Investment based citizenship programs grant immediate residence visa or even citizenship to foreign investors against a lump sum investment, in real estate, business or purchasing Government bonds. No requirement to live in the country after making the investment.
Migration Institute report says “For more than 30 years, governments around the world have offered residence permits or citizenship to wealthy individuals willing to invest substantial sums in their economies. The number of countries with immigrant investor programs has increased dramatically in the past decade. In the European Union about half of Member States now have dedicated immigrant investor routes, with new programs operating in countries as diverse as the Netherlands, Latvia, Bulgaria, and Spain. ”
Fortune magazine, reported ” In 2014, the global rich spent an estimated $2 billion acquiring nationalities. PBS also reported why 1% of the rich spending billions on passports. The Caribbean is the global capital of “citizenship-by-investment” programs. By selling passports, St. Kitts and Nevis slashed its “debt from 164 per cent of GDP in 2010 to 104 per cent of GDP at the end of 2013.” By 2014, passports were the country’s biggest export, money associated with the passport business accounted for at least 25% of GDP”
The Global market for “Immigrant Investor Programs” has a substantial demand for citizenship solutions, from wealthy investors in emerging markets such as China, Lebanon, South Africa, Brazil, Egypt, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Pakistan, Jordan, India, UAE. Many of these IIP/CIP schemes have eased restrictions welcoming nationals from Iran, Iraq, Syria to apply.
Americans are keen to purchase in real estate in the Caribbean islands (Saint Kitts, Antigua) in return for a second citizenship. Fortune says ” Another reason wealthy investors might want to pursue economic citizenship is for tax purposes. Americans living abroad, for example, are required by law to pay taxes in the United States. Trading in a U.S. passport for one from St. Kitts and Nevis would lower one’s tax rates to 0% on income and capital gains. Of course, to do this requires an American to renounce his or her citizenship.”
We will take a quick peek on all the latest immigrant investor programs currently running in over 30 countries in the world.
*CIP = Citizenship by Investment Programs
* IIP = Immigrant Investor Programs
Belgium Residence Program
| Business Investment | Real estate investment |
| Invest €350,000 in a new belgian company | not possible |
- Belgium business immigration programme qualifies for immediate residency
- No minimum residency requirement.
- Free movement in schengen zone.
- Naturalize after 5 years of living in Belgium.
Switzerland Investor Program
| Business Investment | Relocation to Switzerland |
| Incorporate a swiss company with minimum turnover of CHF 1 million swiss francs. | Relocate and live in swiss canton by paying a lump sum tax starting from CHF 250,000 to CHF 500,000 yearly. No work allowed. |
- Swiss residency in 2 months.
- Free movement in Schengen (Switzerland also signed schengen)
- Family and children can apply for swiss residency.
- Permanent residence card after 10 years of living.
- Naturalize for swiss citizenship after 12 years of living.
Portugal Golden Visa
The following investments qualify under the portugese golden visa program:
| Real Estate | Business | Research | Art & Culture | Investment Funds |
| Real estate investment: €500,000 (Lisbon) or €350,000 other cities | Capital transfer with a value equal to or above 1 million Euros and create 10 jobs | Capital transfer with a value equal to or above €350,000 Euros for investing in research activities | Capital transfer with a value equal to or above €250,000 Euros for investing in supporting the arts, for reconstruction or refurbishment of the national heritage | Capital transfer with a value equal to or above €500,000 euros, for purchasing shares in investment funds or in venture capital |
- You will be granted temporary residence visa (renewable) to live and work in Portugal
- Apply for Portuguese citizenship, by naturalization, provided all other requirements set out by the Nationality Act are fulfilled (Act number 37/81 of 3 October)
- No residency requirement (except visit Portugal once every year)
- Freely travel in the schengen area
- Family and children included in one application
Spain Golden Visa
The following investments qualify under the spanish golden passport program:
| €2,000,000 euros in Spanish public debt | €1,000,000 euros in shares or equities of companies with business activity. | €1,000,000 million in investment funds. | €1,000,000 million in bank deposits | Real estate acquisition in Spain of €500,000 euro or more |
- You will be given immediate residency in Spain under spanish golden visa Law 14/2013
- No residency requirement (except visit Spain atleast once every year)
- Freely travel in the schengen area
- Family and children included in application
- Spanish citizenship after 6-10 years of living under spanish naturalization law.
