| Country |
Required Amount of Investment |
Immediate Result of the Program |
Dual Citizenship and Second Passport |
| Canada (Federal Investment Program) |
800,000 CAD for five years without interest. To participate in the program investor is expected to have legally obtained assets in the amount of 1,600,000 CAD. |
Investor and his family members get Permanent Resident Visa and Permanent Resident Card. |
Recognized. After 3 years of residence investor and his family members may acquire second citizenship of Canada. |
| Canada (Quebec Investment program) |
800,000 CAD for five years without interest. To participate in the program investor is expected to have legally obtained assets in the amount of 1,600,000 CAD. Inherited money can be regarded as legally obtained and can be included. |
Investor and his family members get Permanent Resident Visa and Permanent Resident Card. |
Recognized. After 3 years of residence investor and his family members may acquire second citizenship of Canada. |
| Canada (Federal and/or Quebec Investment Program) – Loan Option.
To participate in the program investor is still expected to have legally obtained assets in the amount of 1,600,000 CAD. |
220,000 CAD must be invested. Investor can borrow 580,000 CAD from an approved Canadian Bank. No funds are returned to investor after 5 years. This walk-away option of investment is more popular than Full Cash Option. |
Investor and his family members get Permanent Resident Visa and Permanent Resident Card. |
Recognized. After 3 years of residence investor and his family members may acquire second citizenship of Canada. |
| USA |
500,000 USD must be invested in potentially risky projects (various foundations or partnerships) |
Investor gets EB5 visa (temporary residence), and after two years he can get permanent residence – Green Card USA. |
Dual citizenship is recognized. After 7 years of residence second citizenship of the USA is possible. |
| United Kingdom (Full Cash Option) |
1,000,000 £ must be invested on the territory of the UK for 5 years (e.g., 750,000 £ in government bonds and 250,000 £ in real estate) |
Investor and his family members get Temporary Resident Visa for 3 years, after 3 years it is extended for 2 years. After 5 years investor can get Permanent Residence (Indefinite Leave to Remain). |
Dual citizenship is recognized. British passport can be obtained after 6 years of residence. |
| United Kingdom (Loan Option) |
150,000 – 200,000 £ must be invested. Investor can borrow 850,000 £ from a British Bank. No funds are returned to investor after 5 years. This walk-away option of investment is more popular among the foreign investors than Full Cash 1,000,000 £ Option. |
Investor and his family members get Temporary Resident Visa for 3 years, after 3 years it is extended for 2 years. After 5 years investor can get Permanent Residence (Indefinite Leave to Remain). |
Dual citizenship is recognized. British passport can be obtained after 6 years of residence. |
| Hong Kong |
6,500,000 HK$ (approximately 834,000 USD) |
Investor and his family members get Temporary Residence. Permanent Residence is possible after 7 years. |
Hong Kong is a special administrative district of China. Dual citizenship is not recognized. |
| Singapore |
5,000,000 SGD = 3,530,000 USD must be invested in Singapore for five years. To participate in the program investor must have assets in the amount of 20,000,000 SGD or 14,120,000 USD) |
Investor and his family members get Permanent Residence in Singapore. After two years of residence they can acquire citizenship and passport of Singapore. It should be noted that many investors are satisfied with PR and never apply for citizenship of Singapore. |
Dual citizenship is not recognized. Investor will be expected to renounce all his previous citizenships and passports. |
| Australia |
There is no direct investment program. Business immigration to Australia is possible through business visas of subclass 160 or 163. |
Successful business immigration leads to issuance of visa subclass 160 or visa subclass 163; visas are issued for three years. Visas are converted into Permanent Residence based on proven results of successful business in Australia. |
Dual citizenship is recognized. After 3 years of temporary residence and 4 years with permanent residence you may acquire second citizenship of Australia. |
| New Zealand |
From 1,000,000 to 7,000,000 USD depending on the chosen program of investment. |
Investor and his family members get Temporary Residence for 3 or 4 years. Permanent Residence is possible after 3 or 4 years depending on the chosen program of investment. |
Dual citizenship is recognized. After 5 years in Permanent Residence status. |
| Switzerland |
There is no program of residence for investment. |
Temporary residence (Permit B) can be obtained on the basis of cantonal tax agreements (minimum CHF 150,000 annually). This permit does not allow to work or to be engaged in any gainful occupation in Switzerland. |
Dual citizenship is recognized. After 10 years on Permit B you can get Permit C (Permanent Residence in Switzerland). After 2 years on Permit C you can get Swiss citizenship. |
| Austria (Citizenship Program) |
Investment from 6,000,000 to 10,000,000 EUR into Austrian business or venture capital. Passive investments will not do. The investment must create new jobs for Austrian citizens and/or enlarge export of Austrian state or bring new technology. |
Such investment allows you to get citizenship of Austria (for special merits in economic sphere). Processing time for applications ranges from 9 to 18 months. |
Dual citizenship is generally not recognized. But for this particular category of “special merits before Austria” is allowed. So, investor can keep his previous citizenship. |
| Austria (Citizenship Program) |
Donation of 2,000,000 EUR to some Austrian Charitable Foundation. The Foundation will support cultural and social projects in Austria that will lead to substantiation of the special contribution made by foreign investor. |
