5 Passports by Investment with No Donation Required
December 24, 2024
Increasingly, more countries are realising that their passport is an asset just like any other – there is demand and the government controls the supply.
As such, some countries have decided to commoditise what was previously unavailable to buy – second citizenship.
This presents an excellent opportunity for wise investors who may want to include a second passport as part of their wider offshore strategy.
However, as with any hot commodity, the more popular it becomes, the more those who control it work to inflate its worth.
For you, this means that the cost of getting a passport by investment is continuously going up, and it doesn’t look like it will get cheaper any time soon.
If you want to get citizenship in Europe citizenship in Europe, for example, you have to make a one-time ‘donation’ of at least €600,000 to the Maltese government as part of the Maltese Exceptional Investor Naturalisation (MEIN) program.
However, it’s not citizenship by investment per se, because you are required to be a resident of Malta for three years to qualify to become naturalised.
That’s still a fairly steep price, even if you are part of the world’s 1%.
Does that mean it’s not worth it? Absolutely not.
Getting a passport by investment is a great option for many high-net-worth individuals interested in protecting their wealth, optimising their tax efficiency and expanding their global freedom.
However, you need to know which passports to consider and which investments are worth it.
The Case for Getting a Passport by Investment
Even if you can shell out over US$500,000 to buy a second passport, should you? Is that a good investment?
It really depends on your financial, professional and personal goals. However, there are two main situations in which it makes sense to consider obtaining passports by investment:
- Your business: Gaining second citizenship or rescinding your current nationality can save you millions of dollars on an annual basis, depending on your source of income and corporate structure. Besides that, you can open the door to a wealth of opportunities.
- Your plan-b escape route: We live in an era where we can never be sure what will happen tomorrow. You don’t want to be in a position where you are targeted via a wealth tax, income tax and increasingly even mob rule. That’s why you need to have an exit strategy.
Any offshore strategy must consider these two key factors.
It’s not a game whereby you win if you collect as many passports by investment as possible over the course of your lifetime. Instead, you should target those that are worthwhile and help you enhance your quality of life.
Regardless of which country that passport is for, sometimes, the best option is choosing to make a donation in return for a second citizenship.
Generally, the donation route for citizenship-by-investment programs costs less and is much easier to complete – you just have to pay once rather than tying up capital in a business or in real estate.
Be that as it may, let’s say you want to live abroad and have a backup plan but aren’t keen to ‘donate’ so much money to a random government. Let’s say you want a true second passport by investment, not donation.
Is it possible to get a second passport that doesn’t come with a hefty non-refundable bill?
Yes, it is.
We will now look at five d countries where you can do just that and get a second passport by investment without having to pay through the nose.
1. St Lucia’s Passport by Investment
Full disclosure: Nomad Capitalist founder, Andrew Henderson is a citizen of this tiny island nation in the Caribbean.
When he obtained his St Lucian citizenship by investment, he opted for the then-discounted donation of US$100,000 as he couldn’t be bothered with being on the hook for years on end and didn’t want to buy property there.
Now, that donation minimum has been increased to US$240,000, which covers one applicant applying with up to three qualifying dependents.
However, if you don’t want to go down the donation route, there are two options, each with benefits and drawbacks.
Government Bonds: Typically, you have to buy about US$300,000 worth of zero-interest government bonds, which must be held for five years, to obtain this second passport.
Real Estate: We’re very selective about where we advise people to invest in real estate and we’re not overly fond of the Caribbean.
Given that only certain real estate investments are eligible for citizenship by investment, you and everyone else will pool into the same buildings and, when the regulation changes, you’re left holding an overvalued asset that nobody is interested in.
If we haven’t already scared you off, the minimum price tag is US$300,000.
Overall, though, we recommend this second passport as St Lucia has no inheritance taxes, wealth taxes, capital gains tax or personal income tax on revenue derived from abroad if you do not reside in St. Lucia.
Besides that, everything can be done online without having to set foot in the country. If you want to learn more, see our ultimate guide to St. Lucia’s citizenship by investment program here.
2. Turkey’s Passport by Investment
We have spoken at length about citizenship by investment and real estate opportunities in Turkey. We even named Turkey one of the best countries to make a profit by gaining citizenship.
Cards on the table, we’re very bullish about the economic future of the country. This is due, in part, to the fact that international investment has largely been scared off since President Erdogan began gaining more power.
As such, the Turkish Lira has had a steep decline in value over the last half-decade, which has made investing there potentially very lucrative if you have a mid to long-term view.
But, partially because of this considerable depreciation, the government has experienced an increasing need to bring back foreign capital.
Turkey’s real estate citizenship program was initially a steep US$1 million. But following depreciation, it was dramatically slashed down to US$250,000, which opened the floodgates.
Since then, the program’s sheer popularity has led to public pressure in Turkey, resulting in the minimum investment rising to US$400,000.
While Turkish citizenship is not our first choice, especially if you are foregoing US citizenship, it is a very good compliment to a passport portfolio as it opens up visa-free access to many countries otherwise barred by the West.
Be warned, though, there is fraud aplenty where unscrupulous real estate agents try to scam you. To combat that, our team at Nomad Capitalist, who speak Turkish fluently, knows how to find fantastic deals.
This investment opportunity is interesting without any additional benefits, but it comes bundled with Turkish citizenship.
Besides real estate, there are two other options that will qualify you for Turkish citizenship in a matter of months. You can either start a business and hire 50 people or deposit US$500,000 in a bank account and hold it for three years.
The good news is that you can keep it in USD, so you don’t need to have exposure to the Turkish Lira if you don’t want to.
