Which is the best citizenship by investment?

All-in all: Malta passport
Cheapest: Saint Lucia citizenship
Best Investment: Grenada citizenship
US E-2 Visa: Grenada passport, Turkey citizenship
Fastest: Vanuatu citizenship
Easiest: Vanuatu passport

Which countries are restricted? Read more about the restricted nationalities.

A simple question, but the answer may sound like rocket science. Let's start with a simple question:

Which is the best passport by investment?

You may find many passport rankings on the internet based on the number of visa-free countries. That means the higher the number of visa-free countries, the better is the ranking.

Unfortunately, these rankings are not helpful. Why? Access to the UK or Germany is not the same value as access to Burkina Faso. You may have preferred destinations like Europe, the UK, Russia, the USA, Canada, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.

The best passport to travel is Malta passport, the second best is Grenada passport.

The travel value of second passports:

Country	EU	UK	RUS	USA	CAN	AUS	CHN	HKG	SGP	UAE
Malta	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	eVisa	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Turkey	No	No	No	E-2	No	eVisa	No	Yes	Yes	eVisa
Antigua	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	eVisa	No	Yes	Yes	eVisa
Dominica	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	eVisa	Yes	Yes	Yes	eVisa
Grenada	Yes	Yes	Yes	E-2	No	eVisa	Yes	Yes	Yes	eVisa
St Kitts	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	eVisa	No	Yes	Yes	eVisa
St Lucia	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	eVisa	No	Yes	Yes	eVisa
Vanuatu	No	No	Yes	No	No	eVisa	No	Yes	Yes	eVisa

Which is the best citizenship by investment? 

Economic citizenship (sometimes called Golden Passport) opens up new opportunities. You can move to your new country to secure your wealth or even extend your business and optimise your taxation. Your children may have access to better and higher-level education. 

Economic citizenship is your insurance. Should your home country undergo any substantial political or financial crisis, you have the option to relocate everything and everybody to a stable and safe country. You also have the best place for retiring.

We tried to summarise and compare the core values of second citizenship. Unfortunately, we could not find reliable and comparable data about the Caribbean countries and Vanuatu.

The below table summarises several benefits of second citizenship:

Country	Bulgaria	Portugal	Malta	Moldova	Montenegro	Turkey
EU	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Candidate	No
Safety	74	93	89	70	79	43
Living Conditions	84	91	95	77	83	83
Education	75	77	78	69	72	64
Health care	74	79	82	69	71	74
Environment	70	60	94	60	73	72
Cost of Living	37	65	67	34	38	35

The EU row indicates European Union membership status.
Safety, Living Conditions Education and Health Care scores are based on the Legatum Prosperity Index. Source: https://www.prosperity.com
Environmental Health score is taken from Yale University study: https://epi.envirocenter.yale.edu/results-overview
Cost of Living Index is a per cent value compared to New York (=100%) Source: NUMBEO

Read the full story of how to select the best second passport.

How to qualify for second citizenship?

As discussed earlier, some countries offer citizenship in return for your investment. These governments consider your economic contribution to be an act that qualifies you for that citizenship. What are the most common types of investments that will qualify you for citizenship

DONATION

The most convenient way to qualify is by donating. The donation amount varies in a wide range. It starts from $100,000 (Caribbean countries) and goes up to €750,000 for Malta. Your donation is not useless; it goes toward the local people in the country to meet different goals. The business is simple: You donate, and they provide you with a passport. Please note that you do not get that money back.

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT

Almost all citizenship by investment programs offers real estate investment options. Usually, real estate projects have been pre-approved by the government. You can invest in a shared or sole ownership of the property. The best value is Grenada in this type of investment.

HYBRID MODEL

Sadly, some countries like to make things more complicated. They require applicants to make several types of investments simultaneously to qualify for citizenship. You can find most of the hybrid programs in Europe. For example, you have to donate at least 600,000 euros and buy or rent a property. Montenegro has another hybrid model with both a donation and real estate investment.

BANKS, BONDS, AND BUSINESSES

In recent years, governments have been developing more creative investment options. In Antigua and St. Lucia, you can invest in a local company and qualify. In Turkey, you can deposit at least $500,000 in a Turkish bank to get citizenship. Finally, in St. Lucia, you can buy non-interest-bearing government bonds to qualify for citizenship.

What is the difference between permanent residence and citizenship?

The principal difference between permanent residency and citizenship is that only citizenship gives you the right to apply for a passport. In contrast, temporary or permanent residence (or even an investor visa) provides you with the right to legally stay in the country.

Once you become a citizen of any European Union country, you'll have the right to move and live and work in any EU country. The residence permit of a Schengen country allows you to freely travel in the Schengen zone.

Please note, you cannot live in any European country with a permanent residence permit.