There are many ways to get a second passport. If you want the fastest and easiest option, use Citizenship by Investment. This three-part article series is a complete guide for Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians who would like to apply for economic citizenship. With its help, you can find out what citizenship for money is, what it gives, where and how you can get it, and also which investor passport will be optimal for a particular person.
When addressing specialists in the field of investment migration, many people behave as if they are communicating with rocket scientists. The information below may indeed sound like the contents of a primer on rocket science.
But no one is going to send you to the moon. Instead, we've made it our mission to help you go where you'll be treated best, to increase your personal freedom, and to grow and protect wealth.
One of the most powerful tools that can be used to achieve this goal is a supplementary passport. Many people think that owning a collection of passports is possible only in the realities of spy novels, in which characters like Jason Bourne and James Bond move around the world with a dozen such documents and a lot of money.
These days, passport collections are no longer the preserve of the heroes of fictional spy stories – they are increasingly showing up in the pockets of successful businessmen, investors, and other quite ordinary people with a global mindset.
There are many ways to get a second passport, but the fastest way is to simply "buy" one. Yes, you read it right. This process can be called "purchasing a passport", "economic citizenship" or "citizenship by investment" - all these terms mean the same thing.
Certain governments are willing to grant you citizenship and a passport in as little as a month and a half or a year (depending on the host state) in exchange for significant investments or donations to their economy. Sound interesting? Read on! This article will cover the following topics and answer the following questions:
- What is economic citizenship?
- How to determine if a country offers citizenship by investment?
- What gives a second passport to an investor?
- Citizenship by investment should not be confused with this…
What is economic citizenship?
Before applying for a second passport and citizenship for money, you need to understand the basics. First, what is citizenship? Essentially, citizenship is the epitome of a social contract: an agreement between individuals and society to work together for mutual benefit.
In this symbiotic relationship, the citizen assumes certain responsibilities, such as obeying the law, paying taxes, and serving in the military. In exchange for this, the state grants him a variety of rights, including the right to vote and work on its territory.
In the last century, an additional right fell under the competence of states: the right to restrict the cross-border movement of people. As the world has evolved and become more interconnected, states have come to rely on passports to control who has the right to enter and leave their territory.
Because of this, a passport has become one of the most valuable things that a state can offer a citizen in exchange for his contribution to society. Passports of different countries differ in their usefulness for travelers, prestige and other parameters - just as the rights and obligations of a citizen differ to some extent depending on the state.
Traditionally, citizenship was granted through birth, naturalization, and marriage. Sometimes it was issued for special merits in the field of culture, sports or science. But in 1984, everything changed: it became possible to quickly obtain citizenship by investment.
One of the main duties of a citizen is to contribute to the economy of the country of his citizenship. Many states of the Western bloc tend to abuse the right to impose such a duty by demanding the payment of high taxes.
But not all countries are like that. Low-tax states that offer economic citizenship have determined that individuals who make a major contribution to their economy through repayable multi-year investments or one-time endowment donations fulfill this duty and therefore deserve citizenship.
Thus, economic citizenship is a special mechanism by which a person can apply for a second passport by investing in another jurisdiction. It is designed for wealthy people who want to quickly acquire dual citizenship and a second passport, or even multiple citizenships and an entire passport collection.
How to determine if a country offers citizenship by investment?
Not all economic citizenship programs are the same. This can often create confusion as to which schemes are legal. Let's clarify. There are just 5 criteria you need to keep in mind to determine if any particular jurisdiction legally offers citizenship for money:
- Quick clearance: There are other ways to obtain an additional passport that are not as expensive as economic citizenship, but require more time and effort from you. The advantage of citizenship by investment is that it is a fast process. Malta is the only citizenship by investment country where you have to wait more than a year for a passport. In all other relevant States, procedures take a matter of months.
- Commoditization: The commercialized nature of all citizenship by investment programs means that almost anyone, regardless of nationality, religion, or language skills, can become an economic citizen. Whether you are from Pakistan or the United States of America, you can get a Dominica passport for the same price. And local authorities will accept any candidate with the same friendliness if he passes due diligence. The only difference is that it may take longer to verify a Pakistani (several weeks) than to assess the credibility of a US applicant. Other than that, they don't care where you are from. Just make a payment and get your passport.
- Structured: Any investment citizenship scheme should have a clear structure. This means fixed investment amounts and a clear path to the passport. Such programs work almost like any regular business. Therefore, any country that offers a "muddy" path to a second passport is likely to fall into a different category.
- Legitimacy: It seems obvious, but the real scheme of investment citizenship should be clearly enshrined, if not in the Constitution of the host jurisdiction, then in its immigration laws.
- Ease: Most countries that grant economic citizenship do not oblige candidates to move or reside in their territory (the exceptions are Antigua, Malta, Cyprus and Turkey). No such state obliges candidates to speak their official language, pay taxes to their treasury, or fulfill any other requirements other than the contribution of capital and proof of law-abiding.
What gives a second passport to an investor?
Now consider the benefits that can be obtained by applying for economic citizenship.
- Second passport for life: Alternative citizenship can be guaranteed to be used for life, if you do not commit any serious crimes and do not worsen the image of the new homeland in any way.
