International: The best citizenship by investment schemes in the world

Let us start by saying, this past year has not been easy for anyone, and if you have considered at least once the idea of moving abroad and starting again on a blank canvas in a new environment, you would not be alone. It is not secret that there is potential to relocate and obtain second passports in numerous ways, however, what is not so well known is that you do not necessarily have to have lived in the country you wish to gain the passport of for five years and undertake an entire naturalisation process. There are lots of options across the globe, and in this article, we will outline a few of the best options from around the globe in no particular order, to give you an idea of the potential that is out there, and perhaps to convince you that this could be the post-pandemic move you need.

Quickly rewinding back to when we mentioned that you can, in some cases, obtain citizenships without living in a country for a long period of time, what we mean is, there are some programmes for investors who, using their capital assets alone, can essentially buy a second citizenship in some of the most beautiful countries on Earth, however, the benefits do not stop there.

St Lucia

One of the most enticing options for citizenship by investment comes in the form of the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. Some of the pull factors to this scheme include:

1. Minimum USD$100,000 investment, one of the lower figures across the current list of available options

2. Processing time of 3 months, a very quick turnaround considering the length of the process in other circumstances, such as citizenship through residency

3. In 2020 a government bond was introduced for single applicants and this capital would be returned interest free after 5 years

If you are looking to escape to the sunshine permanently for what is essentially a donation, look no further than St. Lucia. With visa free travel to 114 countries including the EU Schengen area and UK and citizenship status available to be passed on through generations, it certainly does seem like the idyllic location to relocate.

Dominica

For this option, we are staying in the Caribbean, however, what makes Dominica different to St. Lucia is the well-established programme that was, in fact, one of the first in the world to open up citizenship to wealthy investors. Some of the benefits of putting your money here include:

1. Affordability, again a minimum investment of USD$100,000, putting it on par with the other cheaper investment programmes

2. The citizenship is confidential, there is no obligation to disclose second nationality

3. There is an option to invest in real estate, and not just make a donation to the government

Touching on the last point, by purchasing real estate of a value of at least USD$300,000, you can keep the property for three years after receiving the passport before selling it and seeing any potential returns on the investment.

Not only this, but if you are looking to fully relocate, you only have to spend half of the year in the country in order to experience the taxation benefits that come with citizenship. This includes no foreign income or capital gains taxes, which is definitely a big plus. The investment donation of USD$100,000 which takes three months to process also covers an entire family and comes with visa-free travel to 152 countries, even more than St. Lucia.

Turkey

Now we have an option from across the world, Turkey. The programme began in 2016 and since then has opened up to investors across the world, offering, similarly to Dominica, a chance to invest in real estate of a value equivalent to USD$250,000 or more as well as any fees incurred during the process in return for citizenship. Some of the more interesting benefits of this scheme include:

1. Potential for residency application to the United States through the E-2 Visa treaty

2. Short application process, 2 to 3 months with lifetime citizenship available after 6 months

3. There is no period of minimum residency required of you

Additionally, it is very likely that Turkish passport holders will soon be granted visa free access to the EU Schengen area as well as 125 other countries across the globe already permitted. It definitely seems like a worthwhile investment with a rich cultural history and beautiful scenery, as well as close proximity to many other countries to explore!

So, if you would like to find out more, contact us today. At Creimerman we thrive upon making our clients’ cross-border ventures a success, and we would love you to be the next.