Where is it cheaper to buy citizenship and a residence permit?

Azerbaijanis go to live in other countries. This has always been the case since the Soviet era. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the difficult nineties, whole families left the country. Departure "forever" continues to this day.

1 million 147 thousand people from Azerbaijan live in other countries today, according to the Migration Policy Institute. 767 thousand of them live in Russia. Another 82 thousand live in Ukraine, 48 thousand in Kazakhstan, 20 thousand in the USA, the same number in Uzbekistan, another 19 thousand in Germany and 17 thousand in Turkey.

Changing the country of permanent residence is a natural right of any person. In order to arrive in another country, not to come into conflict with local migration legislation, you need to know the rules for obtaining a residence permit and citizenship. On February 28, 2023, Henley & Partners published annual ratings of programs for obtaining a residence permit (residence permit) and citizenship through investment, that is, using the right to a simplified procedure due to a financial contribution in this country.

The investment residency program is another way to obtain a temporary and permanent residence permit, according to which a foreigner needs to invest in the country, and then he will receive a temporary residence permit, usually for one or two years with the right to extend every year or two years.

European programs are headed by both ratings: Malta is the best investment citizenship; Portugal is the best investment residency.

For the eighth year in a row, Malta has become the best in the ranking of citizenship programs with the process of obtaining citizenship by naturalization. According to its terms, investors can obtain citizenship after 36 months in the status of a resident (or 12 months in exceptional cases) and after making significant investments in the country's economy.

Caribbean countries occupy high places. Investors are attracted by the low cost of participating in the programs, as well as the opportunity to travel without a visa to the countries of the Schengen area, Great Britain, China, etc.

The lowest investments for obtaining citizenship are provided in the island poor states of Vanuatu, Santa Lucia, Antigua, and Barbuda - 100 thousand dollars. In Turkey, you will have to invest 400 thousand dollars in the local economy, and then the investor will be granted citizenship of the Republic of Turkey.

In the rating of residence permit programs for investments, as a year ago, the first two places are occupied by Austria and Portugal. The top three are completed by the programs of Greece, Italy, and Switzerland.

A residence permit in Thailand can be "bought" for only 19 thousand US dollars. In Europe, the cheapest investments for a residence permit are established in Lithuania - 60 thousand US dollars.

In Azerbaijan, it is also possible to obtain a residence permit and citizenship through investment in the economy (purchase of real estate) or an invitation from a local employer. There is no need to take an exam in the local language, as most other "new homeland" require. The law provides for investing at least 500,000 manats ($295,000 as of April 2022) in the country's economy; the presence of real estate in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the amount of at least 100,000 manats ($59,000 as of April 2022); making a term deposit in the amount of at least 100,000 manats in the banks of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The “Henley & Partners” ratings used the following criteria to analyze investment citizenship programs: reputation, quality of life, visa-free entry, application processing time and quality of information processing, compliance, investment requirements, the need to live in the country, the possibility of moving to other countries, the need to visit the country, transparency of the procedure.

To determine the program's position in the rating of residence permits through investments, 10 indicators were used: reputation, quality of life, taxation, visa-free entry to other countries, the period of consideration of the application and the quality of information processing, compliance, investment requirements, total expenses, terms of obtaining citizenship and requirements for obtaining citizenship.