Immigrant investor programs

Immigrant investor programs are programs that allow individuals to more quickly obtain residence or citizenship of a country in return for making qualifying investments.

Broadly, the programs offer either citizenship by investment ("golden passport" or "cash-for-passports"), residence by investment ("golden visa"), or a hybrid with immediate residence followed by accelerated citizenship.

Program applicants must usually fulfill multiple qualification criteria. Investment can take a variety of forms including a contribution to government funds; purchase of qualifying real estate (for example, in specific government-sanctioned projects); investment in a qualifying business (for example, in a specific industry); or creation of a set number of jobs.

A growing number of countries offer immigrant investor programs, with approximately one quarter of all countries issuing such visas as of 2015.^[1] As of 2023 about half went to Turkey.^[2]

^ "IMF Working Paper, WP/15/93, Too Much of a Good Thing?: Prudent Management of Inflows under Economic Citizenship Programs, by Xin Xu, Ahmed El-Ashram and Judith Gold" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
^ "The peculiar world of golden passports". 18 September 2023.

[imfwp-1] "IMF Working Paper, WP/15/93, Too Much of a Good Thing?: Prudent Management of Inflows under Economic Citizenship Programs, by Xin Xu, Ahmed El-Ashram and Judith Gold" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2019.

[2] "The peculiar world of golden passports". 18 September 2023.

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