- New citizenship for the whole family: Not only the main applicant can get a new passport and citizenship by investment. If the candidate is not a single person, but a family man, he can include his wife and children in the application. Some states allow parents and siblings to be added to the application.
- Instant passport with no extra effortA: You can get a second passport through investment in as little as one and a half to twelve months (depending on jurisdiction). Wealthy people with good health and a clean reputation can use the simplified process for issuing this document. It is generally not necessary to travel to or live in the host jurisdiction.
- New citizenship for the sake of simple renunciation of the current oneA: The new investor passport can be used to renounce your current citizenship and save on taxes, avoid being drafted into the military, or for any other purpose.
- Travel privileges: Visa-free access to the UK, Ireland, Hong Kong, Singapore, Central and South America and Southeast Asia, as well as EU Schengen countries (or even the right to free movement within the Schengen) - all this can be obtained by applying for economic citizenship.
- Tax planningA: Citizenship by investment won't automatically change your tax status, but if you want to enjoy a tax-free lifestyle, it's a good first step. Having lived in the host country for most of the year and becoming its fiscal resident, you can even avoid paying personal income tax on income from sources around the world (relevant for holders of St. Kitts, Vanuatu and Antigua passports).
- The best insurance: If you want the best plan B, then "buying" a passport is the best option. By applying for economic citizenship, you get an ultimate insurance policy and a reliable tool for diversifying geopolitical risks.
Citizenship by investment should not be confused with this…
Not all of the benefits listed above may be of interest to a particular candidate, but unscrupulous immigration agents do not pay attention to this, forgetting about a personalized approach and trying to sell their “product”.
That said, bad advice is just the “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to misconceptions about what, where, why, and how you can get if you need a new passport and citizenship for money. Let's end this here and now! Let's find out which documents should not be confused with the investor's passport.
1. Passport for exceptional merit
There are many programs that look like citizenship by investment schemes because they include some kind of financial requirement and require citizenship upon completion. But they are usually not structured or commoditized. Also, they are not very fast.
The category of exclusive citizenship is best used to describe these hybrid schemes. You might be able to buy property in Cambodia or donate €3 million to Austria and get a second passport through a deal, but these programs are highly politically driven and not available to every willing applicant. This is not true citizenship by investment.
2. Golden visa
Residency (residence permit / permanent residence) by investment or golden visa is not the same as economic citizenship. Numerous states are ready to grant residence permits to those foreigners who invest money in their economy, but this residence permit does not guarantee that the candidate will eventually receive citizenship. The golden visa gives only the right to enter the respective country and reside in its territory all year round.
Different states have different criteria that a person can meet in order to qualify for a residence permit, from a job offer and founding a company to marrying one of the local citizens. Some countries have decided to add an additional option and allow those foreigners who make investments to live in their territory without resorting to other criteria.
But in this case, we are talking only about permission to become a resident. Once a person becomes a resident, they can be naturalized just like everyone else. Of course, we are not talking about any citizenship for investment.
This is the case with many golden visa schemes in Europe. Similar programs, for example, operate in Greece and Spain. While you can eventually get a second passport through an investor deal, it will require at least five years of residency and you will need to learn the language of the host jurisdiction.
In addition, you will have to live in its territory for most of each year during the period of naturalization, acquiring in connection with this certain tax obligations to the host jurisdiction. The only exception is Portugal, where you do not need to live permanently.
Contrast this with Caribbean economic citizenship schemes where there is no naturalization waiting period (apart from waiting for a verdict on due diligence and processing procedures that only take a few weeks). You make an investment and get citizenship.
3. Passport through a ghost program
Due to the abundance of misinformation and the activity of many incompetent immigration agents, some people want to get a passport through investment citizenship schemes that never existed or existed for a certain time, but then were canceled.
For example, programs in Moldova and the Comoros have been suspended in recent years. Previously, it was also possible to obtain Irish citizenship by investment, but the corresponding scheme was again suspended, and its work subsequently did not resume.
There are also situations when a country announces a citizenship by investment program, but then does not fulfill the promise. Not so long ago there were rumors that Armenia was going to introduce such a scheme. However, after the change of power in the state, it was decided to abandon this idea.
Documents issued through fraud schemes
There is also the issue of fraud. We receive many questions from readers about this or that program, and we are forced to state that these are scams. No need to be surprised if the sites promoting these scams suddenly disappear.
The key to the efficient and safe use of a second passport is to obtain this document legally. Avoid any program that pays money to corrupt officials. The legal investment citizenship scheme must be described in the laws of the host jurisdiction. If the person promoting the program can't point you to its legal basis, just stop talking to them.
Remember that economic citizenship is commoditized and structured, as well as simple, legal and fast. Anything that does not meet these five requirements is not citizenship by investment. This does not mean that other immigration routes will not work for you (unless, of course, they are illegal), but it is important to know what you are getting into.
To be continued. If you liked the first part of this guide, stay tuned. In the second part, countries that give citizenship by investment will be considered, as well as requirements for applicants for economic citizenship.
Do you have any questions? Ask them in the comments!
Source: habr.com