Insights
Are you a high-net-worth individual who has children – or is planning to have them soon? It may well be that you’re considering applying to a citizenship by investment program, but that you’re concerned about the complications that having a family may throw up.
Is it worth uprooting the lives of young children and relocating them to an entirely new country? Will it have a major and irreversible impact upon the educational wellbeing of older children, including those preparing to attend college or university? What will it mean for your children as you get older and they grow into adulthood?
The truth when it comes to citizenship by investment is that, while it may seem like a major upheaval for you and your family, it’s actually quite a smooth and straightforward process that causes minimal disruption – and, in fact, it actually enriches the lives of you and your children immeasurably.
Let’s take a look at why you should be investing in citizenship sooner rather than later.
This is a common question, as many applicants are understandably eager to know if their children will benefit from their CBI application. After all, receiving citizenship by investment is all well and good for you personally, but what good is it if your family doesn’t benefit?
The good news is that children can be included in your application for any of the CBI programs offered across the world. They can typically be included up until the age of 30, offering you plenty of leeway when it comes to adding adult children to your application. Note, however, that in the case of Türkiye, children over 18 cannot be included in this way, and can only acquire a residence permit.
Several countries also guarantee citizenship to future children – or at least afford them the opportunity to become naturalised citizens.
Now that you know that children up to the age of 30 (with that one notable exception) can be included on your application, let’s take a look at the benefits of citizenship by investment insofar as it pertains to them.
One of the biggest benefits of countries that offer CBI programs is that they universally recognise dual citizenship. This means that you and your children will not be required to sacrifice your original citizenship in order to acquire a second passport.
The benefits of this, obviously, are huge. You will be able to travel not only to all the countries that your second passport unlocks access to, but also retain access to the countries afforded by your first. This obviously has implications beyond simple travel – it means that your children will be able to study and work in a much larger variety of countries than they otherwise could.
The benefits of this are huge. Dual citizenship can make the difference between being priced out of a European/American university or receiving a scholarship or subsidy to study there. It can quite literally change the course of your child’s future, and open doors for them that would otherwise remain closed.
Even if this were the only argument on this list for acquiring citizenship by investment sooner rather than later, it would make for a strongly compelling one.
It’s a common concern of parents applying to CBI programs that the process will be disruptive for their children – particularly if they need to up sticks and move their whole family to their new country of residence after their application is approved.
Even something as relatively minor as moving house in the same city can be hugely disruptive for children – how much more could an international move affect their development?
Thankfully, it’s extremely rare for countries with CBI programs to actually require physical residence in order to obtain citizenship. You can, in fact, become a citizen of every single CBI country except one without setting foot there.
This means that there need be absolutely no disruption to your children’s lives whatsoever. They can stay in the same school, keep the same friends, and avoid the upheaval that goes with a big move.
The one exception to this is Malta. Malta is the only country with a CBI program that requires a length period of residence in the country itself, which means that if you were to apply to their program, you would need to move yourself (and any dependents included on the application) to the country in order to acquire citizenship.
While this will admittedly be quite jarring for your children, it’s worth considering the ultimate benefits. Malta offers one of the highest standards of living in the world, provides peerless free education, offers excellent universal healthcare to its citizens, and has English as an official language. There are certainly much worse places for your children to grow up!
If there’s something that defines almost all CBI programs, it’s the generosity of their tax regimes. Most will tax you only on income within the country itself, meaning that if you’re not resident in the country (and with the exception of Malta, you don’t need to be), you won’t be paying any tax to that country. Further, few CBI countries apply gift or inheritance taxes.
What does this mean for your children? Firstly, it means that you can rest assured that they will receive their rightful inheritance in full if you’ve acquired citizenship by investment, rather than losing a huge chunk of it to the government. This also applies to any gifts you give them. This, naturally, will make a huge difference to their future prospects.
As we touched upon when talking about dual nationalities, acquiring a second citizenship can be huge for your children going forward. Holders of British Commonwealth passports, for instance, may find it much easier to get an application to a British university approved.
Further to this, some CBI countries allow their citizens to apply for long-term US business visas that can allow residency there – and, by extension, make it easy for your children to attend college there.
Finally, a second citizenship can make it much easier to attend university in the Schengen Zone – particularly in the case of Malta, as you’ll be an EU citizen and thus entitled to study anywhere that falls under the aegis of the Schengen Zone.
As we stated earlier, this can be life-changing for your children. A degree from an American/European university can open doors that might otherwise remain closed. Can you afford to pass up that kind of opportunity?
A second citizenship can help with global mobility beyond education. As we noted earlier, having a second passport (or, if you’ve chosen to relinquish your primary citizenship, simply having a passport from a CBI country) allows for excellent prospects abroad, whether your children are looking to work abroad or simply to travel.
In the case of the latter, your children will find that they are able to travel without applying for visas much more easily. Most CBI countries offer visa-free (or visa-on-arrival) travel to between 150-200 countries, making that gap year (or working abroad) much more convenient and hassle-free than otherwise. Compare this to, say, Chinese or Russian passport holders, who almost always need to undergo lengthy visa application processes no matter how much money they have in the bank.
The fact remains, then, that a second citizenship affords your children unparalleled opportunities to live their lives the way that they want to.
In many cases, CBI countries don’t merely provide citizenship for you and your immediate dependents – they provide it for as-yet-unborn generations. This doesn’t just mean any children that you might have in the future, it also means that your children’s children will be eligible for citizenship.
Note that this isn’t universally the case. Some CBI countries do not automatically grant citizenship to future generations, and it may well be that your grandchildren or great-grandchildren will have to apply for citizenship before being granted it.
Countries that automatically grant citizenship to future generations are:
For any other CBI country, it’s worth checking in advance what the situation might be with regard to future generations.
As we’ve seen, there are a great many compelling reasons for applying for citizenship by investment sooner rather than later – particularly when it comes to providing for your children and their future. The disruption is – in almost all cases – minimal, and the dividends you and your offspring will be reaping down the line are immeasurable.
Indeed, when it comes to safeguarding your children’s inheritance and ensuring a low-tax, globally connected future with excellent employment, educational and mobility prospects, there’s no beating a second citizenship. Start your application with Vancis Capital today.
As we’ve seen, there are a great many compelling reasons for applying for citizenship by investment sooner rather than later – particularly when it comes to providing for your children and their future. The disruption is – in almost all cases – minimal, and the dividends you and your offspring will be reaping down the line are immeasurable.
Indeed, when it comes to safeguarding your children’s inheritance and ensuring a low-tax, globally connected future with excellent employment, educational and mobility prospects, there’s no beating a second citizenship. Start your application with Vancis Capital today.
As we’ve seen, there are a great many compelling reasons for applying for citizenship by investment sooner rather than later – particularly when it comes to providing for your children and their future. The disruption is – in almost all cases – minimal, and the dividends you and your offspring will be reaping down the line are immeasurable.
Indeed, when it comes to safeguarding your children’s inheritance and ensuring a low-tax, globally connected future with excellent employment, educational and mobility prospects, there’s no beating a second citizenship. Start your application with Vancis Capital today.
Get in touch to discuss how we can help you with your citizenship or residency by investment goals. One of our investment migration experts will contact you to discuss your case. With over 16 years of combined experience our team has helped hundreds of families achieve freedom.
