The golden passport.. what is it? Why do the wealthy seek to ‎obtain more than one passport‏?‏

Citizenship can be bought in some very beautiful places, for hundreds of thousands of dollars. How easy it is to move around the world, and how long you will spend in your destination of choice, depends entirely on your passport while this is a more serious geopolitical issue than many might realize.

Complex procedures:

Obtaining a second or dual citizenship of a country in Europe or North America is a dream for many expats. But the long waiting period, complicated procedures, and excessive legal restrictions make the dream seem far-fetched. However, there are countries with a golden passport in which you get a permanent residence permit in the country if you meet certain preconditions.

According to the American “Citizen Solutions” website, there are many countries from Cyprus to Grenada, where you can obtain specific citizenship through investment or golden visa schemes to work on your way to start a new life abroad. With investment plans starting at around $100,000, you can obtain a residence permit and eventually a golden passport under the golden visa scheme in many of these countries without having citizenship by birth or spending years as a legal resident through employment or marriage.

What is the golden visa?

Golden visa programs are unique investment programs through which individuals can obtain permanent resident status and possibly a second passport that ranks high in the Global Passport Index for themselves and their family members in another country. Depending on the regulations of the golden visa country, you can buy a property or contribute directly to its economy by participating in its investment scheme.

If your application for that specific golden visa program is approved, you and your family can become legal residents of that country and eventually obtain passports. As a Golden Visa holder, you will have access to residency benefits, such as free education or healthcare.

Wealth protection:

The world’s wealthy are increasingly seeking second passports as they seek to protect their wealth, improve the education of their children, and move to countries with open border policies and greater economic and political stability.

Wealthy people collect not only one passport, but sometimes two or three passports and multiple nationalities, to enjoy all the privileges that these passports grant. These passports are often issued by countries trying to attract capital. It also opens the door to a possible escape, if things go wrong for the bearer in his personal life or in his country of origin.

Michael Kosnitsky, a lawyer with Boies, Schiller & Flexner who specializes in tax and high-net-worth clients, and has helped many of his high-net-worth clients obtain a second or third citizenship as well, says the aim is to try to gain access Restricted to the European Union and Schengen countries

Recently, the London-based investment immigration consulting firm Henley & Partners revealed an increase in requests for golden passports by wealthy Americans in 2022, pointing out that investing in a country in return for obtaining permanent residence or citizenship has become common. significantly in recent years

Investor migration:

Immigration programs for investors are defined as programs designed to attract foreign capital and businessmen by providing the right of residency and citizenship in exchange for investment. These programs are also known as citizenship by investment, golden visa, or golden passport programs. Among the countries with investment immigration programs are:

Portugal:

The Portuguese passport, allowing access to all 27 European Union countries and obtaining visa on arrival or visa-free entry to 172 countries around the world, makes it one of the most powerful passports in the world. The minimum investment requirement to obtain a Portugal golden visa is 500,000 euros

Greece:

The Greek Golden Visa currently lasts for ten years, and in that time, it has allowed many expatriates from all over the world to take advantage of the wonderful Greek lifestyle. Although Greece does not offer a citizenship by investment scheme, the golden visa enables the maintenance of residency long enough to qualify for EU citizenship.

Spain:

The Spanish passport ranks among the top 20 countries in the World Passport Index, allowing visa-free entry to 173 countries around the world. Also, you can obtain the Spanish golden visa from investment options such as 500 thousand euros, in the form of shares or buying a property.

There are also many other countries that have investment immigration programs, including Cyprus, Australia, Jordan, Malta, Dominica and other countries.