A new second citizenship and passport from a foreign country (obtained for example under a citizenship-by-investment program also known as a 'golden passport' ) is primarily an instrument for improving your personal freedom.
Holding a portfolio of passports is perhaps the best investment you can make - allowing freedom to travel, do business and live your life to the max without petty rules, arbitrary interference and control!
Besides personal freedom for you and your family, a second or third passport can also open up many new financial and investment opportunities. For your children, a second passport can open doors to otherwise unavailable schools and universities, often at lower fees.
Is citizenship something you can buy? For sure, the more citizenships and passports you hold, the freer your mobility. Holding second and multiple citizenships is about keeping doors open. Consider Plan B, Plan C, and why not Plan D? This way you can sleep peacefully at night, knowing you and your family have their bases covered.
In this important section of the InternationalWealth portal, we cover the topic of dual citizenship and 'golden' passports in-depth: where to get second citizenship, fact and fiction about dual citizenship, how long it takes to get it and how much it costs.
We offer you a free consultation with a licensed expert on obtaining a golden passport. The professionals of Offshore Pro Group can help you choose the most suitable citizenship-by-investment program for obtaining your second citizenship and/or a 'golden' passport.
What if your home country does not permit dual citizenship? There are also second passport programs that are not based on citizenship, ideal if your first citizenship does not allow you to hold dual citizenship. Other countries allow you to hold dual citizenship without a passport - this can also bring certain benefits, not least knowing that you can apply for your new passport at any time on short notice, by virtue of being a citizen.
Today everyone who is mass affluent and above has the right to acquire citizenship based on investment. There are various countries offering second citizenship based on investments in bonds, real estate, and business investments, to name a few. In many cases, no travel to the jurisdiction is required - you can pick up your family's second passports at a consulate or have them shipped to you by courier. Visiting is always recommended, however.
In this section (below) you will find information about existing programs offering citizenship by investment, and second 'golden' passports. You'll also find impartial advice on various discounts and innovations, about the advantages and disadvantages of this or that program.
Also, you can always send us your questions at info@offshore-pro.info or reach out by WhatsApp and request a free consultation on citizenship by investment.
Below, you will find a selection of our most interesting articles on all aspects of obtaining a second citizenship and the matching passport. Enjoy!
The Grenadian citizenship-by-investment program saw significant changes in the first half of 2023. First, five developers lost their licenses because they had not started the construction work on time. Second, the program earned more money over the first six months of 2023 than it had ever earned over a whole year before.
The number of countries that allow dual citizenship has increased by almost 50% since the start of the millennium. The highest growth rate is found in Oceania and then go Africa and Europe. This is certainly a positive tendency because the interconnections between countries are growing in number and intensity and an increasing number of people currently live, work, and invest outside the countries of their birth.
Obtaining a second passport has turned into a pressing need today as the world seems to be losing stability. In addition to protecting you from political and economic turbulence in your home country, a second passport can help you legally save on taxes. There are countries in the world that levy no personal income tax on their fiscal residents and a couple of these countries also ‘sell’ their citizenship to foreigners.
The United States, Great Britain, and the European Union are applying pressure to those Caribbean countries that ‘sell’ their passports to foreign investors. As a result, the ‘prices’ of the passports are rising, personal interviews with candidates are becoming obligatory, the due diligence procedures are enhanced, citizens of some countries are deprived of the opportunity to acquire a Caribbean passport, and the national citizenship-by-investment programs are now going to be audited by international agencies on a regular basis.
If we look at the list of the Top 10 European cities where living standards are the highest, we will not find Belgrade there. At least not yet! But the city is making considerable progress and is among the Top 5 cities that are developing at a really tremendous speed. In this article, we are looking at the situation in Belgrade’s real estate market. If you are considering the city as a good place for relocation, you will inevitably face the dilemma of renting or buying a place to live. Let’s look at the prices of local housing and see what influences the price. Read the article to get a detailed overview.
St Kitts and Nevis offers an opportunity to ‘purchase’ the passport of the country at a reduced price. Initially, the discounted price was supposed to be available between January 1 and June 30, 2023. However, the immigration authorities of the country have decided to extend the limited-time offer up to January 31, 2024 due to high demand for economic citizenship of St Kitts and Nevis on the part of foreign investors.
If the water level in the World’s Ocean continues to rise, some island countries may disappear from the map in the near future. Tuvalu, for example, is facing significant problems attributable to global warming and the rising sea level. The threat of sinking has made the authorities of Tuvalu launch the process of creating a ‘digital copy’ of the country. The international community is also discussing the legal status of the country whose entire land disappears under the water.
You can acquire Caribbean citizenship by investment in real estate. You have to open an escrow account when purchasing property. Some countries in the region require that escrow accounts be open with local banks only. Some other countries, however, allow opening escrow accounts abroad. In the latter case, the Citizenship by Investment Units do not have sufficient control over the investment processes. This may lead to financial misconduct on the part of some unreliable development companies.
