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10 Best Countries That Offer Citizenship by Investment Programs

Ok, we have talked about this before, but we focused on only several of the countries that offer this type of program. The citizenship by investment or CBI programs has become more and more popular by both countries that issue it and those that are looking for a new investment for their portfolio and a new place to reside or have documents from.

These programmes are all legitimate and for a fee, you can expedite your process of getting a new place of residence or even get a new passport and become a citizen of some exotic new place in a period of 1 to 6 months tops. Below will be the list of top 10 destinations with the CBI program and we will also include a place to get more info about this program and the places you find most interesting. Check it out here and enjoy the article.

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1. Samoa

Source: britannica.com

Samoa has a citizenship by investment program and they require you to invest $1 million in either tourism, real estate, manufacturing or in the government. Samoa is really beautiful and you have lots to see and enjoy there. If you opt to do this you will get a permanent residence card as an investor which will, three years later, be converted into Samoan citizenship. As a citizen of Samoa, you also qualify for a Samoan passport which makes this an all-around package you might not want to miss if the investment price suits you.

2. Cyprus

Source: commons.wikimedia.org

Whether you knew it or not, Cyprus also has a legal and official citizenship by investment program. Cyprus is a bit steeper and they require a $2.2 million investment in real estate, bonds for enterprise projects and so on. You need to visit the country to receive citizenship and there is also a new six-month residency requirement that needs you to spend that period there to apply for a Cypriot passport. This program is limited to only 700 passport applications annually so you don’t have much time if you want to apply.

3. Malta

Source: britannica.com

We already wrote about Malta before, and they have had this type of program on for a while now. They had one type of scheme that the Malta government used up to 2020 and since 2020 they changed to a direct investment scheme that now takes only 400 investors per year. This all applies to economic investments and a total cap is at around 1500 investors per year.

4. Montenegro

Source: worldatlas.com

Montenegro started this type of investment program on January 1st, 2018 and if you want to be eligible as an investor you have to have $250.000 invested in real estate and donate to the government $100.000 in the application fee. So after $350.000 in total, plus some more fees, you will be issued permanent residence within a month and citizenship within six months.

5. Antigua and Barbuda

Source: britannica.com

This place will require you to put up $100.000 as a contribution or $200.000 as a joined real-estate investment to be eligible for their citizenship by investment program. What is interesting is that this country offers a discount for the first 50 applicants or for a limited time, whichever comes first. There are no residence requirements when you apply for the passport for the first time but when you renew it you must have visited Antigua and Barbuda for five days at least, in the previous five years. There is also no requirement for visiting the country if you want citizenship, and the period you will have to wait to get it as well as a passport, which is valid for 5 years, is somewhere around four months.

6. Grenada

Source: flagwithmeaning.blogspot.com

Grenada’s citizenship by investment program is one of the best and Grenada’s passport is probably one of the best you can have in the Caribbean. This is due to extensive benefits that come at the right price. To be eligible for Grenada’s program you will need to $150.000 contribution or you can go with a $350.000 investment in real estate to become a citizen of Grenada. Processing time for a passport is just two months and there are no residency requirements and no visit to Grenada if you want citizenship.

7. Dominica

Source: commons.wikimedia.org

This is one of the most popular places with a citizenship by investment program in the Caribbean. Here are also two types of investment requirements either $100.000 in contribution or $200.000 in real estate to qualify for becoming a citizen of Dominica. In six months, you will get your passport and there are no residence requirements or visit the country required to become a Dominica citizen. Their passport is valid for 10 years and it is accessible to family members.

8. Vanuatu

Source: en.wikipedia.org

This place has the fastest CBI program in the world. This is also the only place in the south pacific that is offering the Commonwealth passport. Vanuatu is also known for their speed of processing, and easy and simple application process where approvals are issues under 20 minutes and 30 days. They are without doubt the fastest and best place to join this type of program. They require you to put down $130.000 as a contribution and this is your lowest price per individual. The prices for the family rise and they are set by the government.  But they are all-inclusive and officially published by the Vanuatu citizenship commission. Passport processing time is the fastest out of all in 1 and a half months which is incredible by any standards.

9. St Lucia

Source: britannica.com

This place requires $100.000 in contribution or $300.000 in real-estate investment to get citizenship. The pro9cessing time boils down to 12 minutes for approval and 3 months to issue your passport. St Lucia changed their laws in 2017 regarding this program and decided to bring down the price of the program to $100.000 which made it a rather competitive and attractive place among the rest. No residence and no visit are necessary to get a passport or citizenship so that is another bonus.

10. St Kitts and Nevis

Source:

Another place we already wrote about and this one is truly a gem with the CBI program. Here you will need to either donate $150.000 as a contribution or invest $200.000 in real estate to qualify for citizenship. Another bonus is that there is no residency or visit required to get citizenship or a passport. With this passport, you will enjoy 154 countries that you have access to visa-free thanks to St Kitts and Nevis passports.