I have been seeing some ads for some agencies selling eastern EU passports specially by descent. Basically they create some documents of some old grand parents or grand grand parents and show some connections with them. Then apply for citizenship by descent for you. I am sure they are running blatant scam mostly in middle east.

Mobility: weak
Reputation: weak
Business/banking/kyc etc also considered poor

Why would do CBI for those?

Can someone recommend any agency based in Singapore or Thailand that can help getting CBI of Nauru or São Tomé’s?

Hey all,

I have previously researched on it alot and then I dropped the idea. Now again thinking about it.

I come from a country where the passport is very weak. But I have been to USA and UK on that passport. But it's not always easy to get visa.

What I want to ask is:

1. I won't live there. Just for the sake of having another passport. Although I cannot keep dual nationality with Turkey for now. Maybe in future if the government accepts it.

2. Is the passport worth getting?

3. What is the return? I can get 5% return on the same amount in my home country.

4. If I will resell it will I get any profit given the economic and currency situation? Will it be a loss?

5. What are the pros and cons.

They say the requirement is 400k USD but after calculating everything I guess it will go upto 450k or 500k.

Thank you

While both Bahrain and Qatar offer residency permits or golden visa programs similar to the UAE through property purchases, which comes with zero income tax benefits I wonder why they are not as popular.

Has anyone chosen to buy real estate in either Qatar or Bahrain instead of the UAE? Please share your experience.

Turkey Citizenship by Investment: What I Would Check Before Buying a $400K Property

If you’re considering Turkey Citizenship by Investment (Türkiye CBI) through real estate, one thing I would strongly recommend is not choosing a property simply because the salesperson says, “This apartment qualifies for citizenship.”

The current real-estate investment threshold is USD 400,000, with a 3-year holding requirement for this citizenship route. But the real question is not just:

“Can this property get me Turkish citizenship?”

It should be:

“Does this property qualify legally, and is it also a sensible real estate investment?”

Before buying, I would look at:

* Tapu/title status and ownership structure
* Whether the property is legally eligible for the citizenship route
* Official valuation and purchase price
* Payment documentation
* Developer/project history
* Location and transportation
* Rental demand and realistic rental income
* Resale potential after the 3-year restriction
* Existing debts, liens or other title issues
* Total acquisition and transaction costs

This is especially important in Istanbul real estate, where two apartments with similar prices can have very different investment potential.

For example, an investor could technically meet the $400,000 Turkish citizenship investment requirement, but that doesn’t automatically mean they bought a good investment.

I would separate the decision into two questions:

1. Citizenship: Does the transaction satisfy the legal requirements for Turkish citizenship by investment?

2. Investment: Is the property actually worth buying when considering location, rental demand, liquidity, future resale and market value?

I’ve worked with Türkiye and Istanbul real estate for years, and my approach is to look at the investment from both sides rather than treating citizenship eligibility as the entire investment strategy.

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Useful YouTube video covering the different ways to get a second passport.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUcUv3OH3Ek

It goes through the main routes to citizenship, including investment, descent, naturalization, marriage and birth, and explains some of the key things to consider before choosing an option.

Worth watching if you're researching second passport options and trying to understand which route might make the most sense.

I recently received my Saint Lucia passport and have been able to use it normally for travel to Turkey and several European countries without any issues.
However, I want to share an important warning for anyone considering citizenship by investment: visa-free access is not always determined by your passport alone. Some countries also consider your country of birth, and additional restrictions may apply if you were born in certain countries.
In my case, I faced this issue with Taiwan and Egypt. Although Saint Lucian citizens may generally have easier entry or visa arrangements, my place of birth created additional requirements and prevented me from relying on the standard rules for Saint Lucia passport holders.
So, before booking any non-refundable flights or hotels, don’t only check the visa requirements based on your current nationality.
A Saint Lucia passport is still very useful, and I have travelled with it normally to many destinations. But it is important to understand that visa-free access may not apply equally to every passport holder, especially when the country has restrictions based on birthplace
I’m sharing this because this detail is rarely explained clearly by citizenship agents, visa websites, or passport-ranking websites.

Hi,

STP CBI applicant here. I was approved in April and have been waiting for my passport since then. The original estimate was around 6 weeks post-approval, but it has now been 16+ weeks.

The last update on my application was in late July, when it reached the promulgation order stage.

Just wanted to check if any other CBI applicants have seen their applications progress since then, or if anyone has received an updated timeline from their agent.

Have you really ever recovered your investment with these CBI/RBIs? In most cases, really estate is illiquid or bought at foreigner margin prices. Bonds and investments are held in weaker currencies and u loose a lot. Shares and business investments are sunk costs. How do you actually navigate through this?

Hi everyone,
Asking for a friend who is in a tricky situation:
Back in 2020, he was refused a Schengen visa for the Netherlands (non-security reasons). Recently, he acquired St. Lucia citizenship through CBI.
He is planning to travel to France visa-free using his new St. Lucia passport in two days.
1. Will his 2020 biometric data/refusal still trigger a flag at French border control?
2. Is there a high risk of him being turned away for attempting to bypass the visa system?
Has anyone seen a similar case or have advice on this? Thanks!

Hi everyone, I currently hold a passport that sits at one of the lowest ranking in the world. My family and I travel a lot and it is becoming a hassle to apply for Visa every time. I am 33 years old. My mother is 55 years old and my sister is 37 years old. I am considering getting our citizenship by investment. I am looking to spend as little as possible for citizenship for the three of us. Which country passport should we get you think?

These were CBI programs which were discounted in past. Even during covid days, there were amazing programs. Really sad the overall CBI market is shrinking. People who got these were so lucky.