Such donation allows you to get citizenship of Austria (for special merits in cultural, social or other sphere). Processing time for applications ranges from 9 to 18 months. |
Dual citizenship is recognized for those foreigners who acquire citizenship and Austrian passport for special merits. |
| Germany |
Minimum investment of 250,000 EUR into German business. Business plan must create new jobs for German citizens or residents and must be approved by the authorities of the relevant Land (administratively Germany is divided into Lands) |
Investor and his family members get Temporary Residence for one year. After 5 years they can get Permanent Residence. Comment: It should be kept in mind that in practice successful applications for Temporary Resident Permits usually start from 1,000,000 EUR and higher. Otherwise, business plan must be very strong to be approved. |
Dual citizenship is not recognized. German citizenship can be obtained after 8 years of residence in Germany. Applicant must renounce his previous citizenship. |
| Latvia |
Investor can simply buy real estate in the amount of 71,500 EUR for rural areas to 143,000 EUR for big cities and capital area. |
In two or three months after the purchase investor and his family members can get Temporary Residence for 5 years; residence is renewed annually. After 5 years of physical residence Permanent Residence is available. |
Dual citizenship is not recognized. You can get citizenship of Latvia after 10 years of residence in the country provided that you renounced your previous citizenship. |
| Slovakia (Citizenship Program) |
Investment of 1,000,000 EUR into Slovak business is required. |
Such investment allows you to get temporary residence, permanent residence, and citizenship of Slovakia (for special merits in economic sphere). Processing time for applications ranges from 9 to 18 months. Citizenship is granted on case-by-case basis. |
Dual citizenship is recognized with some exceptions. Dual citizenship is not recognized for citizens of the former USSR. You must renounce your previous citizenship, if you hold Russian or Ukrainian citizenship. |
| Bulgaria (Permanent Residency Program) |
1,000,000 Lev (approximately 512,000 EUR) in government bonds for 5 years. Investment is made without interest to the investor. |
Investor and his family members get Permanent Residence. After 5 years they can get Bulgarian citizenship (EU-citizenship). Physical residence can be waived (for the purpose of citizenship application). |
Dual citizenship is recognized. |
| Bulgaria (Permanent Residency Program) |
180,000 EUR (loan option of 512,000 EUR investments) in government bonds for 5 years. Investment is made without interest to the investor. Nothing is returned to the investor after 5 years. |
Investor and his family members get Permanent Residence. After 5 years they can get Bulgarian citizenship (EU-citizenship). Physical residence can be waived (for the purpose of citizenship application). |
Dual citizenship is recognized. |
| Montenegro (Citizenship Program) |
Investment from 500,000 EUR into Montenegrin business or real estate. The program is relatively new; it was announced by the Government of Montenegro in 2010. Now the program is suspended |
Investor gets Montenegrin citizenship and second passport. Passport of Montenegro is an excellent travel document that allows visiting all EU-countries without visa. |
Dual citizenship is recognized. |
| Saint-Kitts and Nevis (Citizenship Program) |
Donation of 250,000 -300,000 USD (depending on a family composition) into SIDF. |
Investor and his family get citizenship of Saint-Kitts and Nevis (certificate of registration and second passport). Passport of St. Kitts allows visa-free travel to the UK, Ireland, Canada, and to all EU countries. |
Dual citizenship is recognized. Passports can be obtained in 3 or 4 months without visit to the country. |
| Saint-Kitts and Nevis (Citizenship Program) |
Investment of 400,000-1,000,000 USD into real estate in the projects approved by the government. This option is not so popular option as SIDF donation because in the end it is much more costly. |
Investor and his family get citizenship of Saint-Kitts and Nevis (certificate of registration and second passport). Passport of St. Kitts allows visa-free travel to the UK, Ireland, Canada, and to all EU countries. |
Dual citizenship is recognized. Passports can be obtained in 5 or 10 months. At least one visit to the country is normally required. |
| Commonwealth of Dominica (Citizenship Program) |
Donation from 75,000 to 100,000 USD (depending on a family composition) to the Government of Dominica. |
Investor and his family get citizenship of Dominica (Passport of Dominica allows visa-free travel to the UK and to Ireland). |
Dual citizenship is recognized. Passports can be obtained in 6 or 7 months. At least one visit to the country (for an interview) is required. |
| Republic of Panama (Residence and Second Passport Program) |
Deposit of 260,000 USD with the National Bank of Panama is required for 5 years. |
Investor and his family get Visa of Retiree and Passport of Panama. Citizenship of Panama is not possible under this program. Generally this passport program is not recommended (except cases when you wish to relocate to Panama and reside there). |
Dual citizenship is not recognized (for the exception of Spain). |
| Oriental Republic of Uruguay (Residence and Citizenship Program) |
Investment is not required but the applicant must show sufficient income to live in Uruguay (1,200 USD per month per person). Applicants can get temporary residence upon arrival, and then get permanent residence after 12-18 months. After 3 years of legal residence (since the first entrance) they can apply for citizenship. |
Applicant and his family get residency and second citizenship of Uruguay.
Passport of Uruguay is an excellent travel document that allows visiting many countries of the world, including all EU-countries, without visa. |
Dual citizenship is recognized. |
