This is the final article in a three-part series designed as a complete guide for Russians, Belarusians, and Ukrainians who would like to apply for economic citizenship. If you have not read the previous materials yet, we recommend that you read them. The first and second parts covered the following topics:
What is economic citizenship?
- How do you determine if a country is offering citizenship by investment?
- What does a second passport give an investor?
- Citizenship by Investment should not be confused with this ...
- Where can you get citizenship for money?
- Where can you get citizenship for money?
- How do you qualify for economic citizenship?
The final part of the guide will provide answers to the following questions:
- How does citizenship by investment work from a bureaucrat's point of view?
- Who Should Get Citizenship for Money?
- How to choose the best economic citizenship?
How does citizenship by investment work from a bureaucrat's point of view (procedures and processes)?
Once you have applied for citizenship for money, you will have to wait one and a half to twelve months before you can get a new passport. But what happens at this time? And what is required of you besides investments or subsidies? Despite the fact that each jurisdiction has its own unique list of requirements, they are all simple, and they have a lot in common. Here's what you can expect from this process.
After choosing the country in which you want to invest, there will be some paperwork to fill out an application and a number of forms, as well as collect various kinds of certificates and statements. This is because the respective jurisdictions use stringent due diligence on migrant investors. Some states have stricter checks than others, but they all want to know who they are dealing with.
You will need to collect documents such as police clearance certificates, show the legitimate source of your investment funds, undergo a medical examination to prove good health, and collect all of your biographical documents - in some cases, high school diplomas may even be required. You will also need to provide information about your business, if any.
Criminal records deserve special attention. If you were punished for drinking beer in public when you were under 18, this is probably not a problem. If you have been convicted of any criminal offense, you can say goodbye to the dream of an investor passport.
After you collect all the paperwork and submit your application, the government will go through a verification process that can take several months. Note that in Saint Kitts and Nevis there is an opportunity to speed up this process with a surcharge for urgency, as a result of which its duration is reduced to one and a half to two months.
The answer to the question of which program is faster than the rest really depends on when you apply. Some countries experience excitement at different times of the year. If some immigration agent in China applies on behalf of hundreds of clients to Dominica at the same time, the process of issuing passports of this jurisdiction will significantly slow down for some time. The consideration time also depends on the biography of the investor, the number of countries in which he has lived, and the transparency of the asset ownership structure.
In most countries, you need to deposit some or all of the investment in advance (for example, in Turkey), while in other jurisdictions, you need to deposit investment funds only after your application is approved. Once you receive approval and fulfill all financial obligations in full, you will be issued a certificate of naturalization, which you can then use to apply for a passport.
In some countries, you will be required to attend a swearing-in ceremony in order to receive your certificate of naturalization. In other cases, minimum residency requirements must be met (for example, in Antigua, you need to live five days within a five-year period to be able to renew your passport after the first five years of citizenship).
Who Should Get Citizenship for Money?
So how do you choose citizenship by investment? And more importantly, why are you convinced of the need to invest to obtain citizenship instead of taking the slower route to a second passport?
For example, you can go through naturalization through a golden visa or non-investment residency. You can also apply for citizenship by descent, which can be as quick as economic citizenship and usually only costs a few thousand dollars to spend on paperwork and other formalities. Or you may be eligible for expedited citizenship based on exclusion or marriage.
Even if you are eligible for one or more of these options, you can add an additional passport to your portfolio through investment. The truth is that citizenship by investment is not a one-size-fits-all way of getting a second passport for everyone. However, this option is often the best option for wealthy people in three specific circumstances:
Wealthy people who do not want to pay huge taxes and want to grow their business
The citizens of the United States and Eritrea are the only people on earth who must pay taxes on their worldwide income, no matter where they live. Even if an American lives abroad and has not set foot on US soil for years, due to taxation by citizenship, he still has to file returns to the US tax authorities and pay taxes to the US government.
It is possible that other governments will follow suit, introducing taxation based on citizenship rather than residence. The corresponding amendments to the legislation are already being discussed in the Russian Federation.
In such a case, the only way to completely release yourself from all reporting and tax obligations is to renounce your current citizenship. For quite pragmatic reasons, a second passport is required to renounce current citizenship.
Such a document also allows you to reduce the tax burden, even for people not from the United States, simply by changing tax residence by moving to a new homeland and living in its territory for a sufficiently long time.
In addition, a second passport of a respectable and stable jurisdiction can make it easier for an international businessman to invest abroad, as well as open accounts in foreign banks and do business internationally.
International businessmen and active tourists
The passport of any state has drawbacks. Even Germany, which offers its citizens visa-free access to 189 countries, does not give them the opportunity to appear, for example, in Russia or China without a visa. By issuing a second passport, for example, of Grenada, a person can fill in these gaps.
If you already have a relatively valuable passport in terms of lifting visa restrictions, you may need an additional document to fill in the gaps. If you don't want to wait to get a second passport, citizenship by investment is the fastest way to effectively fill these gaps.
It is also a good solution for those looking to renounce their current citizenship but are worried about losing their visa-free privileges when traveling around the world. Most investor passports offer visa-free access to the Schengen area in Europe, as well as important international business areas such as Hong Kong. Some also offer visa-free access to jurisdictions such as China, Russia, South Africa and Brazil, which even an American passport cannot provide.
