, you can quickly learn about what may once have seemed like the stuff of fiction novels, where international spies like Jason Bourne and James Bond carry around half a dozen personal passports and wads of cash.
Just be sure to come back here after you’ve finished reading, as there’s still so much to explore about citizenship by investment.
These days, second passports have moved way beyond the pages of fictional spy stories. They’re increasingly showing up in the pockets of successful businesspeople, immigrant investors and otherwise regular, globally minded folks looking to be global citizens.
But while the ‘why’ of this change is easily understood, the ‘how’ is not.
There are many ways to obtain a second passport, but the quickest path is buying one.
Yes, you read that right: whether you refer to it as ‘buying a passport’, ‘economic citizenship’ or ‘citizenship by investment‘, they all effectively mean the same thing.
Certain governments will grant you citizenship and a passport in as little as three months in exchange for a sizeable investment or donation in their country.
Why Choose Citizenship-by-Investment Programs?
1. Tax Planning
CBI programs will not automatically change your tax situation. But if you want to create a tax-free lifestyle, this is an excellent first step.
2. Travel Planning
Economic passports can fill travel gaps in your passport portfolio with visa-free travel to hard-to-access countries like Russia, China, South Africa and more.
3. Insurance
If you need a Plan B or want a second passport quickly so you can renounce your US citizenship, then investing in a passport is your fastest option compared to traditional immigration processes.
Alternatives to Citizenship by Investment
There are numerous other ways to get a second passport. If you prefer slower, less expensive options, consider checking out our Citizenship-By-Descent program or our various other services.
What is a Citizenship-by-Investment Program?
But if you’re after a CBI program, it’s easiest to understand when you break it down into its most basic elements.
First, what is citizenship?
At its heart, citizenship embodies the social contract – an agreement between individuals and society to work together to achieve mutual benefits.
In this symbiotic relationship, citizens obey the law and, in return, are granted rights like property ownership, voting and work opportunities.
Passports have become part of controlling entry and exit, making them powerful benefits provided by the state.
Each passport’s strength and desirability vary, as do the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
Traditionally, citizenship is granted through birth, naturalisation and marriage. However, since 1984, another path has opened up with countries introducing citizenship by investment.
CBI allows potential citizens to contribute to the economy, but many Western countries impose high taxes and strict reporting requirements, often seen as an abuse of this responsibility.
Not all countries are like this.
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Citizenship by Investment Criteria
Countries that offer citizenship by investment allow individuals to contribute to the economy by making an initial investment or donation.
Once they’ve paid their dues, the state deems them to have fulfilled their responsibility to the country and merit citizenship in return.
These are CBI programs – specific means set out by a government via which an individual can obtain that nation’s citizenship in return for making a qualified investment in the country.
This particular process is designed for wealthy people who want a fast track to dual citizenship, a second passport, multiple citizenships or even an entire passport portfolio.
It’s a simple transaction: you invest and get citizenship.
There are, of course, exceptions and important nuances between and within programs.
Not all citizenship-by-investment programs are the same, and there is often confusion about which programs are legitimate CBI offerings versus residence-by-investment programs or scams.
To be clear, there are just four criteria you need to keep in mind when judging whether or not any given program is legitimately offering citizenship by investment:
Fast Timeline to Citizenship
The big draw of citizenship by investment is that it is a quick process.
Once you apply and invest, you can generally expect to have your new citizenship and passport in less than six months (the record is 57 days).
Passport is Commoditised
The commoditised nature of most citizenship-by-investment programs means that almost anyone – regardless of nationality, religion or language skills – can become an economic citizen for the same price.
It is the case that citizens from particular countries apply for CBI programs more than others. For example, a very high percentage of Canada’s former Quebec Immigrant Investor Program applicants were Chinese.
Still, all citizenship-by-investment programs will accept you just the same if you pass the due diligence. Other than that, they don’t really care where you’re from: you make the payment and you get the passport.
The Application Process is Structured
These citizenship programs operate almost like a business.
All citizenship-by-investment programs should have a clear structure, including fixed investment amounts and a clear path to citizenship.
Any country that offers a murky path to a second passport most likely falls under another category and is a clear warning sign that caution should be exercised.
CBI Program is 100% Legal
This seems obvious, but plenty of economic passport scams exist. Real CBI programs will be enshrined in the country’s constitution or clearly stated in its law.
If someone tells you that they have a buddy inside the government who can get you a passport in exchange for your payment, run!
THE BENEFITS OF ECONOMIC CITIZENSHIP
INSTANT PASSPORT
You can obtain a second passport via investment in as little as three to four months.
ENABLES RENUNCIATION
US citizens can use their CBI passports to renounce their citizenship and save on tax.