Monaco Investor Visa
| Bank deposit | Real estate investment |
| €500,000 euros in a Monaco bank | Purchase a home worth €500,000 euros in Monaco |
- Monaco residency in 2 months issued `carte de sejour`
- No minimum residence requirements.
- Low taxes and no double tax treaties with other countries.
- Naturalize for Monaco citizenship after 10 years of living.
- No restrictions on dual nationalities.
Malta Investor schemes
1. Malta Investment Citizenship
| Malta National Fund | Malta Government Bonds | Real Estate Investment | Rental Accommodation |
| €650,000 (non-refundable) paid only after Government approval first. | €150,000 | No limit | Property must be rented for atleast €10,000 yearly or buy a own house. |
- Total costs will be around € 900,000 non-refundable investment in Malta including costs.
- You will be granted EU citizenship directly by Malta after satisfying 1 year residency requirement
- You will be an official EU citizen, live and work any EU member states (eg. Switzerland, Germany, France etc.)
- Family and children included in one single application.
- Buying Real estate is option and additional to above investment amount.
- No taxes unless you are having resident status.
- No language requirement. No military service.
- Both EU and Non-EU nationals can apply.
2. Malta Global Residency Program.
| Real Estate Investment |
| €275,000 euro in Maltese real estate or €220,000 for property in Gozo and the Southern Region of Malta |
- “Global residence scheme” open for Non-EU nationals.
- Long term permanent residency in Malta (schengen).
- Allowed to work with separate work permit.
- No requirement to live or stay in Malta.
- Freedom of movement in Schengen states.
- Special tax rates at 15% on income.
- Naturalize for Malta citizenship after 6 years.
Cyprus Investor Citizenship
- Cyprus Investment Citizenship Program
The following investments qualify under the golden passport program under Cyprus naturalization scheme Subsection (2) of Section 111A:
| Real Estate Investment | Business Investment | Bank Deposit | Investment funds |
| € 2 million euro luxury real estate purchase, construction of residential/commercial projects under collective €12.5 million euro investment, each €2.5 million per share. | €5 million euro in any business or tourism or infrastructure projects. | €5 million euro bank deposit in a cyprus bank (personal, privately owned company, trust) | €5 million euro in bonds, securities, debentures issued by cyprus companies or organizations. |
- You will be an official EU citizen, live and work any EU member states (eg. Switzerland, Spain, Germany etc.)
- You will be granted official EU citizenship directly by Cyprus in about 3 months (very fast)
- Family and children included under one single application.
- No requirement to live in Cyprus after getting citizenship.
- No taxes unless you are having resident status.
- No language requirement. No military service.
2. Cyprus Golden Visa Program
| Real estate Investment in Cyprus | Annual income |
| €300,000 residential home. | Must have annual income of 30,000 euros |
- Fast track permanent residence permit in Cyprus
- No residency requirement except visit cyprus once in 2 years to keep the residency status alive.
- PR status with Lifetime validity
- You can naturalize for Cyprus citizenship after holding PR status for 7 years.
Greece Golden visa
The following investments qualify under Greece real estate acquis (Law 4146/2013)
| Real Estate | Business Investment |
| € 250,000 euro in residential real estate | € 3 million to 100 million euro under strategic investment creating 150 jobs in appropriate sector |
- You will be given immediate residency in Greece
- No residency requirements
- Freely travel in Schengen zone
- Greek citizenship after 7 years of living in Greece.
Latvia Golden Visa
The following investments qualify under the Latvian golden visa scheme
| Real estate | Business investment | Bank Deposit |
| €250,000 euro in real estate acquis in capital Riga + 5% state fee | € 100,000 euro in business investment in a Latvian company | €300,000 euro bank deposit in a latvian bank |
- You will be given immediate residence permit to live in Latvia (EU schengen country)
- No residency requirements.
