The market for second citizenship by investment programs by the end of 2024 has become more complex, and definitely more expensive. Relatively speaking, the average sum spent on obtaining second citizenship has grown significantly compared to all the years before. Perhaps this happened because the programs themselves became more in demand due to various economic and geopolitical reasons.
And this demand has caused increased attention from investors, the countries that founded the programs realized this and decided it was better to process fewer applications, but with higher rates.
In turn, global regulators, such as the United States or the European Union, also paid attention to the popularity of second citizenship and residence permits for investments and literally put pressure on the founders of the programs to complicate the processing and raise the investment bar.
Under pressure from local legislators, real estate options have disappeared from many residence permit for investment programs in Europe or the minimum investment has been increased several times.
At the same time, countries have emerged that did not have their own second citizenship or residence permit programs at all before this year.
They decided to start by accepting those candidates who, in terms of numbers or other parameters, no longer meet the requirements of the Caribbean or European programs.
Pacific Ocean
The State of Nauru has officially launched the Nauru Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Program (NECRCP). The benefits of a Nauru passport include visa-free access to strategically important destinations including the UAE, Hong Kong SAR of China, Singapore, as well as Ireland and the UK. A passport can be obtained through a direct deposit into the country’s treasury. The full cost of citizenship also includes the application fee, due diligence fee and passport fee.
The total investment for a single applicant would be US$140,500, and a family of, for example, four people would need to invest US$155,000.
Physical presence in the country is not required to obtain citizenship. The entire registration procedure will take place through agents to whom the government will issue a license. Licensed agents must submit all applications to the Program Office, which maintains strict professional standards and can revoke agent licenses for unethical behavior.
Africa
Sierra Leone has launched a permanent residency investment program called GO-FOR-GOLD. The program requires investors to purchase physical gold, which is held in government vaults for five years. Permanent residence can be obtained by one investor for an investment – $65 thousand +1 kg of gold, an investor with a spouse and children – $75 thousand +1 kg of gold, extended family $100 thousand +2 kg of gold. All gold is 99.99% pure, LBMA Good Delivery certified and backed by the Central Bank of Sierra Leone.
Europe
Malta has announced that from January 1, 2025, the rules and costs of the local investment permanent residence program — Malta Permanent Residency Program (MPRP) will change.
The gradation of the cost of real estate for obtaining permanent residence by region of the country is canceled – now everywhere from €375,000 instead of from €300,000 previously (in Gozo).
An alternative is long-term rent, the minimum amount has risen to €14,000 per year. State fees for processing applications will increase significantly, and the age of the investor’s dependent children, who can obtain permanent residence with him, is now limited to 29 years. Most likely, this decision is the result of pressure from the EU, which is aimed primarily at Malta’s MEIN investment citizenship program (through the residence permit stage).
“Malta’s citizenship program will most likely also be changed, but this will happen only after the decision of the European Court. Candidates who are already applied their files at that time will not be affected,” comments an APEX lawyer in Malta.
Asia
The Thailand Elite Bronze visa is now available for $18,850. This is a limited time offer and will be valid from December 15, 2024 to June 30, 2025. The move is part of a larger restructuring of the program, which now offers four permanent membership levels: Gold, Platinum, Diamond and Reserve, as well as one temporary membership, Bronze. The Thailand Elite Visa program offers investors renewable resident visas valid from 5 to 20 years. This program does not lead to permanent residence or citizenship in Thailand.