TRAVEL PRIVILEGES
Visa-free access to places like Singapore, Ireland, Britain, Hong Kong, the European Union (EU), Central America, South America and Southeast Asia.
NO NONSENSE
A streamlined process for individuals in good health with a clean background.
LOW RISK
There is no need to travel to or live in the country; your citizenship is guaranteed.
HARD-TO-ACCESS COUNTRIES
Different CBI passports grant access to Russia, China, South Africa and even the US.
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What Countries Offer Citizenship by Investment?
Citizenship-by-investment programs come and go on a regular basis.
The two exceptions are the original citizenship-by-investment programs in St Kitts and Nevis, which has lasted more than 35 years, and Dominica’s program, which has been around for more than 25 years.
Grenada, along with Antigua and Barbuda, began around 2013 but all other investment programs are less than a decade old.
Many have come and gone within this last decade, including the Comoros Islands program, which we helped clients with during its short lifespan.
Reach out to us so we can help you create a holistic offshore strategy that incorporates your second passport goals along with your banking, investment, business, tax and lifestyle goals.
If one of the programs below sounds like a perfect fit for you, click on ‘Learn More’ to get more details.
Time to Obtain Citizenship: 3-4 Months
Minimum Investment: US$400,000
Investment Options: Real Estate, Bank Deposit, or Business (hiring locals)
Visa-Free Access to 70 countries (plus 58 more with a visa on arrival or eTA)
Best Passport for Real Estate Investors and E-2 Access to the United States
Time to Acquiring Citizenship: 3-6 Months
Minimum Investment: US$240,000
Investment Options: the donation, real estate, bonds, or enterprise project
Visa-Free Access to 92 countries (plus 46 more with a visa on arrival or eTA)
Best Passport for single applicants (tied).
Time to Citizenship: 3-4 Months
Minimum Investment: US$235,000
Investment Options: Donation or Real Estate
Visa-Free Access to 94 countries (plus 42 more with a visa on arrival or eTA)
Best Passport for visa-free access to China and E-2 access to the United States.
Time to Citizenship: 3-6 Months
Minimum Investment: US$230,000
Investment Options: Donation, Real Estate, or Business
Visa-Free Access to 98 countries (plus 44 more with a visa on arrival or eTA)
Best Passport for a Family
Time to Citizenship: 3-6 Months
Minimum Investment: US$250,000
Investment Options: Donation or Real Estate
Visa-Free Access to 100 countries (plus 45 more with a visa on arrival or eTA)
Best Passport for access to the Americas.
Time to Acquiring Citizenship: 18 Months to 3 Years
Minimum Investment: €750,000 (€600,000 by exception)
Investment Options: Hybrid Model Requiring Donations and Real Estate
Visa-Free Access to 121 countries (plus 51 more with a visa on arrival or eTA)
Best Passport for Visa-Free Access to the United States and the EU
Time to Grant Citizenship: 4-6 Months
Minimum Investment: US$200,000
Investment Options: Donation or Real Estate
Visa-Free Access to 89 countries (plus 44 more with a visa on arrival or eTA)
Best Passport for Single Applicants (tied)
CAMBODIA
Time to Acquiring Citizenship: 3-4 Months
Minimum Investment: US$245,000 to the Royal Government OR US$305,000 in approved projects
Investment Options: donation, special development project or business investment
Visa-Free Access to 21 countries (plus 48 more with a visa on arrival or eTA)
How to Qualify for Citizenship-by-Investment Programs
As discussed earlier, governments offer citizenship in return for your investment because they consider your economic contribution an act that qualifies you for that citizenship.
You need a second passport to give yourself a Plan B, increase your freedom of movement and create better tax planning opportunities, among other benefits.
Governments need foreign direct investment to stimulate their economies, whether that be in the local real estate market, industry, labour market, government bonds or development funds.
Third-party investment allows governments to direct money to more country-specific projects. Both parties benefit and fair exchange is no robbery.
Here are the most common types of investments that will qualify you for citizenship in another country:
Donation
The most convenient way to qualify for citizenship is to make a donation. Donation amounts start at US$130,000 for Vanuatu and can go up to €750,000 for other countries.
Once you make the donation, the money is gone. In exchange, you get a passport.
Still, even though it’s a sunk cost, the donation is usually the cheapest and most straightforward route because you don’t have to deal with selling an asset later.
And while you may think it’s a waste of money, if you can go out and save a million dollars in taxes by having that passport, who cares that you ‘lost’ US$200,000?
If you can travel to Russia with your new passport and expand your business there, consider that US$200,000 as an investment in your business.
