Nationality for money .. How to "buy" a passport in an official way?
There are more than 20 countries around the world that grant citizenship for investment, such as buying a property or running a business for $ 100,000- $ 2.5 million or for charity.
Some countries do not grant citizenship directly, but give the so-called "golden visa" to reward investors with residency that leads to years of citizenship.
These programs are not new. They began in the 1980s, but they are growing steadily as more business people and wealthy people want to have nationalities that facilitate their movement and develop their investments.
Trade in billions of dollars
For poorer countries, citizenship versus investment promotes economic development and employment, while citizenship programs for investments generate billions of dollars in countries such as Canada, Britain, New Zealand and the United States.
Citizenship programs, for investment, have become popular among the world's wealthy, but some countries, including Europe, have been criticized.
For example, the European Union criticized Malta for its naturalization program, in which some 800 people received citizenship in the three years following its launch in 2014.
The EU accuses the Maltese program of undermining the concept of European citizenship, saying it "poses a potential threat to security and gives easy ways for wealthy people with unknown incomes to evade accountability in their own country."
Some of the other programs have also been investigated for fraud allegations, where wealthy companies have promoted the "purchase" of citizenship and eventually rejected their applications.
Caribbean .. Nationalities "easy"
The Caribbean is the most well-known and least expensive country in terms of access to citizenship, with fewer obstacles to investment and more facilities to obtain residency.
Several countries in the Caribbean have access to nationalities, which ensure that their workers enter the European Union without a visa. For example, the citizenship of Saint Kitts and Nevis may be obtained for a donation of $ 150,000 to the Hurricane Relief Fund, while in Antigua and Barbuda, Granada, Saint Lucia and Dominica cost only $ 100,000.
Complex conditions in Europe and America
Almost half of the EU countries offer naturalization or residency programs that lead to the granting of a passport. For example, Malta grants citizenship for a donation of 675,000 euros to the National Development Fund and a 350,000 euro purchase.
In Cyprus, citizenship is granted to investors at 2 million euros in real estate, shares or government bonds. In Bulgaria, residency can be obtained for 500,000 euros, and after years, it is possible to register in passport programs, according to Sky News.
Latvia requires an investment of 65,000 euros, and in Greece citizenship can be obtained by buying a property worth a quarter of a million euros.
Spain is required to purchase a property worth at least half a million euros, with 10 years to apply for citizenship.
In order to obtain a residence in the United States, an investment of between $ 500,000 and $ 1 million must be managed by its type, after which the investor receives a green card or a green card, which leads to citizenship.
In Canada, you need an investment of more than one million Canadian dollars. Australia requires an investment of A $ 1.5 million and an A $ 2.5 million deposit in the bank before obtaining a residence permit that may grant you citizenship later.
In New Zealand, residence and citizenship require investments of NZ $ 10 million
