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Latvian banks have a residence program for 300K EUR: https://www.rietumu.lv/en/residence-permit https://www.rietumu.lv/en/residence-permit As long as the mone

by vladd 13y ago

Latvian banks have a residence program for 300K EUR: https://www.rietumu.lv/en/residence-permit https://www.rietumu.lv/en/residence-permit As long as the money is kept in a term deposit, "upon expiry of the term of residence permit investors and their family members are eligible to apply for the renewal." After some years one can apply for naturalization and gain full Latvian citizenship.

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
_delirium 13y ago
Residence programs are more common, but to take advantage of them you have to actually take up residence in the country, physically living there as your main residence. Then you must live in the country as a law-abiding, productive citizen for typically 3 to 8 years (depending on the country) before you can naturalize and get a passport. You may also be required to take a language and civics exam to do so. This at least ensures some connection between the passport holder and the country. Direct cash-for-passport schemes for someone who's never lived in the country are much rarer. Afaik, in the EU currently, only Austria sort-of has one, and it's not explicit. Like many countries, Austria can grant special-case citizenship to people who've rendered extraordinary services to Austria, but unlike most other countries, this includes not only scientific achievement and the like, but also a handful of very rich people each year, who negotiate through intermediaries a grant of citizenship in return for either a large donation, or a large investment. Mainly people from Dubai and similar places, who don't want to move to the EU (and therefore can't use the residency schemes), but do want an EU passport for travel or future-proofing purposes. The price isn't disclosed, but rumors have it that it's a lot higher than €650k, more in the €2m+ range for donations or €10m+ for investments.
- bradleyjg 13y ago
  How many law-abiding, productive people generate €650,000 in positive externalities in 3-8 years? This looks like a win-win to me.
  - glesica 13y ago
    This is completely meaningless and unimportant. Unfortunately, real people don't generally act like the "economic man" you (and I) learned about in Econ 101. Real people value social ties and community, even when the dollar value of those things is quite low. Citizenship, especially for small countries, is a form of community. Selling access to that community to outsiders who may not respect the social norms and values of the community is therefore objectionable to many people.
    - bradleyjg 13y ago
      It's completely meaningless and unimportant that there are real, concrete, benefits because some -- but evidently not a majority of voters -- admittedly irrational people have their inchoate feelings hurt? €650,000 can go towards education, social safety net programs, or a variety of other worthy causes, but the important thing is the feelings of rank nationalists who are upset that their precious citizenship cum identity is terribly diluted by being sold rather than being acquired by falling out of the right vagina. Because after all there is requirement that a natural born citizen participate in the "community".

by vladd 13y ago

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

_delirium 13y ago

Residence programs are more common, but to take advantage of them you have to actually take up residence in the country, physically living there as your main residence. Then you must live in the country as a law-abiding, productive citizen for typically 3 to 8 years (depending on the country) before you can naturalize and get a passport. You may also be required to take a language and civics exam to do so. This at least ensures some connection between the passport holder and the country. Direct cash-for-passport schemes for someone who's never lived in the country are much rarer. Afaik, in the EU currently, only Austria sort-of has one, and it's not explicit. Like many countries, Austria can grant special-case citizenship to people who've rendered extraordinary services to Austria, but unlike most other countries, this includes not only scientific achievement and the like, but also a handful of very rich people each year, who negotiate through intermediaries a grant of citizenship in return for either a large donation, or a large investment. Mainly people from Dubai and similar places, who don't want to move to the EU (and therefore can't use the residency schemes), but do want an EU passport for travel or future-proofing purposes. The price isn't disclosed, but rumors have it that it's a lot higher than €650k, more in the €2m+ range for donations or €10m+ for investments.

bradleyjg 13y ago
How many law-abiding, productive people generate €650,000 in positive externalities in 3-8 years? This looks like a win-win to me.
- glesica 13y ago
  This is completely meaningless and unimportant. Unfortunately, real people don't generally act like the "economic man" you (and I) learned about in Econ 101. Real people value social ties and community, even when the dollar value of those things is quite low. Citizenship, especially for small countries, is a form of community. Selling access to that community to outsiders who may not respect the social norms and values of the community is therefore objectionable to many people.
  - bradleyjg 13y ago
    It's completely meaningless and unimportant that there are real, concrete, benefits because some -- but evidently not a majority of voters -- admittedly irrational people have their inchoate feelings hurt? €650,000 can go towards education, social safety net programs, or a variety of other worthy causes, but the important thing is the feelings of rank nationalists who are upset that their precious citizenship cum identity is terribly diluted by being sold rather than being acquired by falling out of the right vagina. Because after all there is requirement that a natural born citizen participate in the "community".