How Hard To Get A Passport

citizenship is one of the few rights thatostensibly everyone gets just for the sake of being born. although there are other avenuesto becoming a citizen, like marriage or employment, those are often arduous and often unsuccessful.but in a handful of countries, getting citizenship is actually quite simple - it’s as easyas writing a check. so, we wanted to know, where can you buy citizenship?

How Hard To Get A Passport, well, as of 2016, nine countries are effectivelyselling citizenship. most are small islands in the caribbean and the mediterranean, andall are relatively cash-strapped. allowing foreigners to buy citizenship has the obviouseffect of raising the country’s gdp, but it can also culminate in long-term economicprosperity through investments in housing

and infrastructure. with that in mind, manycountries have made it easy and even affordable for people to buy their way in. the cheapest option is the caribbean islandof dominica [dah-mee-nee-ka], where citizenship can be purchased for just 100 thousand dollarsor a real estate investment of at least 200 thousand dollars. this program has existedfor more than 20 years, however it became particularly important to dominica in 2015,after a tropical storm wiped out roughly 90 percent of the country’s gdp. today, citizenshipsales are one of the country’s primary sources of revenue, however the program is said tobe mismanaged, and public officials have been accused of pocketing much of the profits.

a similar program exists nearby in st. kittsand [knee-viss] nevis— two tiny caribbean islands that form one nation. like dominica,st. kitts’ relied on citizenship sales after a series of hurricanes decimated their economyin the late 1990’s. today, citizenship can be procured for a $250,000 dollar flat rateor a $400,000 dollar real estate investment. the deal also includes visa-free travel tothe roughly 130 countries that accept a st. kitts passport. at one point, st. kitts wasselling an estimated two thousand passports a year, and as a result, the country was seeingrapid development. however, sales have plummeted since 2014, when canada and the us issuedwarnings about the program. for example, businesspeople have reportedly used visa-free travel throughthose passports to avoid international sanctions

or flee a country where they were wanted fora crime. this concept is not unique to far-flung islandnations. in fact, a dozen other nations, including the us, offer permanent residency, or “goldenvisas”, to foreigners who invest in property, businesses or public assets. however, theprice tag is usually much higher. the united kingdom, for example, requires minimum investmentof nearly $3 million dollars. golden visa programs are extremely popular among wealthychinese nationals seeking to invest in offshore real estate. so, what makes dual citizenship so attractive?well, for people from countries that face travel restrictions, an alternative passportopens up an entirely new world of visa-free

travel. for wealthy americans, citizenshipin st. kitts or dominica can mean huge savings, as neither country taxes foreign income orcapital gains. so despite the high cost of citizenship, it may be more financially beneficialthat it seems. but having citizenship is not infallible,nearly every country has strict rules about when they can strip you of your citizenship.to learn about what kind of actions, including treason and terrorism, can make you lose citizenship,check out this video. thanks for watching seeker daily, don’t forget to like and subscribe for new videos every day!