Why Chinese prefer residency instead of citizenship?

China passport

Rich chinese are the biggest investors in Golden visa than than citizenship by investment (CBI) schemes, There are more important reasons for this.

  1. Dual citizenship not allowed for Chinese PRC nationals, hence they prefer residency. A significant number of chinese dont want to renounce citizenship by naturalizing abroad.
  2. Chinese prefer to invest in real estate in Europe for greater investment returns and Airbnb rentals.
  3. Rich chinese prefer top destinations such as United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia
  4. Education for children and healthcare are equally important along with safety and security in a trusted country.
  5. Many Chinese prefer asian golden schemes as it not far away mainland china and dont want to frequently travel far way from their families.

Below you will find the chart of chinese who had invested in golden visa schemes..

Golden visas issued to chinese investors

Note: EB-5 and Quebec IIP have yearly quota for chinese.

Citizenship schemes

  • Antigua received 721 citizenship by investment applications from Chinese from 2014 to 2018
  • Grenada passport scheme is preferred by chinese applicants. Over 90% of applicants are Chinese families as Grenada has visa waiver with China.  More than 2200 passports were issued to investors since the launch of the scheme.
  • St Lucia – Less than 50 chinese investors received St Lucia citizenship by investments.
  • Malta, Cyprus have small number of chinese investors applying for their citizenship schemes.

Top 10 Chinese destinations

These are the preferred immigration destinations for Chinese, according to 2018 Hurun Report. The survey shows less than 2% of chinese prefer Greece and Portugal, while close to 80% of rich chinese prefer United States and want to live American dream.

Preferred Destinations for Chinese Proportion
1 USA 79.3%
2 Canada 24.6%
3 Australia 14.8%
4 UK 10.8%
5 Ireland 7.9%
6 New   Zealand 6.4%
7 Singapore 4.4%
8 Malta 3.9%
9 Japan 2.5%
10 Greece 2.0%
10 Hong   Kong 2.0%
12 Spain 1.5%
13 Portugal 1.0%
13 France 1.0%

Source: Immigration and the Chinese HNWI 2018, by Visas Consulting Group and Hurun Report

Best Sellers


Portugal

Portugal

EUR 300,000


St Kitts and Nevis

St.Kitts & Nevis

USD 250,000


Vanuatu

Vanuatu

USD 100,000


Hungary

Hungary

EUR 250,000


St Lucia

St.Lucia

USD 240,000


Nauru Flag

Nauru

USD 105,000


Bulgaria Citizenship by Investment

Bulgaria

EUR 250,000


Request a Free Consultation

Have Questions? We assist clients investing $100,000 or more with citizenship and residence by investment programs.

Featured Properties

Premium Real Estate

Handpicked Properties for Real Estate Citizenship


A’ila Luxury Resort

Aila Resort, Saint Lucia

USD 300,000

Coral Bay Resort

Coral Bay Resort

USD 100,000


Royal St.Kitts Hotel

Royal St.Kitts Hotel

USD 325,000

One True Blue Resort

One True Blue Hotel

USD 270,000

Tamarind Hills Resort

Tamarind Hills

USD 300,000

Blog Updates

Recent News

Follow our latest updates in CBI/RBI market.

  • Portugal Permanent Residency – A Great Alternative to Citizenship

    Portugal Permanent Residency – A Great Alternative to Citizenship

    With the Portugal government amending the nationality law,  increasing the citizenship time to 10 years, Portugal’s Permanent Residency (PR) framework for GV holders remains unchanged. It continues to represent a safe, flexible and advantageous long-term residence options…

  • Vanuatu Reforms Citizenship Act

    Vanuatu Reforms Citizenship Act

    The Vanuatu Government has passed amendment to the Citizenship Act aiming to make the CBI programme fully independent and free from political interference. The amendment passed with 36 votes in favour and 10 abstentions from the opposition.…

  • Portugal Nationality Law Approved in Parliament

    Portugal Nationality Law Approved in Parliament

    On October 28, 2025,, the Assembly of the Republic approved the new Legal Regime of Portuguese Nationality Lei n.º 20/XVII/1.ª (CH) — an essential reform for the country. The Government said, the new law reinforces the effective…

Meet us at Bosco conference on Nov 4 at St.Regis, Mumbai

X