Your Free Second Passport is No ‘Easy Button’ but an Attainable Objective

Here’s how to obtain a second passport: choose the jurisdiction, study the relevant laws of the host country, and monitor economic citizenship programs. 

Rules and regulations keep changing. The best opportunities crop up and fade away again just as fast. It’s important to keep track of them and act fast. 

If your goal is to get a second passport for free and maybe even earn some profit from this move, you are welcome to learn from our insights and book a chance to discuss with our seasoned lawyers your plans and questions – for free.

Windows of opportunity to obtain real free second passports are not wide open, and the authorities issuing such passports are very choosy. Nonetheless, you might have heard of many thousands of international investors who obtained free passports from countries such as Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania in recent years. If you’re smart, you will seek expert advice in such matters. We hope that you will find in this article some useful food for thought and guidance. 

First, let us consider whether the widely advertised programs of economic residency (“Golden Visa”) programs leading to a second citizenship can guarantee 100 percent success? It all depends on the applicant’s compliance, financial status, and some luck.  These programs usually take time – a longer wait time means more risk that something could change in the mean-time. 

For example, let us consider the following situation: a would-be expat applies for a currently very attractive Golden Visa (residence permit by investment), expecting naturalization in Europe, say, in five or seven years. But who can firmly guarantee nowadays if in the five-year-period the political leadership or immigration policy in the host jurisdiction remains the same? The changes are quite likely in this turbulent world, and they may trigger the cancellation of the relevant citizenship programs for expats in the future. In other words, isn’t it better to choose some more reliable risk-proof solution? 

So, let’s zoom in on citizenship by investment programs. They are quicker.  But there are always two disadvantages: cost such programs are rather expensive; the donations or investment must be made into government-approved projects (in the long run, this is the reason why many developing countries launch such programs). Such fast-track programs are becoming more common, and the ‘weight’ or ‘power’ of passports issued by different jurisdictions is not the same.

Should you wait and see what happens? Many people procrastinate. Maybe they put off arrangements for getting a second passport due to the shortage of financial resources or because of reluctance to spend money. Some people just hesitate for the fear that the residency/citizenship by investment programs will be shut down before they obtain passports. Obviously, people don’t want to risk money and time if they are not 100% confident in success.

The good news is that Golden Visa residency permits (leading to the issuance of a passport in the remote future) and citizenship by investment (into projects specified by the authorities) are not the only opportunities for naturalization. In some jurisdictions, it is possible to obtain a second passport for free and even earn some money at that.  

Yes, there are legal ways to do without costly donations, bureaucratic red tape, expensive economic citizenship, stacks of documents, and a long wait for slow naturalization. 

How to get a free second passport?

Can a second citizenship be free-of-charge?  No. If money is not involved, the no less valuable contribution – the wait time – is inevitable. 

When it comes to money, there are passports issued at very modest fees, with no expensive donations or investments required.  One can be entitled to such privilege in the following situations:

The first option is suitable only for children born in the respective country (for example, in the USA, Canada and most Latin American countries). The second option is available for adults with ‘foreign roots’. Both options involve the payment of small state duties and service fees.

InternationalWealth is ready to offer fee-based expert support to clients eligible to obtain the above-mentioned types of free citizenship. Our experts help applicants prepare supporting documents and overcome bureaucratic hurdles on their way to a free passport.

Several jurisdictions welcome applications from wealthy individuals with impeccable reputations and offer them instant citizenship if, for example, such foreigners open factories in their new homeland. An example is the Republic of Serbia. This gateway to citizenship is not an immigration product, it is usually not advertised to the wider public, and is not meant for everyone. There are several reasons why such jurisdictions are very choosy:

We do not mean to say that the regular products are bad. There is even a way to break even by obtaining standard citizenship by investment in real estate with prospects to rent it out in the future. As a rule, such real estate can be resold in 3-7 years (the term depends on the country), and the investor can happily retain the citizenship. 

Watch out though: economic citizenship programs that encourage applicants to invest in real estate often mean the state-approved investment projects in the regions that are in desperate need of development. Such property is usually overpriced and has low liquidity. An example is the current boom in unrealistic “ski resorts” in the north of Montenegro.

In other words, such investments are not lucrative and do not allow program participants to break even.

Fortunately, some countries issue legal second citizenship and free passports for REAL investments (NOT the donations, NOT the pre-approved investments in failing projects) with attractive ROI potential (return on investment). Such investments are meant to be not only cost-effective but lucrative (after they cover all the legal and government fees paid and costs incurred). Turkey, for example, allows you to qualify for citizenship based on ANY REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT. There is no list of approved projects.