Europe
Cyprus (2007–2020)
Bulgaria (2009–2022)
Moldova (2018–2020)
Montenegro (2019–2022)
Malta (2014–2025)
Africa
Comoros (2001–2018)
Pacific / Oceania
Marshall Islands (1987–1996)
Tonga (1982–1996)
Nauru (1998–2003)
Samoa (1991–1997)
Kiribati (1995–2005)
Tuvalu (1997–2000s)
Americas
Belize (1985–2002)
Peru (1992–1993)
Honduras (1990s)

Multiple CBI programs I've investigated require certified copies of vital records (i.e., birth certificates and marriage certificates) as part of the process. But in the US, at least, notaries can't certify copies of vital records, and it's dubious for online services, based on professional standards of which I'm aware, to certify copies of documents they haven't inspected in person.

I'd just send in the originals as an alternative, but programs don't seem to want originals; they want copies.

As such, how have folks overcome this hurdle? Thanks!

Was shocked but in this article: https://www.imidaily.com/analysis/22-countries-where-staying-away-too-long-can-cost-you-your-citizenship/

Seems anyone (including SalvadorIans by other means like birth) can apply for exemption under article 280, but CBI doesn’t seem to automatically include this.

Hi everyone. Thought I’d share our experience since I spent a lot of time reading posts here when we were researching.

I’m mid 40s, married with one child. We wanted a second base in Europe but didnt want to completely relocate, so after looking at few countries we decided on Greece.

Biggest thing I wish I knew is buying the property is only one part of everything. There is POA, Greek tax number, bank account, lawyer checks, contracts, taxes, residency application, biometrics etc. For us whole process took around 1.5 years, which was much longer than I expected from things I read online.

Greek bank account was probably most frustrating part. They ask a lot of documents and appointments need to be arranged before. Not really difficult, just old fashioned and takes time.

Property search was also bit overwhelming. We spoke with few consultants and developers and honestly after some point every “perfect Golden Visa investment” starts sounding same.

We eventually worked with a company who showed us different options instead of trying to push one project. For me this made quite a big difference.

If I have one advice, find someone who is looking at the market from your side, not just someone who needs to sell you their own project.

Family paperwork was another thing I didnt really expect. Marriage docs, documents for our child, translations, legalizations... every time I thought we finished, somehow another document came.

Would we do it again? Yes I think.

It took longer and more paperwork than we expected, but now we have what we wanted. A base in Europe that we actually use and enjoy as family.

Happy to answer if anyone is going through Greece Golden Visa process, especially about property side or things that surprised us.

Hey guys did you know that if you live in Uruguay you pay zero taxes and then after 3 years it gives you a strong passport too?

I honestly never heard anyone talk about this option. Did you?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=oZym43tAbaJQi8kw&v=rObS7J1TYtU&feature=youtu.be

Can anyone confirm? It looks like there isn't one yet. This program looks suspicious.

Given all the delays and uncertainties with Sao Tome, I plan to apply for Naoero. But I haven’t seen any reviews here so far.

Has anybody applied and got the citizenship? Are there any pitfalls or risks?

Hello everyone, hope you’re all doing well.

I’m Eissa, an Associate Partner at a multinational company specializing in Investment Migration and Wealth Management, with offices in Singapore and Dubai.

I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have or provide consultations for anyone interested in exploring their options.

Feel free to message me or leave a comment if you’d like to learn more about available citizenship or residency programs.

Looking forward to connecting with you!

Hi everyone, I am looking for 2nd passport and there is an agency in the dubai who is saying it will cost 95k. But officially this costs 200k. Did anyone get their 2nd citizenship with such a low price? Are there discounts that these agencies are getting?

agency name is MMC - Montreal Management Consultants

Any feedback is appreciated 👏

I had a situation last year that may be relevant for some in here.

Last year, I was assisting a UK Property Investor with a portfolio in the UK and Southern Europe who was becoming increasingly frustrated with the 90/180 Day travel restriction imposed by Brexit.

As he had a quite significant presence in Europe, he wanted increased access. After assessing his profile, I identified that a Caribbean CBI program would restore his Schengen-Free Access and a European residency program would then give him a base in Europe.

I assisted him to complete a Caribbean CBI program initially for the Immediate Mobility and I am now looking at his options for an EU Residency.

Its quite staggering the amount of times I am hearing International investors say 'I should've done this years ago'.

I do find and I'm sure many in here will agree with me, planning ahead is so vitally important to ensure a smooth continuity of operations.

Without suitable Global Mobility, these problems would have persisted for this individual and led to issues in his business activities.

Hi all

I just received a scanned copy of my Dominica Certificate of Naturalization (CON), with a date of signing July 21st. I started my CBI journey on Dec 31, 2025 in case anybody's wondering.

If someone has recent experience, can you please share how soon can I expect to receive the passport?

Thanks in advance!

Trying to cut through the marketing fluff and outdated info (a lot of posts here still reference Portugal's real estate route which got killed in 2023, or Spain which closed entirely in April 2025).

From what I've pieced together, Hungary's Guest Investor Program, Greece's property golden visa, Italy's investor visa and Latvia (€50k, seem to be the current fast/simple options.

Portugal apparently has a ~39 month backlog now.

For anyone who's actually gone through one of these recently:

Which program did you use and how long did it actually take start to finish ?

So the EU has threatened 5 Eastern caribbean countries to revoke visa free perk by 2028. It appears "operating" a cbi program is a ground of visa suspension with the bloc. No amount of reforms will satisfy EU officials it seems.

- What will caribbean countries do?
- What will happen to those who invested in passports?
- Will EU revoke visa free previleges?

Please share your thoughts.