Citizenship By Investment: How Long Does It Take To Get A Second Passport?

When you think of obtaining the freedom and opportunities that come with a second citizenship, one important question comes up: how long will it take? That depends on the path you take.  Citizenship by investment is the easiest, quickest, and most importantly, the surest way to get a second citizenship, so that’s the path we will discuss here, specifically the faster options amongst CBI programs, the Caribbean Citizenship by Investment programs. These programs grant citizenship in 6 to 8 months, at most.

Subtopics Covered

• RBI vs CBI
• Advantages Of  CBI Program
• Process Of CBI Program (With Required Documents)
• What Causes Delays
• Aspects That Affect the CBI Processing Speeds.
• Conclusion

RBI vs CBI

First, let’s briefly discuss RBI vs CBI. In exchange for investment, Residency by Investment (RBI) programs provide the right of residence but not necessarily citizenship. On the other hand, CBI programs award you full citizenship and a passport upon completing the programs as indicated by the state.

Advantages Of CBI
Citizenship by Investment programs unlock a multitude of advantages, including:

• Certainty And Speed: In Caribbean nations such as Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, or St Lucia, If you have the funds and follow the rules you’ll most certainly get a second citizenship within a few months. 
• Visa-Free Travel: Caribbean country’s passport allows you to visit well over 100 countries worldwide, without a visa.
• Enhanced Business Opportunities: Increase your business opportunities and gain access to new markets.
• Improved Security And Stability: Take advantage of Caribbean nations’ political and economic stability and share these advantages with your family.
• Tax optimization: These Caribbean nations are tax havens. And many other countries offering CBI programs are the same. So you keep more of what you earn.  

CBI Application Step By Step

While details may vary, a typical CBI application process generally follows these steps:

1. Program Selection: Research and compare the different CBI programs and choose the one that best suits your needs. Consider factors like investment choices, visa-free travel opportunities, residency requirements, and processing time among others.
2. Due Diligence: Hire reliable government-authorized agents if possible to enable a smooth and legal procedure in the application process.
3. Application Preparation: Collect the necessary documents including passports, copies of passports, proof of address, financial statements, medical certificates, and character certificates.
4. Investment Fulfillment: After approval of your application, you need to make the stipulated investment by the selected CBI program. This could entail buying properties, government bonds, stocks, etc.
5. Citizenship: Once all the processes are completed, the government awards you citizenship and provides a second passport.

What Might Cause Delay
One reason may be that Caribbean CBI programs have recently improved their due diligence mechanisms by Joint Regional Communications Centre (JRCC) standards. The JRCC follows the due diligence phase by carrying out additional screening of the applications.

Another may be that these programs can have a backlog because they have gained popularity. Despite this fact, the programs have hired more employees.

Factors That Influence The Citizenship Process

There are particular factors that affect how long the citizenship application takes, such as the applicant’s country of origin, applicant’s country of residence, source of funds, number of countries the applicant has been a resident in for the past six months within the last ten years, previous difficult situation, such as court case.

Another factor that greatly slows down the application for citizenship is bank clearance because several other documents have to be produced for the bank to consent to the transfer.

Conclusion:

The Citizenship by Investment programs present a very good opportunity for those who would like to have off-shore business and gain access to a lot of opportunities. If you adhere to the advice in this article and seek professional assistance your second citizenship is only a few months away.