Some readers might be aware of the availability of such lucrative free second passports. But most clients have never considered these opportunities. Let us discuss them.

Cost-effective second passports for highly lucrative investment

Yes, it is possible to obtain a passport for free along with legal second citizenship by investing in a highly lucrative property. The focus is on the highly lucrative investment which ROI will exceed the legal costs, government duties, and service fees charged for the processing of the application documents and awarding the investor the status of a citizen.

An additional bonus is the fast processing of such applications: the investor will receive a second passport much sooner than, for example, in the case of conventional naturalization.  Besides, the number of people who have family ties qualifying for citizenship by blood or by birth is very small.

Investment in a liquid asset

Most of the citizenship by investment programs that are run currently across the world do not fall under the definition of a procedure leading to a free or lucrative passport. But some of the new investment citizenship programs can be considered quite promising.

For example, Turkey issues lucrative passports through investment in any real estate not necessarily pre-approved by the authorities: its passports are not free, but in three years, having multiplied your capital, you can return your investment while retaining Turkish citizenship.

Citizenship by merit

All governments have goals and priorities for their nations. This knowledge can prompt you to find some less popular yet efficient mechanisms of obtaining a second citizenship or accelerating the procedure. For example, you may realize that you possess certain competencies, experience, or other merits that the target country desperately needs.  

In some countries, the focus is on agriculture and rural development. In many states in Asia and the Middle East, the authorities want to promote sports and the arts. Others need to develop real estate markets, and many more want to raise capital to finance various national projects with treasury bonds. The list of needs can be unlimited.

Legislation of many countries stipulates that government authorities (e.g., the Parliament, The Presidential Executive Office, etc.) can grant citizenship through instant naturalization to persons who, in the opinion of the authorities, have special merits, so that they could put them at service of the host country and therefore deserve the right to such a privilege.

In most cases, one’s personal solid tangible or intangible contribution to one of the national goals will be seen by the government as a good reason to encourage or award the investor by issuing a free passport. The naturalization period in such cases is usually short. 

As mentioned earlier, due to different considerations related to image risks, politics, and logistics, such immigration mechanisms are not commonly available and are often open only to certain categories of applicants. For example, applications submitted by investors from the more economically developed Western countries (the USA, Canada, Australia, UK) usually are given higher priority and advantages. Unfortunately, similar attitudes towards investors from Iran, India, and China can hardly be expected.

Having explained the opportunity to obtain citizenship by merit, may we ask you please to be very alert to scammers. Always make sure that the offer to obtain citizenship in exchange for assistance in the development of the economy of the host country is legal.

How does this work legally?

Supposing an investor from one country wishes to obtain a lucrative passport of another country for free through one of the mechanisms described above. His/her home jurisdiction is a reputable Western country. The target country is trying to develop a tourist industry. The investor talks to lawyers and government officials and decides to invest $100,000 in a hotel project in the country of interest. As part of the agreement, the person undertakes to hold such an investment for five years, and the developer will pay him 4% annually.

At the end of the five years, there is an opportunity to fully return the investment. By this time, the investor would have received a return of USD 20,000. This amount is likely to cover the legal fees for obtaining a residency permit and the accelerated naturalization.

How fast will naturalization be arranged? It depends on the country. Remember: such programs are not designed for the general public. In other words, one has to put up with the lack of official guarantees/standard formulas/deadlines.

However, the investor is very likely to obtain citizenship within a few months (as in the case of standard economic citizenship programs, including, for example, St. Kitts). Or, the process may take one/two years from the date of investment. It all depends on each country’s regulations and rules. 

For example, some require applicants to first obtain a residence permit. Others just waive this condition and grant citizenship irrespective of the person’s liability to domicile in the territory of the host country.

Another question is: how long will it take for an investment to become lucrative? The answer again will depend on the country, the industry, and the investor. But as a rule of thumb, the maximum return on capital is less than five years.

Please note that an investor going to obtain two or multiple passports is free to use any of his/her lucrative passports to apply for a new ‘lucrative and free passport’. In other words, this investor may apply with his previously obtained lucrative ID and the huge profit derived from that previous citizenship-by-investment project. This money can be used to invest, for example, in obtaining a CARICOM passport … or participation in any other economic citizenship program. Isn’t it exciting that you can afford two passports by making one lucrative investment? 

Where and how can you find the opportunity for a lucrative free second passport? 

Let us make it clear: this offer is not one of the many ‘shadow’ dealings that have flooded the Internet. Anyone offering a guaranteed second passport in a couple of weeks through pulling the strings of the ‘government contacts’ is more likely engaging in fraud than in fair business.

