The terminology of immigration and citizenship may be confusing as phrases such as second passport, economic citizenship, residency, citizenship by investment and golden visa is often used in conjunction. It would only make us believe as if they’re all the same thing but careful look at the investment programs to be a legal citizen or resident reveals all are different so it’s important to clear the concepts and remove elements of ambiguity.
Citizenship & passport
“Citizenship” as per Oxford dictionary refers to the “status or position of being a citizen of a particular state” whereby a citizen is “legally recognised subject or national of a state or commonwealth, be it naturalised or native”.
Applying for citizenship means that you wish to be a legal citizen or national of the specific country. But being a citizen also means you must be entitled owning a passport (not obligatory and rules may change from one country to another). Contrary to a flawed data, an individual can’t have a passport of a country unless a legal citizen, though, you may find some exceptions for Panama.
Dual or multiple citizenships is term entitled to those holding more than one citizenship. It applies to individuals who’ve parents of different nationalities and thus inherits the citizenship status while immigrating to a new country and thus become naturalised. Here, it’s important noting that people who get naturalised are generally those willing to invest a substantial amount in country’s investment, especially in a government-owned project.
There isn’t any limit on the number of citizenships and passports one can own but they’re those having more than three passports. Some countries ask applicants to renounce their existing citizenship as eligibility criteria. In such case, holding two (dual) nationalities simultaneously is impossible depending on laws.
Residency
Citizenship by investment and residency are totally the opposite thing. When a candidate qualifies to be a resident of a country, he’s permitted to reside within the state as per visa terms. As a resident and not a citizen, a person isn’t entitled to a passport as he isn’t a citizen of the country.
Residency isn’t permanent (unlike citizenship) and when the first residency is bestowed, usually on the residency visa, it requires time to time renewal so that a person may continue working and residing in a country legally
Still, residency can be permanent which is usually referred to as ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain) or PR (Permanent Resident). Some states award the title following a substantial investment from the applicant’s end while others ask staying in the country for a number of years that can be anywhere from three to five and even eight!
Golden visa
While not an official visa genre, Golden Visa generally represents residency permit issued by mutual coordination of countries in the European Union basically to non-EU citizens who qualify the investment programme requisites. Most of these programmes ask to invest a substantial amount in the government-owned real estate project while the very term “Gold” is meant to attract wealthy investors from around the world.
Conclusion
Before settling down on a citizenship or residency investment programme, understand the three concepts and choose the best available option.
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