While some people take pride in their collection of stamps or expensive coins, many wealthy people with millions of dollars in revenue collect passports.

Thanks to citizenship programs for investments fixed at the legislative level in a number of countries, wealthy people can provide themselves with a “reserve airfield” for thousands or even millions of dollars.

Common types of investments include: buying a property, building an enterprise, or making significant contributions to a country’s fund — all of which are not cheap. Although the six-figure passport purchase price for an investment may vary, it usually amounts to about $ 200,000, Business Insider reports.

But for those who buy citizenship, such amounts are not prohibitively expensive. For them, a second passport is much more than a “travel document” to another country. It also symbolizes their high status.

Bloomberg has ranked countries selling citizenship in 2018. That's who entered the top ten.

10 countries officially trading in citizenship

Eight countries from this top 10 are classified by the IMF as offshore financial centers. However, according to Christian Kelin, the head of Henley & Partners, the stability and security of most of these states, and not tax evasion at all, is a decisive motive for most passport buyers. And another important factor is bragging. “If you have a yacht and two planes, the next thing is a Maltese passport,” he said.

Armand Arton, president of Arton Capital, a large financial advisory firm specializing in investor programs for residence and citizenship, is of the same opinion.

“A cosmopolitan citizen has become a symbol of status among the world elite,” he said in an interview with Business Insider.

But there are more compelling benefits of owning multiple passports. According to Arton, investors mainly seek to increase their mobility on a global scale, improve security, get a better education, expand business opportunities and tax planning strategies, and improve their quality of life.

“People who invest in citizenship are people who come from countries with limited visa-free travel, for example, from Pakistan, India or China,” said Nuri Katz, president of Apex Capital Partners, an international financial company. “This (buying a passport) provides a certain freedom that citizens of some countries do not have. This is freedom of movement. ”

Costs and benefits of buying citizenship for money

Many countries need foreign direct investment and thus use citizenship as a means of raising funds. However, obtaining citizenship for investment is not an easy process. And it's not just about money. The future citizen is carefully checked for reliability, studying his biography and sources of income.

Each country selling citizenship has different requirements for investment costs. For example, those who want to obtain citizenship of the island state of Saint Lucia must donate one hundred thousand dollars to the National Economic Fund of Saint Lucia, or contribute at least $ 300,000 for the purchase of tourist property approved by the government. There is a third option - to invest $ 3.5 million in an approved business project.

For his money, a new citizen of Saint Lucia will receive a legal tax residence to provide a package of documents to European banks, and will not pay taxes on capital and income received outside the country. In addition, the island has a very low crime rate and excellent infrastructure.

“The Caribbean islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia are in high demand due to the relatively low cost-benefit ratio,” Nuri Katz told Business Insider. “Meanwhile, Europe, Cyprus and Portugal are gaining the trust of most investors because of the significant impact on real estate investments. Thanks to this, they can potentially get interesting profit from their investments together with a newly acquired residence or citizenship. ”

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