Wealthy people are buying passports from other countries. A
growing number of countries offer individuals passports in return for
investment, and the wealthy have been taking advantage in increasing numbers.
In 2014, the global rich spent an estimated $2 billion acquiring nationalities.
The Caribbean is the global capital of
“citizenship-by-investment” programs. A passport from Dominica can be had in
return for a $100,000 investment. A $400,000 real estate investment or a
$250,000 donation to a development fund will get you citizenship in St. Kitts
and Nevis. Similar sums are required for a passport from Antigua and Barbuda,
plus five days of residency over the first five years of citizenship. In 2015,
Caribbean nations effectively sold an estimated 2,000 passports through
citizenship-by-investment programs, up 100% over the past five years.
By selling passports, St. Kitts and Nevis slashed its “debt
from 164 per cent of GDP in 2010 to 104 per cent of GDP at the end of 2013.” By
2014, passports were the country’s biggest export, money associated with the
passport business accounted for at least 25% of GDP, and the development it
spurred on the islands led to what some were calling a real estate bubble. Russian
and Chinese “investors” buy roughly 50% of the passports sold by St. Kitts and
Nevis.
Cyprus offers citizenship in return for a minimum €2.5
million real estate investment.
Not all countries sell citizenship outright. Some, including
the United States and the United Kingdom, offer residency—and a path to
citizenship—to wealthy investors. In the U.S., for example, aspiring citizens
that invest $500,000 and create 10 jobs can apply for an EB-5 visa. 80% of
American EB-5 visas go to Chinese nationals. The UK requires an investment of
at least £2 million. Both countries expect investors to spend roughly half the
year in residence for several years before applying for citizenship. And almost
all economic citizenship programs have fees that are paid directly to
governments in addition to the required investment.
A second passport is more than a means of escape and a hedge
against uncertainty. It can enhance the mobility of the rich. Passports from
Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan, for example, will get you into fewer than 40
countries visa-free (just behind North Korea), while a passport from St. Kitts
and Nevis will get you into 131. The very best passports, including those from
the U.S., UK, and Canada, will get you into 170 or more.
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