Be careful when you obtain a Second Passport in the Caribbean
Making sure to obtain a second passport is increasingly important for one’s political, economic, and travel freedoms. The Caribbean offers a number of citizenship by investment programmes for High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI) and their families.
Here is a quick overview of the various programs
- Saint Lucia – from $240,000 + fees
- Dominica – from $200,000 + fees
- Antigua – from $230,000 + fees
- Grenada – from $235,000 + fees
- St. Kitts and Nevis – from $250,000 + fees
Alternatively there is Vanuatu in the South Pacific for $130,000 but it does not include Schengen access, which may or may not be a deal-breaker depending on your other citizenships.
Be careful when you research these programmes online
Typically, you will find websites that pitch one, or just a limited amount of programmes. This means that it is in their interest to pitch the programmes for which they have deals with.
The reality is that all of these programmes have slight differences, which may matter to you. Some have visa-free access to Russia, or China, which others don’t. Some of these countries don’t charge income tax to their residents, whilst others do. This may or may not matter depending on whether you want to live there.
Some programmes also have a better reputation than others, which means less skeptical looks at banks and airports. Some allow your unborn children and grand-children to obtain citizenship, whilst others make it more complicated. If you had issues with the law in the past over minor issues, such as drink driving, some programmes will gladly accept your application fee and then reject you, whilst others understand that most of us made mistakes during our youth. In some cases parents and even grand-parents can be added.
My point is that you must be careful who you work with as most of the information is not in pamphlets and basic PDFs
You can obtain a second passport in the Caribbean by buying real estate, but be careful!
There are typically three ways to obtain citizenship in these countries.
- Through donation, as listed above
- By holding local government bonds for a number of years
- By buying approved real estate
Agents helping with applicants absolutely love the selling the real estate option. Why? Because they make a ton of commission from the developers.
Avoid such “approved real estate”
I do a lot of real estate deals, and write a lot about international real estate as I travel the world on the prowl for deals. (See the international real estate research).
I can tell you that these “approved real estate” programs are typically overpriced. It’s unlikely you will get your full investment amount back after the lock-in period (typically 3-5 years).
Counterintuitively, making a donation is the more cost efficient way to obtain a second passport in the Caribbean, especially taking into account opportunity cost.
This is why I work with Laszlo
Laszlo has been in the high-end immigration industry for close to 30 years. He is the MD of a company helping HNWI obtain second citizenships. He won’t try to up-sell you an overpriced piece of real estate, but rather tries to understand your needs to help you choose the programme that is best suited to you and your family.
Discussion with Laszlo comparing Caribbean passports with the more affordable Vanuatu (South Pacific) option
I also had an interesting discussion with Laszlo on the type of documents that are typically required to apply for a citizenship by investment.
Get a second passport with Laszlo
Laszlo will help you obtain a second passport in the Caribbean or any other country from A to Z.
If you are a HNWI and would like to discuss your citizenship by investment options, get in touch with Laszlo. He, or someone in his team, will offer a free consulting session where you can explain your objectives. You’ll be offered insight, guidance, and exact quotes.
Or send him an email laszlo@thewanderinginvestor.com. Make sure to include your Whatsapp number if you use it.
Other ways to get Golden Visas and Citizenships by Investment:
- Saint Lucia Citizenship by Investment
- Best Deal for the Citizenship by Investment in Turkey
- How to obtain Vanuatu Citizenship by Investment
- St Kitts & Nevis Citizenship by Investment
- Buy affordable real estate to obtain the Egyptian citizenship by Investment
- How to get Residency / a Golden Visa in Italy