First, clients must understand that there are ONLY two types of investment immigration schemes, first is citizenship, and second is residency. It is very important to understand the difference between citizenship and residency and each has its own distinct advantages.
Here are some quick important differences between citizenship and residency.
| Benefits | Citizenship | Residency |
| What you get? | Passport | Visa or Residence permit |
| Travel | Worldwide | Regional (schengen area) |
| Price | Cheap (starts $100K) | Expensive (starts $250K) |
| Personal Visit | NO | YES |
| Renewals | 5-10 years | 3-5 years |
| Must live | NO | NO (yes if you want citizenship) |
| Family members | Immediate | Wait until main investor application is approved |
Why citizenship is so much better?
Citizenship is often so much better than residency for thousands for reasons.
- Cheaper than residence schemes
- Hassle free
- Application package completed within 3 months (all family and children)
- No visit to country required (saves you lot of money).
- Collect your passport from agent or at consulate.
With citizenship you get passport, the entire job gets done in 3-4 months, you dont need to worry for about 10 years until your passport expires, but with residency there are so many hassles and problems you need to take care of
- Personal visit is a must and required to visit the country, including all family members.
- Pay for renting a home every month. Remember if you buy an immovable real estate you are stuck in that country.
- Hire an agent to take care of real estate or do it yourself.
- Pay income taxes, social security, healthcare and other taxes as a resident, even if you dont live.
- If you dont live for long enough (usually 5 years), no citizenship or permanent residency.
- Visit immigration office every 3-5 years to renew your residence permits (paperwork hassles)
- Slow processing times takes 3-4 months for authorities to make a decision on your renewal permits.
In a way residency programs are more expensive than citizenship by investment schemes, often golden visa / residency schemes you end up paying more as expenses.
All in all, applying for passports is two times cheaper than applying for residence by investment schemes, also saves you so much hassles.