- Freely travel in Schengen zone.
- Latvian citizenship after 10 years of residency.
Hungary Residency Bonds
The following investments qualify under the Hungarian available for non-EU nationals: scheme closed on March 2017
| Hungarian Government Bonds | Real Estate Investment |
| Buy € 300,000 euro worth of Hungarian Government bonds in Euro (entire amount returned after 5 years with no interest). | not possible |
- You will be given immediate Permanent Residency (PR) valid for 5 years in Hungary.
- Full amount refunded after 5 years lockout period (PR is permanent)
- Freely travel in Schengen zone.
- No minimum residency requirements.
- Hungarian citizenship after 8 years of living.
Netherlands Investor Program
The following investments qualify under the Netherlands golden visa program (aka foreign investor program):
| Business Investment | Venture Capital |
| € 1,250,000 euro investment in an innovative single dutch company or joint venture. | Invest in a € 1,250,000 euro venture fund or venture capital recognised by the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs |
- You will be granted immediate residency in Netherlands to do business.
- Freely travel in Schengen zone with Dutch residence permit.
- No minimum residence requirements.
- You can qualify for PR or Citizenship after 5 years of living in Netherlands.
Ireland Investor Program
The following investments qualify under the Irish golden visa program:
| Irish Bonds | Enterprise | Investment funds | Real Estate | Mixed | Endowment |
| € 1million euro invested in the Government approved bond at 0% interest rate | €500,000 euro invested in an Irish Enterprise for 3 years | €500,000 euro invested in an approved investment fund | €2 million euro in any Irish REIT | €950,000 worth of Real estate + Bonds mixed | €500,000 philanthropic donation in a project |
- You will be granted Irish residency in 2 months.
- No minimum residency requirements.
- Irish citizenship after 5 years of legally living.
- Ireland is not a part of Schengen and also not part of UK
United Kingdom Investor Program
The following investments qualify under the UK investor visa program.
Entrepreneur visa
| Minimum Investment | Allowed | Language test |
| £200,000 investment in UK business. | Work for your own business or self-employed | Must prove knowledge of english language passing SELT. |
Tier 1 Investor visa
| UK Government Bonds | Share Capital or Loan Capital in UK companies | ILR Settlement status |
| £ 2,000,000 pounds | £ 2,000,000 pounds | in 5 years |
| £ 5,000,000 pounds | £ 5,000,000 pounds | in 3 years |
| £ 5,000,000 pounds | £ 10,000,000 pounds | in 2 years |
- You will be given immediate residency visa to live in the UK.
- You will get UK citizenship after 5-6 years of living in the UK.
- You must satisfy residency requirements (live 80% of time in UK)
- Processing time is 2 weeks.
Bulgaria Investor Program
The following qualify under the Bulgarian golden visa program. Please note that Bulgaria is not yet a schengen country (at the time of writing this article)
| Business Capital | Bulgarian Government Bonds |
| €512,000 euro (PR immediate) | €512,000 euro maintained for 5 years (PR immediate |
| €1 million euro (fast track citizenship after 1 year) | €1 million euro (fast track citizenship in 1 year) |
- You will be given Permanent residence card first.
- Bulgaria passport gives full EU citizenship possible after holding PR card for 1 year.
- No residence requirements.
- Naturalize for Bulgarian citizenship after 5 years with 512,000 euro investment.
Australia Investor Program
| Business entrepreneur visa | Investor | Significant Investor | Premium Investor |
| Business or personal assets worth AUD 1 million (or) AUD 1.5 million annual business turnover (or) AUD 1 million venture capital funding. | AUD 1 million | AUD 5 million | AUD 15 million |
- Australian residence visa issued for life time.
- Permanent residence card after 2 years.
- Provision for family, spouse and children to move to Australia
- Naturalize for Australian citizenship after 6 years in total.
New Zealand Investor Scheme
| Entrepreneur | Investor | Investor plus |
| NZ$ 500,000 business investment | NZ$ 1.5 million over 4 years | NZ$ 10 million over 3 years. |
- Immediate NZ residence visa.
