There has been a wave of people looking for second passports or citizenship/residency programs to lower taxes and/or for a better lifestyle. I have found that personnel that are holding western passports are looking to lower taxes while those in other countries with a lower rank passport are looking for higher rank passports. So, below is one of the best guides as to what passports/residency are open, what amount they are, and how to get them via investments.
As always, if you have any questions, please let me know – info@investmentsforexpats.com and I have put some related articles at the bottom of the page.
Quick Summary
| Country | Price USD/EUR | Citizenship/Residency | Investment | Time (months) | Visa free |
| Antigua and Barbuda | $100,000 | Citizenship | Donation / Real estate ($200k) | 3 | 150 |
| St Kitts and Nevis | $150,000 | Citizenship | Donation / Real estate ($200k) | 3 | 157 |
| Vanuatu | $130,000 | Citizenship | Donation / Real estate ($200k) | 2 | 135 |
| Grenada | $150,000 | Citizenship | Donation / Real estate (200k) | 3 | 144 |
| St Lucia | $100,000 | Citizenship | Donation / Real estate ($300k) / Bonds ($250k) | 3 | 146 |
| Montenegro | €250,000 | Citizenship | Donation + Property | 3 | 123 |
| North Macedonia | €200,000 | Citizenship | Private investment | 3 | 125 |
| Moldova | €100,000 closed | Citizenship | Donation / RE | 3 | 120 |
| Cyprus | €2,000,000 closed | Citizenship | RE/ Bonds | 4 | 150+ |
| Dominica | $100,000 | Citizenship | Donation / Real estate (200k) | 3 | 144 |
| Portugal | €280,000 | Residency | Real Estate | 6 | 187 |
| Greece | €250,000 | Residency / Golden visa | Real Estate | 6 | 185 |
| Cambodia | $200,000 | Citizenship | Business | 4-6 | 53 |
| Samoa | $1,100,000 | Citizenship | Business | 20 | 130 |
| Egypt | $250,000 | Citizenship | Real estate | 3 | 52 |
| Jordan | $1.5m | Citizenship | Capital | 12 | 52 |
| United Kingdom | £2m (closed) | Residency | Share Capital | 1 | 186 |
| Spain | €500,000 | Residency | Real Estate | 3 | 189 |
| Italy | €250,000 | Residency | Startups | 3 | 189 |
| Latvia | €250,000 | Residency / Golden visa | Bonds / Property | 3 | 181 |
| United States | $900,000 | EB-5 Residency | Business | 12 | 186 |
| Bulgaria | €1m (closed) | Citizenship | Capital Investment | 18 | 173 |
| Turkey | $400,000 | Citizenship | Real Estate | 3 | 110 |
| Ireland | €1,000,000 | Residency | Investment fund | 3 | 187 |
| Cyprus | €300,000 | Residency | Real Estate | 3 | 176 |
| Malta | €600,000 | Citizenship | Donation | 12 | 185 |
| Malta | €100,000 | Residency / Golden visa | Donation | 3 | 185 |
Cheapest CBI
Caribbean citizenship by investment is currently the cheapest CBI for individual investors and families. You can see the true costs of CBI by donation which is more affordable than real estate for many people.
All in all, for one person Dominica and St Lucia are the cheapest. For families, Antigua is the cheapest.
These are our rough price calculations on four CBI programs, to give you a better understanding of you can afford them.
| CBI Donation | St Lucia | Antigua | Dominica | Vanuatu |
| Single | $109,500 | $137,500 | $109,950 | $135,000 |
| Couple | $155,600 | $146,500 | $162,500 | $155,000 |
| Family (4) | $167,700 | $146,900 | $187,500 | $185,000 |
| Family (6) | $209,800 | $178,800* | $246,200 | $205,500 |
Note: Above are the total costs you pay to the government (agency fee approx $3000 not included). The family of 4 assumes two children below 12. A family of six assumes two children below 12 and two parents/siblings.
Government Bonds for Citizenship & Residency
Government bonds/stocks are debt securities issued by governments and are a very popular investment route for those who want peace of mind with their investments. These are risk-free investments fully refunded after 5 years without interest. Only a few nations offer bonds for the purpose of citizenship or residency.
- St Lucia – USD 250,000 (Citizenship / 5 year investment)
- Portugal – EUR 1.5 million (Residency/ 5 year investment)
- Spain – EUR 2 million (Residency)
- Turkey – USD 500,000 (citizenship / 5 year investment)
- Italy – EUR 2 million (Investor Visa)
- North Macedonia – EUR 400,000 (Citizenship)
Conclusion
With the amount of citizenship/residency programs there are in the world, there should be something that appeals to those looking.
There are many different ways you can become a citizen/resident through various forms of investment and that offers flexibility to the investor. If you mix this with the number of locations you have the ability to take advantage of favourable locations and lifestyle factors in the country.
As always, if this is something you are considering and want to ask some questions, please email me at info@investmentsforexpats.com and I can answer your questions.
If you want to read some more on the subject, please read these articles:
