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Friday, 15 July 2016

Paying for an another citizenship

Speaking of France: How much for a French passport? EUR 10 mn and a five-year waiting period, to be exact. More and more countries have joined the “game” of offering citizenship to high-paying individuals, the IMFdirect blog notes. For small Caribbean islands, offering citizenship in return for investment has been a “win-win,” but now the scheme is not just limited to countries you only hear of when reading about tax havens or watching the track and field events at the Olympics: It includes a number of European countries as well as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. According to a list presented on the blog, citizenship will cost you a measly USD 100k in Dominica, whereas you could become a citizen of Cyprus or Malta for USD 2.5 mn or EUR 1.15 mn, respectively. Invest EUR 500k in Ireland, Spain, or Portugal and you’ll be granted residency there, or half of the amount for residency in Greece or Hungary. Other options include USD 500k for US residency, GBP 1 mn for UK residency, and AUD 5 mn for an Australian permit, mate. The price list can be viewed here and for a better “shopping experience” here’s the 2016 Global Passport Power Rank. (Yes, the Dominica passport is ranked significantly higher than Egypt’s. Don’t get us started…)

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