One caveat is that Turkey doesn’t offer much in terms of deposit insurance, but the Turkish citizenship by investment program doesn’t stop you from putting the funds in accounts held at separate banks, so at least you can diversify.
Sadly, though, the interest rates for holding USD aren’t particularly exciting as they hover around the 0.5% mark.
That said, though, it’s still a good option if you’re liquid.
Turkey offers what we call a ‘Tier C passport’. It doesn’t offer easy access to the US or the EU but provides visa-free access to many parts of Asia and South America.
You can learn more about Turkey’s citizenship by investment program in our ultimate guide.
3. Egypt’s Passport by Investment
Egypt’s citizenship by investment program is a relative newcomer, having been introduced in 2020.
Applicants for citizenship by investment can now invest in property purchased for a minimum of US$300,000.
Egypt recently introduced new regulations to speed up its citizenship by investment process and reduce its backlog.
The changes include group property investments, mandatory local bank accounts, and stricter property requirements, such as building permits.
In November 2016, the Egyptian Pound was unpegged from the dollar, and the currency has had a bumpy ride ever since. However, the volatility has been in its favour recently, as it has marginally appreciated over the last few years.
The value proposition of Egyptian second citizenship is up for debate.. It doesn’t allow visa-free travel to many countries and, from a tax standpoint, is average at best.
4. Jordan’s Passports by Investment
Jordan citizenship by investment is not often mentioned, even in nomad circles.
However, beyond the fact that Jordan does not offer a particularly strong passport, it’s immediately evident why it’s not often talked about – it’s far too expensive.
There are several ways you can qualify for Jordanian citizenship:
- You can invest in a portfolio of small and medium enterprises for US$1 million and keep this investment for three years
- You can deposit US$1 million with the central bank but with no interest
- You can invest US$1 million in government securities, and curiously enough, you can negotiate an interest rate with them but must tie the money up for six years
- You can invest US$1 million in a business in Amman, the capital, or if you go outside of the district, invest US$750,000.
Part of the reason this program is so expensive is that Jordan is among the recent wave of countries attempting to capitalise on the sale of citizenship.
5. Latvia’s Passport by Investment
If you don’t want to pay the high costs of citizenship-by-investment programs, consider Latvian residence by investment, which can lead to eventual citizenship.
Often, when we consider European second passports by investment, they tend to be incredibly expensive and cumbersome.
But in Latvia, you have four fairly straightforward options:
- Invest a minimum of €250,000 in Latvian property
- Invest €50,000 or more to start or back a Latvian business
- Invest €250,000 in non-interest-bearing government bonds
- Deposit €280,000 in a Latvian bank and hold it for five years
So, you have the option to put €280,000 in the bank and get a residence permit, which you can easily renew.
After ten years, you can become a Latvian citizen.
The issue, though, is that, unlike the other options discussed on this list, there is a requirement to live in Latvia.
As such, there are bound to be tax consequences, and given that Latvia has a 20% corporate tax rate and a 20-31% personal income tax rate, it’s not exactly the best option out there. It might not be worth it if you’re a seven- or eight-figure entrepreneur.
Bonus: Residence But No Citizenship
While it will not lead to citizenship, Malaysia’s MM2H program is a great option from both a lifestyle and tax perspective.
If what you want is simply a change of scenery or to be able to live somewhere without high taxes, then perhaps it’s better to look into second residences that won’t lead to citizenship.
The only major requirement for the MM2H 10-year residence permit is having RM1.1 million (approximately US$240,000) in the bank and a monthly income of RM40,000 (US$9,000) or more.
In this way, you can earn some money from the interest rate hovering around 3%, and in the medium to long term, it will appreciate.
We like Malaysia because it’s an exciting country with a lot of prospects. Besides that, it has zero taxation on income derived abroad.
Thailand is another tax-friendly country where you can have close to zero taxes. Additionally, we would count Panama as another easy residence and possibly even for citizenship.
5 Passports with No Donation Required: FAQs
No. The Malta citizenship by investment program has been replaced by the Maltese Exceptional Investor Naturalisation (MEIN) program, which requires a donation of between €600,000 and €750,000 and three years of residence to qualify for naturalisation.
The best passport by investment program is often determined by factors such as visa-free travel access, investment requirements, processing time, residence obligations, tax benefits, country stability and the reputation of the program. St. Kitts and Nevis is often considered among the best investment programs.
Caribbean countries such as Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, and St Lucia are often considered the easiest due to their relatively low investment thresholds and quick processing times.
Donating US$130,000 can get you a Vanuatu passport. Dominica is also one of the most affordable citizenship-by-investment programs, with investment starting at US$200,000 for a single applicant.
Saint Kitts and Nevis is known for offering one of the fastest citizenship by investment programs, with an average processing time of four to six months.
Passports by Investment vs. Donation
Having gone through this list, you might have noticed something – you tend to get what you pay for.
In a lot of programs without a ‘donation’ requirement, you will tend to pay for it via some other hidden means.
Primarily, there tends to be an opportunity cost, as governments often use their passport by investment schemes to push industries that they’re interested in – real estate and startups, for example.
Often, it will be blatantly clear how the bureaucrats might have a veiled interest in the matter, as is the case in some of the Caribbean real estate programs where only a small slice of the available real estate is allowed to qualify.
It might not initially seem so, but it might be easier and cheaper to simply make a donation to get a second passport.
Although, as with Turkey’s program, there are some diamonds in the rough. You can check out all the citizenship-by-investment programs here.
The best way to know you are getting a good deal that suits you is to work with people who know what they’re doing and can help you go where you’re treated best.
That’s what we’re here for.We can help you build your holistic offshore plan, including second residence and citizenship considerations. To find out more, get in touch today.
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