Residents of the United Arab Emirates looking to acquire residency by investment in other countries are switching from the Caribbean to Schengen Zone countries following the Caribbean nations’ decision to increase the rates of their citizenship through an investment program.
However, industry executives have stressed that Caribbean passports are still very popular among foreign nationals interested in residency and citizenship investment programs, VisaGuide.World reports.
The Schengen countries’ passports are popular among foreigners as they permit their holders to travel visa-free to a large number of countries and offer several other benefits. However, the process of obtaining citizenship in a Schengen country through investment remains difficult and complex.
Taking this into account, the Caribbean passport, although not as popular as before, continues to remain trendy due to low costs, the accelerated process for obtaining such a visa, and the limited number of requirements that need to be met.
Demand for Caribbean Passport Among UAE Residents Still High
Following its visa-free access to about 150 countries, including European and Schengen Zone countries, the demand for obtaining a Caribbean passport continues to remain high.
The advisory firm Citizenship Invest said that the five Caribbean countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, and St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Lucia agreed to align their policies through the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA), including the price of their Citizenship by Investment (CBI), program.
The director for business development management at Samana Group, Urusa Imran told Khaleej Times that some Caribbean countries have more than doubled the minimum amount required for investment programs such as Golden Visa which allows internationals to acquire residency in exchange for financial investment and the Golden Passport Program that permits internationals to acquire citizenship in exchange for financial investment.
The biggest reason for people wanting a second passport was visa-free access. People wanted a Caribbean passport – which can be obtained in six months – as it allowed them to travel visa-free to all of Europe and Schengen countries.
She said that for European passports, people were spending a lot of money and waiting for five to seven years. However, the point has come where the investment amount is somewhat equivalent to investing in territories such as Spain and Portugal.
When you have to invest so much, clients are calibrating investing the same amount and wait a couple of years and get a European passport, which has a lot more benefits.
In this regard, the CEO of Citizenship Invest, Iñigo De Luna, said the recent price surge has had a minimal impact on high-net-worth persons seeking citizenship by investment.
According to De Luna, for investors focused on strategic planning, the Caribbean continues to remain a highly sought-after option, even with the changes applied to the minimum amount required for investments.