Citizenship and Residence by Investment
Welcome to Best Citizenships!
Best Citizenships (BC) is an online comparison platform for Citizenship by investment (CBI) and Golden Visa (GV) schemes. We directly connect clients to authorized law firms and real estate developers without intermediaries making it cheaper and faster for clients. We launched our online platform first in the industry in 2011 and since then we have assisted hundreds of HNW clients with citizenship and residency. Today, there are 10 Citizenship by Investment (CBI) schemes and over 25 Residence by Investment (RBI) schemes running around the world creating a $5 billion dollar industry annually.
CBI/RBI schemes in Total
0
Citizenship by Investment
0
Golden visas
The Key difference is RBI schemes offer permanent residence status with path to citizenship while CBI schemes offer instant citizenship and passports for investment. CBI passports are also known as "Golden passports"
Best CBI Program in the World
Grenada Citizenship
From $150,000onwards
Investor Citizenship
Citizenship by Investment
Citizenship by Investment programs (CIP) offer instant passports against donation or real estate investment. Donation is 50% cheaper than real estate but cannot be recovered. Real estate cannot be sold for 5 years.
Residence by Investment (RBI)
Golden Visas
Golden visas are special schemes that offer residence permits against property purchases with little or no residence requirements comes with a perk to naturalize for citizenship, usually after five years or later.
Due Diligence / Vetting
Background Checks
All applicants for Citizenship and residence schemes have to go through strict background checks for criminal activity and source of funds. Failing these checks will lead to visa or citizenship refusals. Citizenship can be revoked at later for illegal activities.
Citizenship by Investment
$100K
Donation / Real Estate
- Cheapest passport by investment scheme
- No residence requirements
- Visa free travel to 137 countries (UK, EU etc.)
- Passport valid for 10 years
- Real estate investment ($200K)
- Second citizenship for dual nationals
- Immediate Instant citizenship
- Fast processing times with confidential application
Citizenship by Investment
$150K
Donation
- Most popular citizenship by investment
- Best and Powerful Caribbean gold passport
- Visa free travel to 152 countries (EU, UK etc)
- No physical residence conditions.
- Second passport for family.
- Real estate option for $200,000
- Passport valid for 10 years
- Accelerated citizenship processing within 60 days
Citizenship by Investment
$100K
Donation / Bonds / Real Estate
- Beautiful Caribbean country popular with tourists
- No residence requirements
- Very Fast processing times
- Visa free travel to 145 countries (UK, EU etc)
- Passport valid for 5 years
- Dual citizenship allowed
- Spouse and Children qualify for citizenship later.
- Invest in Real estate for citizenship ($300,00)
Citizenship/Residency
Visa Free Travel
Visa Free movement with second passport through investment
Citizen by Investment
Second citizenship
A second passport with citizenship has numerous benefits
Lifetime citizenship
Family
Best education abroad for children in a new country
Alternative citizenship
Dual citizenship
Become a Dual citizen with citizenship from another country
Citizenship by Investment
$150K
Donation
- Best Caribbean CBI Passport
- Permanent resident status + Citizenship
- Lifetime family citizenship
- E-2 treaty with United States
- Visa free travel to 143 countries to Russia, China, UK, Schengen etc.
- Processing time 3 months
- Grenada passport valid for 5 years.
Citizenship by Investment
$100K
Donation / Property / Business
- Cheap and Best Caribbean passport
- Limited Time Offer with 50% discount
- Visa free travel to 15 countries (EU, UK etc)
- Fast Processing times
- 5 day residence requirements
- Real estate option for $200,000
- Business investments qualify for citizenship
- Passport valid for 5 years
Citizenship by Investment
€250K
Real Estate
- New special citizenship by investment
- Investment + Donation model
- Joins EU and Schengen area in 2025
- Permanent residence with citizenship/passport
- Limited quota of 2000 applications
- Invest in five star hotels and resorts
- Passport valid for 10 years
Golden Visa
€350K
Real Estate / Property
- Best Golden visa in Europe
- Permanent residence card
- Invest in portuguese real estate
- Path to Citizenship after 5 years
- Capital transfer and business options
- Residence permits to all family members
- Access to healthcare and education
- Non Habitual tax regime
Golden Visa
€250K
Real Estate / Property
- Popular golden visa scheme
- Cheapest golden visa in Europe
- Invest in Greek real estate
- Permanent residence card
- No physical residence requirements
- Greece has lowest property prices in Europe.
