Frequently Asked Questions

  The term Dual Citizenship simply refers to individuals that have a passport from two different countries. It is now quite common for individuals to have a passport from more than one country, either through birth, marriage, or more recently through citizenship by investment.  We have friends & clients that have multiple passports. 

Some countries do not allow their citizens to hold dual citizenship. You  should check the status of your own local laws before applying, unless you are intending to renounce your current citizenship.

However, the countries that offer citizenship by investment programs DO allow their new citizens to hold dual passports, and do not report any of their new citizens to any other country.

There are a multitude of answers to this question, but the most common reasons are as follows: Visa Free Travel to 80% of the world which allows you to  be much more flexible when it comes to living your life or running a business. Security for your family – your spouse, children & elderly parents can obtain a new citizenship under the same application. Also, if any child is born after attaining citizenship, they can also be granted the citizenship. Greater Financial Flexibility –  freedom to travel allows you to expand individual and corporate asset management options and international banking options, which in turn will allow you to maximize the benefits your income.  No more missed business opportunities because of travel visas.

Many of the citizenship by investment programs also have distinct Tax Advantages, with no income tax, corporation tax, wealth tax, gift tax, inheritance tax, foreign income tax as well as personal tax. Although bear in mind that taxation generally works on the basis of your residence, not your citizenship (unless you’re American…) so don’t celebrate too much when you acquire your “low tax passport” unless you intend in living in your new country.

In many parts of the world, the citizenship by investment or donation process is the same, either make a direct donation to the government in question – or invest in a government approved real estate project. It  can be as straight forward as this.  The citizenship investment amount is normally higher than the donation amount, but the applicant has the opportunity  to recoup the investment after 5 years, with a potential capital gain.

Obviously there is a stringent due-diligence process that goes along with this, which includes medical checks, police clearance checks, financial checks, academical checks etc. In short, each government will want a full background search on each individual applicant, and it will then perform its own reviews via various international organizations (Interpol etc).

It is our job to prepare your citizenship application in the best possible format. We have represented hundreds of clients from all over the world, and have dealt successfully with many application problems, including something as straight forward as lost birth certificates or marriage documents, to dealing with clients that have had negative press or media coverage in various countries.

Some of the citizenship by investment programs can have a turnaround time of only 45 days, but generally the process is 6 months.

There are two main issues here; are you looking to merely acquire a passport for visa free travel, or are you looking for a country that you and your family could potentially immigrate to?

If you travel frequently to certain countries, consider looking more closely at the programs that offer visa free access or visa on arrival to different parts of the world, particularly if any country is important for regular work or personal travel needs. Some of the programs offer visa free travel to Russia and China, but many don’t.

You may consider a European program, if your intention is to find a second home, or relocate your family for educational purposes or simply a better standard of living.

Applicants with large families should bear in mind that certain countries offer more competitive investment packages for groups.  Also, consideration should be given to investment options, rather than the direct donation (where applicable).

For single applicants & young couples, whether you are intending to start a family in future is a crucial consideration as the cost of acquiring citizenship for a new spouse or a new born child at a later stage differs significantly from program to program.

With Citizenship comes all the benefits of being a citizen of a certain country. The right to an education, to medical facilities, the right to choose your government. Citizenship is for life. You have the right to live the rest of your life in your country, and travel as a Citizen of your country.

Residency is a temporary legal status, allowing you to live and or work in a certain country, for a certain time, under certain conditions.  You have the benefits that are attributed to a resident, but not to a Citizen. You may also receive a temporary or permanent resident card, which will inform other countries that you are a resident of said country. This can also have visa free travel benefits.

If you are in a hurry for a second passport, note the following: – acquiring citizenship directly can take only 3-6 months, whereas acquiring citizenship through residency (naturalization) can take at least 5 to 6 years.

Once citizenship is granted , it cannot be revoked. Whereas the requirements one needs to meet to acquire citizenship through residency can change according to the Politics of the country in question.

Most citizenship by investment programs allow you to pass on the citizenship to your children. This benefit Residency Programs do not offer.

Many of the Commonwealth or Caribbean passport programs offer a choice of “direct government donation” or “real estate investment”, so which should you choose? Well the quick answer here is – your budget. The direct donation option is always the cheapest, but the term donation is key. This is an amount that you are offering to donate to a foreign government, in return for becoming a citizen of their country.  You need to determine if you are happy to donate the relevant amount, if not, and if your budget allows, then you should certainly consider the citizenship by investment option.

Each of the five Caribbean Islands that offer Citizenship by Investment programs, have government approved real estate options. Normally these options can be $100k higher than donation, but if your application contains a family of four or more, then it becomes a very competitive option. Most of the real estate options have a lock-in period of 5 years, at which point you are allowed to either sell your investment or you can decide to maintain it  (on the assumption that it’s producing a good yield).

We have some incredible choices of real estate options, which includes investments in 5 star branded luxury hotel complexes, to independent villas on acres of tropical forests.

 No, if you are applying for the Commonwealth countries, or indeed Portugal, Malta or Cyprus.  Each country has it’s own legislation governing its immigration policies. When governments decide to launch a Residency or Citizenship by Investment program, they are generally flexible about the visitation requirements. 

 Once a citizenship is granted, it cannot be revoked unless it is discovered that you provided false information in your application or if any very serious offences occur that will bring the country into disrepute. 

 The process can be as quick as 45 days. So in less than two months, your full family can have a new Citizenship in Commonwealth nation, with full visa free access to the Schengen area. 

 The process of attaining a second passport is absolutely confidential. Your country of birth, or your current country of residence is NOT informed about the new citizenship. 

 Yes, you can include your immediate family in the same application with an additional cost which varies from program to program. Immediate family can include spouse, children and parents  

 Can I renew my new passport after expiry and how often do I need to renew ? 

Yes, of course, like any other country, every citizen is entitled to renew their passport.  Renewal depends from to country but generally it’s a 10 year renewal period. 

 When can I sell my property/government bonds/asset? Who can I sell it to? How much can sell for? 

 There is lock in period for all type of investments. After that lock in period you can sell your investment to a person looking for second passport or any other person. For your convenience, OZ Invest can assist you for the same. 

 Can I rent out my property? 

 Yes, you can put the property up for rent any time after purchasing it.