Passport shopping (aka Citizenship shopping) is a $10 billion dollar industry. Passport programs run by Governments have gained great popularity as there has been an ever increasing demand for second passports with the visa free travel benefit for the rich and wealthy.
In 2018 Caribbean nations sold over 50,000 passports, contributing about 25% of their national GDP. St Kitts alone sold over 10,000 passports in 2015. In Europe, less than 1000 European passports were issued every year, because of the big investment amount, usually runs over million euros.
Under the passport schemes run by countries, the naturalization is waived for investors, granting them immediate passport within few months.
1. St Kitts & Nevis
- USD 150,000 (donation to SGF Fund)
- USD 250,000 (one time SIDf donation fund)
- USD 200,000 (real estate investment)
- No physical residence requirements
- No physical visit required to the country.
- Passport issued in 6 months
- Visa free travel to 120 countries (UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, Germany etc)
2. Moldova
- EUR 100,000 one time donation to public fund
- Newly launched citizenship by investment scheme
- No residence requirements
- Passport within 6 months
- Visa free travel to 122 countries
3. Montenegro
- Economic citizenship scheme launched in 2019
- EUR 350,000 investment in development projects or EUR 550,000 in real estate
- Permanent residence plus citizenship for foreign investors
- Scheme limited to 2000 investors and closes on Dec 31, 2021
- Montenegro is a candidate country for EU membership
- No residence requirements
- Montenegrin passport has visa free travel to 120 plus countries
4. Antigua & Barbuda
- USD 100,000 one time NDF donation fund (from Nov 2017)
- USD 400,000 (real estate investment)
- No physical residence requirements.
- No physical visit required to the country.
- Passport issued in 3 months
- Visa free travel to 130 countries (UK, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Germany etc)
5. St Lucia
- Donation to National Economic Fund ($100,000)
- Real estate Investment ($300,000 in hotels, resorts, boutiques)
- Government bonds ($500,000) with 5 year holding period
- Direct business investment ($3,500,000) on enterprise projects.
- No physical residence requirements.
- No physical visit required to the country.
- Passport issued in 3 months
- Visa free travel to 110 countries (UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Germany etc)
6. Dominica
- US$ 100,000 donation (one time for citizenship)
- US$ 200,000 real estate investment
- No physical residence requirements.
- Requires physical visit once to the country
- Passport issued in 10-12 months.
- Visa free travel to 120 countries (UK, South Korea, Singapore , EU schengen etc)
7. Grenada
- US$ 150,000 donation (non-refundable)
- US$ 350,000 real estate investment
- No physical residence requirements.
- No visit to the country
- Passport issued in 3 months.
- Visa free travel to 120 countries (UK, China, South Korea, Singapore , Sweden, Switzerland etc)
8. Malta
- EUR 900,000 (donation, bonds, real estate)
- European Passport by Investment
- 12 month residence Requirements
- Passport issued in 12-15 months.
- Optional EUR 350,000 real estate investment on top of above investment.
- Live, work, free movement in all EU member states
- Visa free travel to over 150 countries (UK, Canada, South Korea, Singapore , Sweden, Switzerland, USA (ESTA required) etc)
9. Cyprus
- EUR 2 million real estate investment.
- European Passport
- No Residence Requirements
- Passport issued in 3 months.
- Live, work, study, free movement in all EU member states
- Visa free travel to over 150 countries (UK, Canada, Singapore , Switzerland, Monaco, Germany, Sweden etc)
10. Bulgaria
- EUR 1 million investment in Government securities/bonds
- European Passport by investment from a EU member state
- Citizenship/Passport issued in 1-2 years under fast track.
- Live, work, free movement in all EU member states
- Visa free travel to over 150 countries (UK, Canada, Singapore , Belgium, France, Sweden, Switzerland, etc)
11. Turkey
- EUR 250,000 property investment or USD 500,000 in government securities/banks
- No residence requirements
- New citizenship by investment launched in 2018
- Turkish passport for family and children
- Visa free travel to 100 countries
Long Term Residency Options
- Portugal – EUR 350,000 real estate investment. Portugese passport after 6 years residency
- Belgium – EUR 350,000 business investment. Belgian passport after 5 years of residency
- Spain – EUR 500,000 real estate investment. Spanish passport after 9 years wait.
- Greece – EUR 250,000 real estate investment. Greek passport after 7 years residency.
- Ireland – EUR 1 million investment. Irish passport after 5 years residency.
- Netherlands – EUR 1.25 million investment. Passport after 5 years of residency.
- UK – GBP 200,000 Tier1 investment. UK passport after 5 years of residency.
- Switzerland – EUR 1 million business investment. Swiss passport after 12 years of residency.