A new investment option has become available to those wishing to acquire second citizenship in the Caribbean. The authorities of St Kitts and Nevis now grant citizenship to foreign nationals investing in film and TV program production in the country. The required investment amount is US$ 175,000 and St Kitts and Nevis is the only country in the world that offers this investment option.
There are several ways to obtain second citizenship for your children. Some countries grant dual citizenship to the child born to parents of different nationalities. Some countries also grant citizenship to anyone born on their territories. Besides, several states grant citizenship by descent. Finally, a few citizenship-by-investment programs are available and all of them make it possible to file family applications for second citizenship.
Many previous records in the number of applications for Grenadian citizenship by investment were broken in the first quarter of 2023. The popularity of the program has been growing tremendously and the immigration department staff are doing their best to accelerate the application processing. In particular, the Grenadian CIU has started accepting application documents in electronic formats.
On June 10 this year, the Argentinian soccer team arrived in China for a friendly match with Australians. Lionel Messi supplied his Spanish passport at the checkpoint. A Spanish passport, however, gives visa-free access to Taiwan but not to mainland China. Messi had to wait in the airport building for a few hours before a Chinese visa was stamped in his passport. If you have multiple passports, you may have to think twice when choosing which one to use to enter a certain foreign country.
The opportunity to ‘purchase’ citizenship of St Kitts and Nevis at a discount is available until June 30, 2023. The discount is US$ 25,000 and the fee for accelerated application processing is waived too. Experts believe that new special offers are going to be made in the future by the Caribbean countries administering citizenship-by-investment programs. However, grabbing the opportunity while it exists is often the way to go.
Under the threat of sanctions from the USA, the five Caribbean countries administering citizenship-by-investment programs have introduced six new rules. They will deny citizenship-by-investment opportunities to Russians and Belarusians; they will exchange information about rejected applications; the programs will be audited regularly; law enforcement agencies will help retrieve annulled Caribbean passports; due diligence checks will be intensified; and personal interview with candidates for citizenship will be obligatory.
Until recently, citizens of Antigua, St Kitts, and St Lucia have had to apply for Temporary Residence visas to enter Canada. Now the Canadian immigration authorities have extended the list of countries whose citizens are eligible to use the Electronic Travel Authorization system and acquire electronic entry permits. The list now includes the aforementioned Caribbean countries and 10 more national states.
The main positive tendencies in the economic citizenship industry are as follows: the number of national programs is increasing; the citizenship/ residence-by-investment opportunities are becoming more diverse; their flexibility is improving; the requirements are becoming more liberal; the competition in the market is toughening; and so on. The main negative tendencies in the industry include the following ones: the due diligence checks are growing stricter; the international pressure on host countries is increasing; the number of visa-free destinations accessible by economic citizens is decreasing.
Acquiring foreign citizenship by descent is an opportunity available to those whose ancestors were citizens of other countries. For example, a Brazilian whose grandparent or even great grandparent was a citizen of Italy can obtain an Italian passport without too much trouble if he/ she is able to prove that this was the case indeed. The situation in the immigration market changes constantly and some national citizenship-by-descent programs are abolished while some new such programs are launched.
Theoretically, you could become a citizen of any foreign country. In practice, however, some national states make it very hard to obtain their citizenship. Luckily, this does not apply to all countries of the world. There are several citizenship-by-investment opportunities that allow acquiring foreign citizenship in a fast and simple manner.
The reasons why a citizenship- or a residence-by-investment program can be closed include international pressure, unreliable due diligence procedures, a negative public attitude, risks of money laundering and corruption, change of the political climate in the host country, and so on.
The popularity of the St Lucian citizenship-by-investment program is growing at a fast pace. In the financial year of 2021-2022, foreign investors applying for passports of St Lucia brought almost twice as much money to the country’s budget as they did the year before. Probably one of the most important factors contributing to the growth of demand for St Lucian citizenship is the availability of several development projects that have been approved by the local Government for citizenship-by-investment purposes.
There are two main ways of acquiring Greek citizenship if you are a citizen of another country. First, you can prove to the country’s immigration authorities that you are an ethnic Greek. In this case, you can become a citizen of Greece by descent. Second, you can become a naturalized citizen of Greece if you live there for seven years on legal grounds. The naturalization process can be accelerated if you marry a local person.
Swiss passport consistently ranks high in different passport rankings. Our experts will tell you about Swiss citizenship benefits, how to get a Swiss passport, and the Swiss passport requirements. You will also learn how to get a residence permit in Switzerland and what are the costs of this procedure.
It has become possible to acquire citizenship and a second passport of Vanuatu by investing in government bonds. The investment requires purchasing zero-interest bonds, with a minimum investment amount ranging from AU$150,000 to AU$180,000, depending on the maturity period. After two to three years, the investor can withdraw their investment while retaining their passport.
Of the Caribbean states, Barbados is the country whose passport is the most powerful one. It gives visa-free entry to 163 foreign countries. Barbados, however, does not offer citizenship-by-investment opportunities to foreign nationals while five other countries in the Caribbean do issue passports to foreign investors. Their passports are in the top ten of the most powerful Caribbean passports.
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➤ Second Citizenship: Pros and Cons