- No age limits.
- Spend atleast 44 to 146 days in NZ under investor scheme.
- Naturalize for New Zealand citizenship after 5 years of living.
Singapore Investor Program
| Singapore Global Investor Program (SGIP) | Singapore Financial Investor Scheme (SFIS) |
| Invest SG$ 2.5 million in a new business entity with turnover of SG$ 50 million yearly (or) in a SG$ 2.5 million in a GIP fund | SG$ 5 million |
- Fast track Singapore permanent residence status, includes family
- Singapore citizenship after 2 years with PR status.
- Freely invest in real estate market.
- No dual citizenship allowed.
Hong Kong Investor Visa
| HK Capital Investment Scheme | Business investment visa |
| Officially suspended | Capital investment of HK$ 500,000 in a new HK company and create jobs. |
- Hong Kong residence for investors in 2 months.
- Permanent residence status after 7 years of living.
- Naturalize under the laws of China.
USA Investor Program
| General Region (EB5) | Rural or High Unemployment Region |
| USD 1 million capital investment (cannot be borrowed) and create full time jobs within 2 years | USD 500,000 capital investment and create 10 full time jobs within 2 years |
- Permanent residency status in the United States.
- Processing time 12 months.
- Live anywhere in the US.
- Includes spouse and children under 21.
- Satisfy minimum residence requirement in the US.
- US citizenship after 5 years of living.
Canada Investor Program
| Quebec immigrant investor (QIIP) |
| Settle in Quebec by investing CAD$ 1,200,000 for 5 years and also must have net assets CAD$ 1.6 million with management experience. |
- Canadian citizenship after satisfying residence requirements 1095 days of living.
- Family, children and spouse can apply
- Limited quota
St Kitts and Nevis Citizenship
| National Fund | Real estate investment |
| US$ 150,000 one time HRF fund | US$ 200,000 in a property which can be sold after 5 years. |
- Immediate citizenship/passport issued within 6 months.
- No visit to country required. No residence requirements.
- Travel without visa to EU schengen, UK, Hong Kong and over 120 countries.
- Easy second passport for business travel.
- No residency requirement. No taxes
Antigua & Barbuda Citizenship
| National Fund | Real estate | Business enterprise |
| US$ 100,000 one time payment (donation) | US$ 200,000 in a property or hotel sold after 5 years | US$ 1.5 million capital investment |
- Best caribbean citizenship program
- Immediate citizenship without residency.
- No visit to country required. No residence requirements .
- Visa free travel to UK, Canada, Schengen over 130 countries.
- No language tests. No military service. No taxes
- Passport validity is 5 years.
Grenada Citizenship
| National Fund | Real estate |
| US$ 150,000 non-refundable | US$ 300,000 in a property or hotel sold after 5 years |
- Immediate Citizenship without residency.
- Passport issued within 2-3 months.
- No visit to country required. No residence requirements .
- Visa free travel to UK, China, Schengen over 110 countries.
- Passport valid for 5 years and can be renewed easily.
- Dual citizenship allowed under law.
Dominica Citizenship
| National Fund | Real estate |
| US$ 100,000 non-refundable | US$ 200,000 in a property |
- Immediate citizenship without residency.
- Second passport for family and business travelers
- Processing time is 12 months.
- Visa free travel to over 100 countries including UK, EU schengen, Singapore.
- Requires physical visit to the country.
- No residence requirements. No taxes.
St Lucia Citizenship
| National fund | Government Bonds | Real estate | Business enterprise |
| $100,000 one time payment | $300,000 refundable after 5 years | $300,000 hotels, home, resorts, boutiques, condominiums | $3,5 million direct business investment |
- Immediate citizenship without residency.
- No visa travel to visit over 120 countries including UK, EU Schengen states
- Fast processing within 2-3 months
- Lifetime citizenship for family and children
- Profitable real estate investment
Bahamas Investor Program
| Real estate investment |
| USD 500,000 of home or condominium |
- Permanent residence status in Bahamas
- Right to live and work.
- No taxes
- No double taxation agreements with other countries.
- Naturalize after 10 years of living.
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