Passports are cheaper than Golden visas

Citizenship by Investment

Many clients who come to us asking for golden visas, after seeing the prices, realize later that passports are cheaper and affordable than golden visa schemes, plus saves them a lot of time on the long run.

Remember golden visas only offer residency (no citizenship or passport), while Citizenship by investment (CBI) offer Citizenship, Passport, and Permanent residence card if you want.

Golden visa (GV) schemes are twice more expensive than passports. You will see the

Passports are travel documents recognized worldwide, can come in handy to frequent business and international travelers. Residence permit issued issued by GV schemes, can only be used for travel within regional schengen area. For example, despite holding a Greece/Portugal residence card, you still need a visa to travel to UK, Russia, China etc. With a Grenada passport you can travel to all these countries including schengen area visa free and stay upto 90 days in 180 day period.

Frequent business and international travelers prefer passports for short travels. Our clients tell us, they dont  want to move to new country and live, leaving their family and business behind.

Another problem with golden visa scheme is citizenship. Many agents will tell you citizenship is easy! The reality is, is not that easy in EU countries! To naturalize for citizenship, You have live in the country for than 5 years, pay taxes, pay for health care, speak language and pass citizenship tests. No citizenship if you dont meet these requirements.  The processing times for citizenship applications may take more than a year. The bottom line is you have to work hard to become a citizen, even if you are a golden visa investor.

Considering all these, citizenship by investment schemes are faster, easier and cheaper for those seeking a passport. This saves time, money and future family investment.

. We will briefly explain why passports are so much better than golden visa schemes

 Passport Golden Visa
What You Get Citizenship + Passport Residence permit (No citizenship or passport)
Prices Cheap

Grenada – $150,000
Dominica – $100,000
Antigua – $100,000
Vanuatu – $130,000
Saint Lucia – $100,000
St Kitts – $150,000
Cyprus – €2,000,000

Expensive

Greece – €250,000
Portugal – €350,000
Malta – €150,000
United Kingdom – £2m
Ireland – €500,000
Spain – €500,000
United States – $900,000

Real Estate Yes Yes
Time frame 2-3 months 3-4 months
Personal visit No Yes
Travel Freedom (Visa Free) Worldwide  Limited (only within schengen)
Residence requirements Not required Required
Renewals / Extensions Once in 5 to 10 years depending on passport validity Once in 5 years depending on residence permit validity
Citizenship Issued Naturalize after 5 years or more.

Remember: Passports allow you visit or stay in UK, Schengen area  upto 6 months in a year period. For stays longer than this you have to apply for residence permit separately. In case of Grenada passport, you can stay China (30 days) and Russia (90 day / 6month). Please check the visa waiver conditions before you travel

Prabhu Balakrishnan

Prabhu Balakrishnan

Founder and CEO of Best Citizenships

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Have Questions? We assist clients investing $100,000 or more with citizenship and residence by investment programs.