Citizenship by investment (CBI) is a process whereby an individual can make an investment in a country and get citizenship and a passport in exchange. Of the programs currently in existence, the investment cost ranges from as low as $100,000 to as much as $2.5 million.
Investment options include everything from non-refundable cash donations to investments in real estate, business, or government bonds.
Many persons obtain citizenship via investment each year after undergoing meticulous financial assessments and criminal background checks. The average processing time is six months, but some programs can approve an applicant in as little as two to three months while others take over a year.
Relatively few CBI programs require the applicant to set foot in the country in order to become a citizen, let alone reside there. Learn About St. Kitts And Nevis Citizenship By Investment.
St. Kitts and Nevis began the first and longest-running CBI program in 1984, followed by Dominica in 1993.
Others have joined their ranks over the years while some programs have died out.
Interest in these programs has accelerated in recent years thanks to a combination of factors including improved visa-free travel in many CBI countries, the introduction of FATCA in the US, and cuts in prices to the Caribbean CBI programs as they seek to attract more investors and increase their funds to rebuild after the 2017 hurricane season.
The majority of economic citizenship investors come from emerging market economies like China, Russia, India, Vietnam, Mexico, Brazil, Turkey, and various countries in the Middle East. However, there is a growing demand for economic citizenship in the developed world as well.
A survey conducted in the UK in 2017 found that 89% of Brits would like to own a second passport. And the introduction of FATCA in 2009 has pushed more and more US citizens to consider citizenship by investment as a path to renunciation since giving up US citizenship is their only means of real tax relief. Learn About St. Kitts And Nevis Citizenship By Investment.
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