From offering a powerful passport and easy access to living and working in the US to low taxation, a fast-growing economy and business-friendly environment, there are multiple reasons to invest in North Macedonia’s Citizenship by Investment programme.
With its strategic location, abundance of natural beauty, rising tourism, surge in property development and the lowest tax rate in Europe, not to mention its potential membership of the EU in 2025, the tiny Balkan country of Montenegro is ripe for investment. Here are CBI Guide’s top 10 reasons to secure citizenship by investment of Montenegro.
Approved by Saint Lucia’s citizenship by investment programme, The Alpina Saint Lucia Hotel and Alpina Square offer investors the opportunity to acquire real estate - hotel rooms, serviced apartments or offices - in Saint Lucia, delivering not just an attractive ROI but Saint Lucian citizenship and passport.
The Federation of St Kitts and Nevis, a dual-island Caribbean nation that pioneered Citizenship by Investment with its programme unveiled nearly 40 years ago, has been encompassed in the Caribbean Journal's ranking of the region's best islands to visit in 2021. Good news for investors wishing to acquire citizenship of the country via investment in a government-approved tourist property.
According to the Caribbean Journal, Saint Kitts & Nevis was included due to its "uncrowded, calm and beautiful" nature – elements enticing for seasoned travellers. St Kitts and Nevis also boasts the lowest coronavirus rate in the Caribbean, reporting only 34 total cases and zero deaths. This makes it the perfect off-the-grid destination for American holidaymakers.
Before the pandemic, St Kitts and Nevis enjoyed a thriving tourism sector with a popular cruise season. The nation soon welcomed one million cruise passengers for two years consecutively, and it was recognised as a marquee destination by the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association. In recent years, St Kitts and Nevis have quickly become a popular destination for travellers and those seeking second citizenship.
With the coronavirus pandemic still imposing global lockdowns and triggering uncertainty amongst investors, many Americans are looking to acquire alternative citizenship as a 'Plan B' to protect their families from future unpredictability.
"COVID-19 has unveiled the weaknesses of Governments and their ability to deal with a crisis. Having a Plan B for one's family is worth a lot than the actual cost of investing in a safe, happy country," says Micha Emmett, CEO of CS Global Partners, London-headquartered legal advisory and marketing firm.
Under its Citizenship by Investment programme, St Kitts and Nevis welcomes high net-worth individuals and their families to become citizens after investing in its economy. Established in 1984, it is the longest-running CBI Programme in operation and is acknowledged within the industry as a 'Platinum Standard' brand.
Once successfully passing the multi-tiered vetting checks, applicants can invest in the Sustainable Growth Fund – the fastest and most straightforward route to a second citizenship. After gaining citizenship, investors gain access to a wide range of benefits including visa-free travel to 156 destinations across the world, the right to live and work in the country, and the ability to pass citizenship down for generations to come. A single applicant must only make an investment of US$150,000 to unlock a range of life-transforming benefits which also include a second home in a safe paradise.
Find out more about Saint Kitts' citizenship by investment programme by clicking here
Following the announcement last year that Portugal’s highly successful residency by investment programme was removing Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve as property investment options, with the aim of increasing investment in low-density areas, the Portuguese authorities have further announced this will become effective on July 1, 2021.
While choosing a citizenship by investment programme based on a country’s shoreline isn’t recommended, among a sea of CBI Programmes that are similar in nature, the beauty of its beach could be the deciding factor. Enter Grenada’s Grande Anse and Antigua & Barbuda’s Pink Sand Beach, deemed two of the world’s best beaches.
Continuing to build on its nearly 40-year citizenship by investment programme success with the sustained addition of more countries to its already powerful passport, Saint Kitts offers those who acquire citizenship of this small Caribbean nation visa-free access to the most destinations of any Caribbean country, with the latest signed-up countries including North Macedonia, Jordan and Eswatini.
Since October 2019, more than 200 investors have obtained Jordanian citizenship via the country’s citizenship by investment programme, bringing US$1.222 billion of investment into the country’s coffers.
Investing in shares in one of the oldest surviving estates in Dominica, now a 53-acre self-sufficient eco-friendly estate, will give you not just a return on investment, but also Dominican citizenship (second passport) and a safe secure and peaceful haven for yourself and your family should a second pandemic hit.
In a bid to combat the economic impact of the pandemic, Slovenia announces it is considering a proposal to launch a citizenship or residence by investment programme for 2021, making it the latest Balkan country to do so.