However, the biggest gains from investment in economic citizenship are people with passports from emerging economies who have to put up with the need to frequently apply for visas before traveling abroad.
Citizens of China, the Middle East and Russia make up the majority of applicants for investor passports only because they lose a huge number of opportunities due to the weak documents of their home countries and can afford economic citizenship in exchange for a significant increase in travel opportunities around the world. These people can invest once and quickly get a passport, which saves them from wasting valuable weeks and even months on visa processing.
Those looking for the best insurance in the world
There are also people who just want a second passport for peace of mind so that they can protect themselves and their loved ones in the event of a possible political, economic or natural disaster in their home country. For these people, a second passport is essentially an insurance policy in the form of citizenship.
If you are a really wealthy person living in France with 10 million euros, then would you be sorry to spend 100 thousand dollars on the world's best insurance in case France "goes crazy"?
Citizenship by investment almost never requires you to live in the host jurisdiction, making this decision the most convenient for a high net worth individual who does not want to deal with the (often tedious) relocation to another country and change their lifestyle simply to to get a passport.
Even people from relatively prosperous France, Canada, Australia, Greece and other Western jurisdictions, after comparing the costs of time and money, decide to pay $ 100,000 to Saint Lucia or Dominica to get a second passport there within a few months.
Citizens of developing countries can also use economic citizenship as an insurance policy against corruption and instability in their home state. These people often apply for passports in Cyprus or Malta, which provide them with more options along with full EU citizenship.
How to choose the best economic citizenship?
Let's say you've decided that citizenship by investment is the right choice for you. How, then, can you determine which of all the programs is best for your unique circumstances? Here's what you need to know to make the right choice.
Most affordable citizenship
For many people, the cheapest passport is often the best option in terms of cost-benefit analysis.
- The most affordable citizenship for one person is offered by Dominica and Saint Lucia, asking for $ 100,000 each.
- The most affordable citizenship for a couple or family is issued by Antigua and Barbuda (a set of passports for a family of 4 for $ 130,000).
Best Citizenship for Real Estate
Turkey is the best choice for those who want to invest in real estate at a good price and get a second passport in return. This option is especially interesting right now against the backdrop of the depreciation of the Turkish lira against other currencies.
Optimal Economic Citizenship for a Traveler
Most investor passports provide visa-free access to the UK, Ireland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Europe's Schengen Area, Southeast Asia and South America. Some, like the Saint Lucia passport, offer access to all of Central America.
With the exception of Saint Lucia, all Caribbean passports now provide visa-free access to Russia. This can be useful for people from the West who do business in the Russian Federation and do not want to waste time on visas. Or the former Russians who renounced the citizenship of their historical homeland for one reason or another, but still want to keep in touch with it.
Grenada is perfect for accessing China, as it is the only country with an investment citizenship program that offers visa-free travel to China for its passport holders.
Vanuatu can be a good option for people doing big business in Asia and the South Pacific. The Vanuatu program is also the fastest route in the world to an additional passport.
Investment citizenship of Montenegro, Grenada and Turkey will allow you to enter the United States on an E-2 nonimmigrant visa for investors. If you want visa-free access to the United States, Malta is currently the only option, although Cyprus may receive visa-free access to the United States soon.
Best Citizenship by Investment for Moving
Both Malta and Cyprus offer the opportunity to live and work in the European Union all year round. They also provide access to European education and health care. Don't want to pay a high price for their citizenship? You can “buy” a cheaper Caribbean passport and apply for European residency, which will lead to naturalization in Europe in a few years.
If you've decided you want to live in your new jurisdiction of citizenship, consider Montenegro. It offers luxury, security and European charm. Malta, Cyprus or Turkey can also be quite livable. Many expats literally fall in love with Turkey. Again, you might like the remoteness and neutrality of Vanuatu or the Caribbean.
Optimal Economic Citizenship to Reduce Taxes
If you are going to live in a state of new citizenship, taxes become an issue, since not all countries that grant citizenship for money are low tax jurisdictions. However, the income of fiscal residents of Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Vanuatu is not taxed. Moreover, the Caribbean options are also not so expensive.
Citizenship by Investment is Just Another Tool in Your Arsenal
Economic citizenship is not an ideal solution for one and all. More interesting options may be available to you depending on your situation. But if you need a 100% guarantee of obtaining a passport in 4-12 months, it is best to apply for such a document as an investor.
You don't have to burn nerve cells to master these programs. If you have a clean track record (no criminal convictions) and no major health problems (like HIV), you can get citizenship by investment pretty quickly.
You may have to collect a lot of documents, but, on the other hand, you will not have to fly to the other side of the world to reach your goal. In most cases, you can get a much needed second passport from the comfort of your home.
Just remember that a second passport will not automatically solve all your problems. He, for example, will not cancel your taxes at the moment when such a document is in your hands. But it is a valuable tool that you can use as a first step in your transition to a tax-free lifestyle.
Just remember, this is not the only tool in your arsenal. At your disposal are offshore companies, international investments, foreign banks, a golden visa, offshore gold vaults, cryptocurrencies, and many other strategies and tools.
Still have questions? Ask them in the comments!