r/CitizenshipInvestment

I recently received my Saint Lucia passport and have been able to use it normally for travel to Turkey and several European countries without any issues.
However, I want to share an important warning for anyone considering citizenship by investment: visa-free access is not always determined by your passport alone. Some countries also consider your country of birth, and additional restrictions may apply if you were born in certain countries.
In my case, I faced this issue with Taiwan and Egypt. Although Saint Lucian citizens may generally have easier entry or visa arrangements, my place of birth created additional requirements and prevented me from relying on the standard rules for Saint Lucia passport holders.
So, before booking any non-refundable flights or hotels, don’t only check the visa requirements based on your current nationality.
A Saint Lucia passport is still very useful, and I have travelled with it normally to many destinations. But it is important to understand that visa-free access may not apply equally to every passport holder, especially when the country has restrictions based on birthplace
I’m sharing this because this detail is rarely explained clearly by citizenship agents, visa websites, or passport-ranking websites.

Have you really ever recovered your investment with these CBI/RBIs? In most cases, really estate is illiquid or bought at foreigner margin prices. Bonds and investments are held in weaker currencies and u loose a lot. Shares and business investments are sunk costs. How do you actually navigate through this?

Hey all - I hope I can be helpful to a friend by asking here. We tried sending emails to the Dominica CIU and they never respond.

1 - My friend holds an expired passport as a stateless individual in KWT and the Government of Kuwait will not renew it. This is only because of Governmental reforms affecting stateless citizens and their legal status.

2 - She had also applied for the UK visa around 13 years ago and it was rejected

Is she even eligible? Is there a rejection risk? Any advice would be appreciated, thank you

Hi everyone,
Asking for a friend who is in a tricky situation:
Back in 2020, he was refused a Schengen visa for the Netherlands (non-security reasons). Recently, he acquired St. Lucia citizenship through CBI.
He is planning to travel to France visa-free using his new St. Lucia passport in two days.

1. Will his 2020 biometric data/refusal still trigger a flag at French border control?
2. Is there a high risk of him being turned away for attempting to bypass the visa system?
   Has anyone seen a similar case or have advice on this? Thanks!

I know each country will have its on guidelines. Does any country let you finance your home with a mortgage and still give you residency?

TIA

Hi everyone, I currently hold a passport that sits at one of the lowest ranking in the world. My family and I travel a lot and it is becoming a hassle to apply for Visa every time. I am 33 years old. My mother is 55 years old and my sister is 37 years old. I am considering getting our citizenship by investment. I am looking to spend as little as possible for citizenship for the three of us. Which country passport should we get you think?

These were CBI programs which were discounted in past. Even during covid days, there were amazing programs. Really sad the overall CBI market is shrinking. People who got these were so lucky.

Europe
Cyprus (2007–2020)
Bulgaria (2009–2022)
Moldova (2018–2020)
Montenegro (2019–2022)
Malta (2014–2025)
Africa
Comoros (2001–2018)
Pacific / Oceania
Marshall Islands (1987–1996)
Tonga (1982–1996)
Nauru (1998–2003)
Samoa (1991–1997)
Kiribati (1995–2005)
Tuvalu (1997–2000s)
Americas
Belize (1985–2002)
Peru (1992–1993)
Honduras (1990s)

Hi everyone. Thought I’d share our experience since I spent a lot of time reading posts here when we were researching.

I’m mid 40s, married with one child. We wanted a second base in Europe but didnt want to completely relocate, so after looking at few countries we decided on Greece.

Biggest thing I wish I knew is buying the property is only one part of everything. There is POA, Greek tax number, bank account, lawyer checks, contracts, taxes, residency application, biometrics etc. For us whole process took around 1.5 years, which was much longer than I expected from things I read online.

Greek bank account was probably most frustrating part. They ask a lot of documents and appointments need to be arranged before. Not really difficult, just old fashioned and takes time.

