Comparison: Residency By Investment And Citizenship By Investment

The number of countries that offer residency or citizenship by investment is increasing each year. Also known as Golden Visa programs, residency by investment provides you with EU residency. Citizenship by investment, on the other hand, leads you to a faster route to getting second citizenship abroad. You can obtain these rights by investing in accordance with the country’s regulations. 

Besides the right to get citizenship or residency, you can get other benefits such as including your family as well. 

Let’s get to know more about these programs and their benefits in more detail. 

Residency By Investment: Benefits

• Residency by investment allows you the right to study, work, and live in the country. You can also run a business as well. However, note that Greece and Malta don’t provide the right to work
• First, it provides you with temporary residence, and you’ll renew it regularly. Typically, at the end of five years, the country in question allows you to apply for permanent residency or citizenship. The duration may differ from country to country. 
• Residence by investment may also demand a certain period of stay in the country. However, it’s usually a few days in a year, or no stay requirement at all. If you plan to apply for citizenship, you need to meet the required stay period though
• When you get a Golden Visa, you’ll have the right to visa-free travel in Schengen states
• It’s also possible to be exempt from taxes like inheritance, gift, and capital gains tax 
• The Golden Visa countries are developed countries in many areas such as education and healthcare services. They usually have a stable political and economic environment. 

Citizenship By Investment: Benefits

Investor citizenship is another alternative you can choose if you want to get a second citizenship. Find the benefits below:

• Unlike naturalization, these programs lead you to faster citizenship. On average, you’ll get citizenship within between two and six months
• Your dependent family members can become citizens like you
• Citizenship by investment provides dual citizenship. This means that you can maintain your original citizenship status while acquiring another.

What Are The Residency By Investment Countries?

Countries offering residency by investment also go by the name Golden Visa countries. These European countries are Portugal, Greece, and Spain.

The program is available for citizens from outside of the regions of Europe, EEA, and Switzerland.

Out of these Golden Visa countries, Greece doesn’t require any stay requirement to keep your residence permit. 

The types of investment vary from country to country. However, real estate investment is the common investment route out of these three countries. 

The duration to get residency ranges from one month to six months. 

Find the minimum required investment amounts each country demands below:

• Portugal: €280,000 for real estate investment
• Greece: €250,000 for real estate investment
• Spain: €500,000 for real estate investment

Malta offers both residency by investment and citizenship by investment programs. Its residency by investment program requires a minimum investment of €150,000. 

What Are The Citizenship By Investment Countries?

Citizenship by investment countries typically requires no residence requirement. Similar to the residency programs, investor citizenship enables you to add your family members. Family members usually include your spouse and dependent children. Some countries allow parents and even grandparents to do so as well. For instance, if you want to get dual Dominica Citizenship by Investment, you can also bring your family, provided you have dependent children under the age of 30, who can be added to your Dominican citizenship-by-investment application. You can also add dependent parents and grandparents over the age of 55.

The duration to get citizenship from a country citizenship by investment is usually between three and six months. For Malta, it’s between 12 and 18 months. 

Find the minimum required investment amounts each country demands below:

• Antigua and Barbuda: $100,000
• Dominica: $100,000
• Turkey: $400,000
• St. Kitts and Nevis: $150,000
• Malta: $690,000.

General Eligibility Criteria For an Investment Visa

Each country requires a specific type and amount of investment from applicants. You can find precise information about a country's requirements by searching online for 'citizenship by investment in Dominica', or set to your desired location. However, some common requirements are valid in almost all of these investment countries. Find these common requirements below:

• You need to hold a clean criminal record
• You need to prove the source of your investment fund
• Your investment needs to meet the application requirements of the related country. 

As you can see, an investment visa opens your way to be a part of another country’s business environment, social life, and so on. You don’t only invest in the country but become a member of this country if you wish to reside there.