Do you find yourself looking overseas for a new place to call home?
Well, in today’s article we’ll explore 2 countries offering citizenship by investment, and by the end hopefully we can help make your decision on which country you’ll soon be calling home that little bit easier.
Grenada
Grenada is situated in the West Indies in the Caribbean, making the island nation set in an idyllic location and therefore popular for both tourists and expats from across the world. Geographically speaking, Grenada is not far from the Venezuelan coast, making the proximity with Latin America an important link economically, providing opportunity for future market injection as the region sees development in different sectors, such as technology.
Not only this, but also being close to the North American continent and with reliable air links to Europe, Grenada is located very handily for business people and families looking to make the move abroad.
So now we have the location and the definition of the scheme, it is important to understand how exactly the process works in Grenada, as there can be small yet significant changes from country to country. The steps are as follows:
1. Make the required investment deposit in either of the following:
o Government donation in a National Transformation Fund (USD$150,000 for a single person of USD$200,000 for a family of four)
o Invest in real estate (USD$220,000 minimum for shared ownership, USD$350,000 for a single person)
2. Once approved, you will have to pay the outstanding balance
3. Wait 90 days as this is the amount of time processing takes. During this time the relevant documents are submitted and a request for citizenship certificates and passports are made for the applicants
Extra fees are likely to be incurred throughout this stage, however, aside from that, the process itself is not very long, and after you have been accepted and made the payment, the rest is mostly a waiting game as the other documents are processed by the necessary people in Grenada. Apart from the investment itself, these are the other requirements for the applicant in order to be able to apply in the first place:
· Clean criminal record
· Pass due diligence
· Be over 18 years of age
· Have not been refused a visa or citizenship in the past
Turkey
Turkey is located half in Europe and half in Asia, making its geographical status quite interesting as the dual occupation of continents isn’t something we see every day. The eastern Mediterranean nation bisects numerous regions including the Balkans and Middle East and is actually quite large in terms of land mass, meaning that as far as citizenship by investment goes, the choice of relocation for towns and cities is much larger than in some of the other island nations we’ve explored previously.
The programme began in 2016 and since then has opened up the pathway to residency for investors across the world.
Let’s start with a brief list of the options for investment because this is always the first step in a process like this, basically because being organised at the start should help avoid and potential issues further down the line:
· Invest US$250,000 in real estate
· Invest at least US$500,000 as a fixed capital contribution
· Deposit US$500,000 into a Turkish bank account
· Pledge US$500,000 into government bonds
· US$500,000 into a real estate investment fund share or venture capital investment fund share
· Create 50 jobs as proven by the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Services
Once you have decided on the option you wish to follow, you will need to open a Turkish bank account, fill in application forms and have them translated. This then leads to a 6-month maximum review period in which you may have to complete an interview. If successful, you will be granted your citizenship papers and then can get underway with your passport application form.
So, which program is for me?
While both programs are exciting, you’ll only be able to choose one, so if you are still interested in Grenada, you may be intrigued to find out what the benefits are in the long-term, and what the passport of Grenada can offer you. Such advantages include:
· Visa free entry to 144 countries (including the EU and UK)
· Income from outside the country is not taxed
· It is said that with the real estate investment, after 5 years the sale of property will return a healthy profit
· The process is also fast, and the investment amount is comparatively low and therefore competitive
With these covered, let’s see what distinguishes Turkey from the crowd. Aside from some of the larger advantages such as being able to relocate to a beautiful climate or exploring a richly diverse culture providing limitless opportunities for exploration and adventure, some of the other benefits of this scheme include:
1. Potential for residency application to the United States through the E-2 Visa treaty
2. Short application process, 2 to 3 months with lifetime citizenship available after 6 months
3. There is no period of minimum residency required of you
Additionally, it is very likely that Turkish passport holders will soon be granted visa free access to the EU Schengen area as well as 125 other countries across the globe already permitted. It definitely seems like a worthwhile investment with a rich cultural history and beautiful scenery, as well as close proximity to many other countries to explore!
Overall, Grenada presents itself as having a powerful passport for investors looking for a future return on their investment and experience a number of tax breaks, while Turkey is evidently powerful for investors looking to move across borders and perhaps access residency in the US in the future.
So, if you are interested in finding out more about the pathway to citizenship through investment in either of the countries we've mentioned today, as well as other opportunities to develop your business, contact us today! Below this article, you will find a link to set up a free fifteen-minute consultation with us to discuss your options further.
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