Property search was also bit overwhelming. We spoke with few consultants and developers and honestly after some point every “perfect Golden Visa investment” starts sounding same.

We eventually worked with a company who showed us different options instead of trying to push one project. For me this made quite a big difference.

If I have one advice, find someone who is looking at the market from your side, not just someone who needs to sell you their own project.

Family paperwork was another thing I didnt really expect. Marriage docs, documents for our child, translations, legalizations... every time I thought we finished, somehow another document came.

Would we do it again? Yes I think.

It took longer and more paperwork than we expected, but now we have what we wanted. A base in Europe that we actually use and enjoy as family.

Happy to answer if anyone is going through Greece Golden Visa process, especially about property side or things that surprised us.

Multiple CBI programs I've investigated require certified copies of vital records (i.e., birth certificates and marriage certificates) as part of the process. But in the US, at least, notaries can't certify copies of vital records, and it's dubious for online services, based on professional standards of which I'm aware, to certify copies of documents they haven't inspected in person.

I'd just send in the originals as an alternative, but programs don't seem to want originals; they want copies.

As such, how have folks overcome this hurdle? Thanks!

Hello everyone, hope you’re all doing well.

I’m Eissa, an Associate Partner at a multinational company specializing in Investment Migration and Wealth Management, with offices in Singapore and Dubai.

I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have or provide consultations for anyone interested in exploring their options.

Feel free to message me or leave a comment if you’d like to learn more about available citizenship or residency programs.

Looking forward to connecting with you!

Can anyone confirm? It looks like there isn't one yet. This program looks suspicious.

Given all the delays and uncertainties with Sao Tome, I plan to apply for Naoero. But I haven’t seen any reviews here so far.

Has anybody applied and got the citizenship? Are there any pitfalls or risks?

I had a situation last year that may be relevant for some in here.

Last year, I was assisting a UK Property Investor with a portfolio in the UK and Southern Europe who was becoming increasingly frustrated with the 90/180 Day travel restriction imposed by Brexit.

As he had a quite significant presence in Europe, he wanted increased access. After assessing his profile, I identified that a Caribbean CBI program would restore his Schengen-Free Access and a European residency program would then give him a base in Europe.

I assisted him to complete a Caribbean CBI program initially for the Immediate Mobility and I am now looking at his options for an EU Residency.

Its quite staggering the amount of times I am hearing International investors say 'I should've done this years ago'.

I do find and I'm sure many in here will agree with me, planning ahead is so vitally important to ensure a smooth continuity of operations.

Without suitable Global Mobility, these problems would have persisted for this individual and led to issues in his business activities.

Hi everyone, I am looking for 2nd passport and there is an agency in the dubai who is saying it will cost 95k. But officially this costs 200k. Did anyone get their 2nd citizenship with such a low price? Are there discounts that these agencies are getting?

agency name is MMC - Montreal Management Consultants

Any feedback is appreciated 👏

Trying to cut through the marketing fluff and outdated info (a lot of posts here still reference Portugal's real estate route which got killed in 2023, or Spain which closed entirely in April 2025).

From what I've pieced together, Hungary's Guest Investor Program, Greece's property golden visa, Italy's investor visa and Latvia (€50k, seem to be the current fast/simple options.

Portugal apparently has a ~39 month backlog now.

For anyone who's actually gone through one of these recently:

Which program did you use and how long did it actually take start to finish ?

Hi all

I just received a scanned copy of my Dominica Certificate of Naturalization (CON), with a date of signing July 21st. I started my CBI journey on Dec 31, 2025 in case anybody's wondering.

If someone has recent experience, can you please share how soon can I expect to receive the passport?

Thanks in advance!

So the EU has threatened 5 Eastern caribbean countries to revoke visa free perk by 2028. It appears "operating" a cbi program is a ground of visa suspension with the bloc. No amount of reforms will satisfy EU officials it seems.

- What will caribbean countries do?
- What will happen to those who invested in passports?
- Will EU revoke visa free previleges?

Please share your thoughts.