- Strategic investment option
- Citizenship after 7 years
Golden visa
€500K
Endowment / Donation
- Irish immigrant Investor scheme (IIP)
- Permanent resident status (stamp 4)
- 1 day physical residence requirement
- Citizenship after 5 years of living
- Irish passport more valuable as result of Brexit
- Visa free travel to 184 countries
- World class education and healthcare
- Best Citizenship in the World
Quebec Immigrant Investor
$265K
Bonds
- Quebec Immigrant Investor Scheme
- Live anywhere in Canada
- Financing option available
- Citizenship in just 3 years
- World class education and healthcare
- Popular among Chinese HNW investors
- Invest in Canadian Real estate market
- Limited quota of 1800 applications per year
Citizenship by Investment
€900K
Donation
- Individual Investor Program (IIP)
- Become an EU citizen
- Best citizenship with powerful european passport
- Live, work, study in EU-28 countries
- Citizenship after 12 months
- Permanent residence + Citizenship
- Access to best education and healthcare
- Maltese passport valid for 10 years
Citizenship by Investment
€215M
Real Estate / Bonds
- Best citizenship by investment in Europe
- Best Golden passport
- Permanent residence + Citizenship + Passport
- Full rights of establishment in EU member states
- Passport after 6 months
- Visa free travel to 173 countries
- Invest in real estate, bonds or business
- Passport valid for 10 years
Golden visa
€130K
Bonds / Stocks
- Malta Residence Visa Scheme (MRV)
- Residence by investment program (RBI)
- Full Permanent residence status
- Free movement in Schengen area
- Invest in Government stocks or bonds
- No physical residence requirements
- Invest in Malta property market
- Cheapest golden visa in Europe
- Buy property in Malta and Gozo.
Golden Visa
£2m
Business / Bonds
- Tier 1 investor visa scheme for HNWI
- Entry clearance issued for 40 months
- Permanent settlement after five years
- British citizenship after six years
- UK offers best education and healthcare.
- Must make UK as main home to live, work and study
- Attractive investment destination for businesses
- British passport powerful and respected in the world.
Golden visa
€500K
Real Estate / Bank deposit / Bonds
- Attractive golden visa scheme in Europe
- World class healthcare best in the world
- Residence permit for property investment
- Free movement in the schengen area.
- Family, spouse and children eligible for residency
- No residence conditions.
- Spanish Citizenship after 10 years
- Spain has best EU passport in the world
Citizenship by Investment
€1m
Real Estate / Bonds
- Bulgaria Immigrant Investor Program (IIP)
- Fast track citizenship by investment
- Invest in Property or Govt bonds
- Become EU citizen by investment
- Citizenship after 12 months
- Live, work, study in EU-28 member states
- Powerful passport in Europe
- Passport valid for 10 years
Citizenship by Investment
$130K
Donation
- Development Support Program (DSP) / Citizenship contribution scheme
- Ni-Vanuatu citizenship and passport from a Pacific country
- Fastest passport times within 1 month
- Visa free access to 129 destinations (UK, EU, Russia etc)
- No residence requirements
- Dual citizenship allowed
Citizenship by Investment
$250K
Real Estate / Bank deposit / Bonds
- New citizenship by investment scheme
- Invest in turkish properties for citizenship
- Residence and Citizenship within 6 months
- Simplified application procedure
- Visa free travel to 110 countries
- No physical residence conditions
- Turkey is a $2 trillion economy, hub of Eurasia
- Dual citizenship allowed
Passport Rankings 2020
We published our first edition of our study that ranks best passports in the world based on hard visas, soft visas, ability to combine dual citizen passports to maximize visa freedom, ability to visit BIG-6 countries in the world. Our study looked into 199 passports in the world with ability to travel to 196 countries excluding colonies and this study produced interesting results showing european passports tend to have strongest and powerful passports in the world.
Read more| Rank | Country | Score |
| 1 | Denmark | 179 |
| Finland | 179 | |
| 2 | Italy | 178.5 |
| Sweden | 178.5 | |
| 3 | Belgium | 177.5 |
| Spain | 177.5 | |
| Japan | 177.5 | |
| 4 | Greece | 177 |
| Norway | 177 | |
| Portugal | 177 | |
| 5 | Singapore | 176.5 |
| 6 | Switzerland | 176 |
| Hungary | 176 | |
| United Kingdom | 176 | |
| United States | 176 |
Pricing comparison
We have developed a CBI calculator to compare prices of CBI schemes. Use this calculator to find the cheapest CBI schemes and calculations will give you an approximate real time close estimates of how much a passport costs giving you in-depth look into the pricing. In general, you should expect 15% to 20% additional fees above the contribution investment. This calculator will give in-depth understanding of fee structure to clients, saves lot of time for agents and clients.