Please note: if the law spells out a process that allows a government body, such as the parliament/president, to issue instant citizenship, you can be assured that you have found a legal lucrative passport offer.

The InternationalWealth team finds legitimate ways to achieve legal goals by communicating with numerous foreign partners and researching regulatory changes. The portal experts are very choosy about the immigration mechanisms promoted among readers/clients.

Also important is the following observation: if some country offers a lucrative passport, this fact does not mean that any offer of such sort is really worth the time and money. You should look beyond the obvious perks into what matters specifically to you.  

Here are two examples of excellent products offered by Turkey and Austria.

Commoditized citizenship by investment

Commoditized citizenship by investment program has been developing for several years in Turkey. Its mechanics differ from the CARICOM programs. In particular, there is no option to make donations. The menu of investment opportunities in Turkey is stunning. The best option is, without a doubt, investment in real estate: the commissions are extremely low, the mandatory holding period is short, there are no overpriced, government-approved projects – just a few basic rules and a myriad of excellent offers.

An investor has the right to buy a good apartment in Istanbul or on the coast, hold the property in ownership for at least three years, and then sell it at a profit without losing Turkish citizenship. Some clients have managed to make a double-digit profit on such rent or resale after the legal and passport costs and property maintenance have been offset.

Thus, in year two, the investor breaks even (with the purchase price of the property not taken into account so far). After year three, the mandatory holding period is over, there is an opportunity to exit the investment project, and you will be allowed to sell, rent, or otherwise take advantage of the property immediately.

Noteworthy, if the market situation turns in your favor, you will see how all the costs and investments you paid for getting the passport have started earning you profits. Isn’t this more than you have hoped for? You will get both the passport and the opportunity to make money on your investment! Besides, your Turkish passport allows visa-free access to about 110 countries. Frankly speaking, for this and some other reasons, Turkey passports are valued by certain travelers less than some other passports (for example, Austrian). But, again, is your glass half-full or half-empty? As they say, it’s good you have the glass.  Turkish citizenship is available to foreigners who can invest USD 250,000 in real estate.

Citizenship for extraordinary merit/contribution 

As mentioned above, the passports of Austria are among the most powerful ones in the world. To qualify, applicants need to make some extraordinary investment, donation or offer some exceptional merits in Austria. The value of such exceptional contribution by an applicant in the country’s economy, science, technologies needs to be between a little less than 10 million euros up to nearly 10 million euros. Even though spouses and children under 18 can be included in the same application, there is little wonder why very few investors dare to obtain Austrian passports in this way. Besides, Austria is very choosy when considering applications for citizenship from nationals of some countries (though no nationality is officially restricted by the law). Austrian authorities consider every active business investment or public project donation on a case-by-case basis and issue passports for some exceptional merits.

Noteworthy, Austria’s Citizenship Act does not require applicants to renounce the original citizenship. If the applicant invests solid means in some business and decides to close it down after receiving Austrian citizenship, this is legally possible, and the dual citizenship can be retained.  But is there any really big sense in investing up to 10 million euros, going through all the business start-up/closing formalities, the application paperwork, and some other troubles? It’s a big question. Instead of trying to answer it, let us look into some other, less costly, solutions.  

Well-balanced options

Win-win opportunities do exist for obtaining a free second passport in exchange for or on the condition of contributing a reasonable amount of money in some selected projects or property with a very attractive ROI.  This is not an ‘easy button’ of course, but quite a feasible strategy. To master it, you will need to choose the jurisdiction and the investment project with great care and consideration of the laws, advantages, possible restrictions, your specific future objectives, capacities, general trends. 

Is there a ‘fit one, fit all’ list of programs and countries? Our InternationalWealth experts never spam clients with such lists and recommendations. Instead, they trust and offer only individual approaches and solutions tailored for every customer. 

Please note that though some countries do not promote their programs and offers of lucrative free passports for the greater public, they do welcome investors meeting certain criteria. Moreover, at first glance, some options may even not seem quite promising in terms of future revenues. But a thorough investigation may reveal in them quite attractive profit-making potential. Our experts in different parts of the world hand-pick such options for our clients, assist in their analysis, and help with all arrangements. 

If you choose to rely on support from our knowledgeable experienced experts, there will be no need to apply for an expensive and unlucrative residency/citizenship program, no need to wait years for a free passport through naturalization/citizenship by descent. Yes, there are situations when standards solutions can perfectly match your objectives, life plans, needs. But that is not always the case, and most of our clients choose to request assistance in designing tailor-made strategies.

Lucrative free passports can be yours.  To discuss your situation and opportunities, you are welcome to book a free one-on-one online consultation with our expert. Please send your request to the e-mail address given above this article and arrange the appointment.