Or, if you’re a citizen of a Middle Eastern nation who can suddenly travel to Europe without needing visas all the time and that leads to an extra half-million dollars in business, will you really fret about the US$200,000 you gave away to get it?
REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT
Almost all citizenship-by-investment programs – except Turkey – require you to buy real estate pre-approved by the government.
‘Government pre-approved’ is shorthand for overpriced and a rip-off. With most Caribbean programs, the real estate isn’t even yours – it’s a timeshare. Even if it is yours, you’ll pay a partial donation anyway, thanks to government fees.
For example, you can invest US$250,000 in real estate in Dominica instead of donating US$200,000, but you still need to pay a government fee for the real estate. In Dominica, the fee is US$75,000, which only increases in other countries.
So, you’re not sending the total donation amount to the country’s Economic Diversification Fund.
There’s another issue: if you decide to buy real estate, what will you do with it? It’s on an island. Where’s the market to resell it?
Your only opportunity to resell is probably to a new buyer who’s also participating in the citizenship-by-investment program.
As mentioned, the one exception is Turkey. You can buy almost any property in Turkey and, as long as you meet the investment amount, you can qualify for Turkish citizenship.
We have a full-time real estate expert on our team who speaks Turkish and they find the best deals on properties in the country that will qualify you for citizenship. If you’re interested, check out our article on how to buy real estate in Turkey.
Other than Turkey, we don’t generally recommend real estate investment as it must be pre-approved by the government and, as stressed above, is overpriced.
HYBRID MODEL
Some countries like to complicate things and will require applicants to make several types of investments to qualify for citizenship.
Most of these hybrid programs are to be found in Europe. Some require applicants to make a sizeable donation, purchase or rent a home and live in the country for at least a year to establish a genuine link to the country.
This is because an EU passport is much more valuable and subject to third-party oversight from the EU itself.
Meanwhile, in St Lucia, nobody cares whether you have a genuine connection to the country. They’ll take your donation and you can be done with the process. St Lucia’s passport is not as powerful, so there is a trade-off.
And that’s important to remember in the CBI game – there’s always a trade-off. Certain programs have more benefits, but you must give more to qualify.
BANKS, BONDS, AND BUSINESSES
In recent years, governments have been developing more creative investment options for investors interested in citizenship.
In Turkey, for example, instead of investing US$400,000 in real estate, you can put US$500,000 in the bank for three years and still qualify for citizenship.
Or, if you want to reduce the amount of money you need to put down, you can start a business, hire 50 people in Turkey and get citizenship that way.
In both Antigua and St Lucia, you can qualify by investing in a local company rather than starting a business.
In Antigua, you’ll need to invest at least US$400,000 plus fees if it’s a joint purchase (versus the flat US$230,000 donation), and in St Lucia, you’ll need to invest a whopping US$3.5 million into a local enterprise project.
Finally, in St Lucia, you can buy non-interest-bearing government bonds and hold them for a given period to qualify for citizenship. This is one of four different options.
Who Should Get Citizenship by Investment?
US Tax Planning
US citizens are among the only people who must pay taxes on their worldwide income no matter where they live.
Even if you live abroad and have not set foot in the US for years, thanks to citizenship-based taxation, you still must file and pay taxes to the US government. Forever.
While you can use many strategies to reduce your US tax burden, the only way US citizens can completely liberate themselves from all reporting and tax obligations to the IRS is to renounce their US citizenship.
Pragmatically, renunciation requires a second passport. And, depending on your income, how quickly you can obtain that second passport can dramatically affect how much you will save in taxes – even to the level of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Travel Planning
Every passport has travel gaps.
Even Germany – which has visa-free access to 177 countries (meaning you can enter without a visa, through a visa on arrival, or via an eTA) – doesn’t allow its citizens to show up in Russia without a visa, for instance.
Some passports have more significant travel gaps than others, but a second passport can often fill these gaps, no matter how big or small.
If you have a relatively decent passport, you may only need a second passport to complement your first. If you don’t want to wait to get that second passport, citizenship by investment is the fastest way to fill those gaps.
CBI is also a good solution for those who want to renounce their US citizenship but are worried about losing travel privileges.
Most CBI passports offer visa-free access to the Schengen Area in Europe as well as essential business destinations like Hong Kong. Some also provide visa-free access to countries like China, Russia, South Africa, and Brazil, which even the US passport cannot offer.
However, the people who benefit the most from investing in economic citizenship are those with passports from emerging world countries with poor visa-free travel.
Chinese, Middle Eastern and Russian citizens make up a large part of the citizenship investor pool simply because they are losing more opportunities due to their inadequate passports.