Calculate| Donation only | Single persons | Investor + Spouse + 1 Child < 18 | Investor + Spouse + 2 children < 18 |
| Antigua | $132,800 | $125,000 | $125,000 |
| Dominica | $109,950 | $200,000 | $200,000 |
| Grenada | $158,500 | $200,000 | $200,000 |
| St Kitts and Nevis | $157,750 | $195,000 | $195,000 |
| Montenegro | €365,000 | €385,000 | 395,000 |
| Vanuatu | $130,000 | $175,000 | $190,000 |
| St Lucia | $109,500 | $165,000 | $190,000 |
| Turkey | $280,000 | $290,500 | $292,000 |
| Malta | $895,000 | €975,200 | €1.05m |
| Cyprus | €2.16m | €2.16m | €2.16m |
| Bulgaria | €1m | €1m | €1m |
| Greece* | €270,000 | €280,000 | €290,000 |
| Portugal* | €560,000 | €570,000 | €575,000 |
Note: There is an additional agent fee $15K to $20K to above depending on total members in a family. * Golden visa
Due Diligence
All applicants are vetted for background checks before being approved for citizenship/passport. Nationals of certain countries such as Iran, North Korea, Sudan cannot apply for certain schemes.
EU Citizenship
Cyprus, Malta and Bulgaria are the only three countries offering citizenship by investment in the EU. Montenegro is only a candidate country for EU membership joining on or after 2025.
Application Process
The application process is simple and straightforward with most citizenship and residence by investment schemes. We work with trusted authorized agents making it easier, cheaper and faster for clients
Family
Family members upto third generation receive full citizenship or residence permits under CBI/RBI schemes.
Benefit to State
Economic Citizenship
CBI schemes bring much needed revenues for Governments and these funds are used for paying debts, disaster recovery, economic and social development projects (schools, hospitals, transport) and other public infrastructure projects.
Low cost schemes
Cheapest Citizenship
St Lucia and Dominica are the cheapest CBI for single persons. Antigua is the cheapest citizenship for families. Greece has the cheap and best gold visa scheme. For large families over 6 persons, real estate investment becomes cheaper than the donation option. In some family cases Grenada and St Kitts also be low cost and affordable.
How to Start?
Step 1
First decide whether you want citizenship or residency? Decide on the country of your choice! Take your time
Step 2
Pay a small $5000 retainer deposit to start the application process.
Step 3
Wait for 2-3 months to receive your Government approval letter from your agent
Step 4
Pay the full investment amount to Government to receive your passport. Collect it from your agent or at embassy!
Citizenship/Residency
Real Estate
Buying a real estate for citizenship or residency is a long term profitable investment and has number of advantages. For example buying a home or buying a share in a five star hotels, gets you get permanent residency and proves genuine links to the country. Prices start with €250K in Europe for Golden visas and $200K in the Caribbean for a passport. We recommend real estate option for High-net-worth (HNW) clients.
Decide for yourself
Citizenship vs Residency
First you have to decide you want a passport or just residency. Passports are cheaper than golden visa schemes usually in the price range of $100K. The application process is easy and quite straightforward completed within 3 months and saves a lot of hassle on the long run. Passports can be used for worldwide travel as complete travel document while residence permits can only be used for regional travel (eg. Schengen area).
Residence by Investment
Best Golden Visas
These are the best golden visa rankings by our PBS points based model taking into account more than 10 important factors
| Golden visa | PBS score | Rank |
| Greece | 84 | 1 |
| Malta | 83 | 2 |
| Ireland | 81 | 3 |
| United States | 80 | 4 |
| Portugal | 80 | 4 |
| United Kingdom | 79 | 5 |
| Canada | 79 | 5 |
| Italy | 79 | 5 |
| Australia | 79 | 5 |
| Netherlands | 78 | 6 |
| Spain | 78 | 6 |
Citizenship by Investment
Best CBI Programs
These are the best citizenship by investment rankings for 2020 based on our points based scoring (PBS) model calculating 31 important indicators.
| CBI Passport | PBS Score | Rank |
| Grenada | 151 | 1 |
| Cyprus | 139 | 2 |
| Montenegro | 135 | 3 |
| Bulgaria | 134 | 4 |
| Malta | 133 | 5 |
| Turkey | 131 | 6 |
| St Kitts and Nevis | 129 | 7 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 121 | 8 |
| Dominica | 113 | 9 |
| Vanuatu | 104 | 10 |
| St Lucia | 103 | 11 |
Latest News
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The Malta Government has updated its list of ineligible candidates from applying for citizenship by investment program (IIP). As per the new announcement by IIP Agency, nationals of these 15 high risk countries (13 these countries are part of US visa ban) will not be able to apply for Individual investor program (IIP) NIgerians and Kyrgyz nationals are also blacklisted…
CBI citizens who acquired passports through citizenship by investment (Cbi) programs can seek consular protection and assistance from missions available abroad during emergency when you need help! We have compiled list of embassies and consulates of CBI countries available abroad. It is very important to understand the difference between embassy and consulate. Embassies deal with only foreign relations while consulates…
Dual citizenship is great, brings so many benefits, but there is one little problem and it is also very important. That is consulate protection from Government abroad when in distress. Dual citizens do not get automatic consular protection abroad. Watch out! Dual citizens have limited consular protection during distress or emergencies, when present in their citizenship country, during emergencies. For…