Citizenship by investment programs (CIP) offer a fast track citizenship to foreign investors against one time economic contribution to the Government, such as buying a property or one time contribution to the Government fund. All applicants and their family members had to pay the due diligence fee and pass the background vetting checks.
The first citizenship by investment scheme was introduced in 1983 by St Kitts and Nevis, since then the number of such schemes have proliferated to more than 10. Currently the CBI industry is estimated to be worth $5 billion annually. The proceeds from CIP were used for economic development and welfare projects. Caribbean countries used citizenship for sale revenues for hurricane recovery and rebuilding.
Today there are about 11 citizenship by investment schemes actively running and more countries are expected to introduce a CIP in the future.
Origin and Start of CBI schemes
- St Kitts and Nevis – 1984
- Dominica – 1993
- Malta – 2014
- Bulgaria – 2013
- Cyprus – 2013
- Antigua and Barbuda – 2013
- Grenada – 2013
- Saint Lucia – 2015
- Vanuatu – 2015
- Turkey – 2017
- North Macedonia – 2018
- Montenegro – 2018
Q&A
We have compiled some quick summary of questions related to citizenship by investment. Read more in FAQs page
What is Citizenship By Investment (CBI)?
CBI is widely used short form or acronym for “Citizenship By Investment”. CBI schemes legally allows foreign investors to obtain a new fast track nationality with passport purely on investment alone.
How many countries offer citizenship for investments?
As of today, more than 10 countries in Europe, Caribbean and Pacific legally grant citizenship for investments.
How much it costs to get a passport?
Prices start from $100,000. Additional costs include due diligence fee and lawyer fee. These costs increase the more family members you add.
What are the investment routes available?
CIP regulations allow Donate to state fund ($100K) or Invest in Real estate ($200K onwards) or buy government securities (bonds). Donation is the most popular route for many of our clients.
How much time it takes to get citizenship?
Processing times vary between countries. Please expect 2-3 months, if all documents are in order.
What is the history of citizenship by investment?
The History of CBI goes back to 1980’s. St Kitts and Nevis is the birthplace of Citizenship by investment. This tiny caribbean nation enacted citizenship legislation to acquire citizenship for investments in 1984. In 1980’s many pacific island countries operated citizenship for sale schemes.