They can afford the cost of citizenship by investment in exchange for the significantly increased travel benefits.
Investing once and quickly obtaining a passport will save them from wasting weeks and months on expensive visas.
Citizenship Insurance
Some people want a second passport for peace of mind and protection as a backup policy in the event of a potential political, economic or natural disaster in their home country.
For these people, a second passport is essentially an insurance policy in the form of citizenship.
And if you’re a wealthy person living in France with €10 million, what’s US$100,000 to get a backup plan in case the country’s common sense goes AWOL?
Citizenship by investment rarely comes with residence requirements, making it the most convenient solution for someone with a lot of money who doesn’t want to live in another country or deal with (often exhausting) citizenship-by-descent paperwork in order to get a passport.
People in France, Canada, Australia, Greece and other Western countries may not need a second passport to avoid the high taxes in their home country.
But what if they’re doing well for themselves?
In that case, they may ultimately decide that, in a time-versus-money cost comparison, paying US$200,000 to Saint Lucia or Dominica to get a passport in a matter of months is the better option.
Citizens from emerging countries may also use citizenship by investment as an insurance policy against corruption and instability in their home country.
So, Which is the Best Citizenship-by-Investment Passport?
The Most Cost-Efficient Passport
For many, the cheapest passport is often the best option for cost-benefit analysis. For example, Dominica is the cheapest for a single person at US$200,000.
For a couple or family, Antigua and Barbuda are among the cheapest passports at US$230,000 for a family of up to four.
Access to Asia and the South Pacific
Cambodia may be a good option for people who do business in Asia and the South Pacific.
The Best Country for Tax-Free Living
If you’re going to actually live in the country, taxes become an issue as only some of these countries are tax-free.
You’ll need to research your options carefully.
Antigua and Barbuda and St Kitts and Nevis are all tax-free but there are other important factors you need to consider. For example, it is tough for citizens of Antigua to get a bank account there.
Travel and Visa-Free Access
Most citizenship-by-investment passports provide visa-free access to the UK, Ireland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Europe’s Schengen Area, Southeast Asia and South America.
Some, like St Lucia, offer access to all of Central America. Others offer visa-free access to hard-to-access countries like Iran, South Africa and Macedonia.
The Best Country for Living
If you want to live in your new country of citizenship, consider Cypus. It offers luxury, peace, and European charm. Turkey could be another liveable option; at least one of our clients fell in love with Turkey.
US Investors and Visa-Free Travel
E-2 Investor Visa: Citizenship by investment in Grenada or Turkey will allow you to enter the US on a non-immigrant E-2 investor visa.
Visa-Free Access to the US: Malta is currently your only option if you want visa-free access to the US.
Best for Real Estate Investment
Turkey is the best for those who want to invest in real estate at a good value.
You can dive into our Turkey real estate guide to learn where to invest for the best deals.
Visa-Free Travel to China and Russia
With the exception of St Lucia, all Caribbean CBI programs’ passports now grant visa-free access to Russia.
This can benefit people from the West who do business in Russia and struggle with visas. For access to China, Grenada offers visa-free travel to the Middle Kingdom.
Living and Working in the EU
We favour exploring all the CBI programs or even residencies available. Read more on Bulgarian citizenship by investment, and Slovenian citizenship by investment
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“A second passport is essentially an insurance policy in the form of citizenship. Citizenship by investment is the fastest way to get it.”
Just One Tool of Many
Citizenship by investment is not the perfect solution for everyone. Depending on your situation, you may have better options.
But if you want a nearly 100% guarantee of getting citizenship in 4-12 months, citizenship by investment is the best option.
You may need to gather a lot of paperwork, but there’s usually no need to fly around the world. In most cases, you can obtain that much-needed second passport without ever leaving the comfort of your home.
Just remember, a second passport isn’t going to solve all your problems automatically. It won’t eliminate your taxes the moment you have it in your hands. It’s tax-neutral.
But it is a valuable tool that you can use to create a tax-free lifestyle.
Still, with that in mind, it’s not the only tool in the box.
You also have offshore companies, international foreign investment, foreign banking, second residences, offshore gold storage, cryptocurrency, our trifecta strategy and many other strategies and tools at your disposal.
Here at Nomad Capitalist, we make it our business to help clients understand the power of using tools like these to create a life of greater freedom and prosperity.
We understand that everyone’s situation is different. That’s why we create bespoke offshore plans tailored to you and you alone.
If you’re an entrepreneur or investor interested in citizenship by investment or other ways to obtain a second passport that will allow you to ‘go where you’re treated best’, contact our team and let us help you find the place where you’ll be treated best.
READ MORE ABOUT CITIZENSHIP BY INVESTMENT
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