Two Types of Citizenship by Investment (CBI)
Last Updated: • Published • by orryanUnlike golden visas, Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programs are pretty straightforward:
In exchange for your cash or investment, you get a citizenship and a passport.
(So there's no need to be a permanent resident, or stay in the country for a number of years first.)
The most popular CBI programs are likely those offered by countries in the Carribean, such as St. Kitts and Nevis 🇰🇳, Antigua and Barbuda 🇦🇬, Grenada 🇬🇩, and more.
Their popularity can likely be contributed to the fact that:
- They are (relatively) affordable for a citizenship, starting from USD 100,000–200,000, and
- They come with a passport with good mobility (e.g. ability to enter EU countries 🇪🇺 visa-free).
Generally speaking, there are 2 types of Citizenship by Investment programs: cash-based or investment-based, but they are all usually labelled the same as CBI regardless.
1. Cash-Based CBI
CBI programs that are cash-based means that you pay for the citizenship, and the money cannot be retrieved back.
2. Investment-Based CBI
CBI programs that are investment-based means that you invest to get the citizenship, and you can retrieve the money back (with returns or minus losses, if any) after a number of years.
In some Caribbean countries like the three mentioned above, you can invest in eligible local hotel or resort properties and be a shareholder to obtain both the citizenship as well as some form of dividends to your investment. Other investment type in a CBI program may involve:
- A sum of deposit in local banks
- Shares in a local company or the local stock market
- Government bonds
- Initial capital into a startup
- and more
In Europe, examples of countries that offer Citizenship by Investment programs are Malta 🇲🇹, Montenegro 🇲🇪, and North Macedonia 🇲🇰. Their price tags are usually higher, starting from from around EUR 400,000 up to the millions.