In Kuwait, a foreigner can hope to be granted citizenship only for special merits
You need to spend your funds on starting a business that will provide jobs for at least two Britons. The investor's family members do not receive citizenship but can be content with a long-term entry visa.
Austria
To obtain Austrian citizenship, bypassing the "temporary residence permit" status, you need to invest at least 6 million euros in the country's economy – either in a joint venture or by starting your own business. In this case, a passport can be expected 9-18 months after the investment.
Canada
Canada also has a "Passport for Investment" offer, but there it is enough to transfer 800 thousand Canadian dollars ($816 thousand) to the Immigration Service of Canada, which will be returned to you after five years. Naturally, no interest will be accrued on these funds – this is the fee for obtaining permanent residence for you and your family. You can take out a loan for this investment, but then you will have to contribute your own $230 thousand, which is non-refundable.
To obtain Latvian citizenship, and thus the ability to travel visa-free within the EU, it is enough to purchase real estate in the country for 70,500 euros. Moreover, since 2010, the requirement for future Latvians to live in the country for 1.5 years has been abolished. But among the mandatory requirements are passing a Latvian language exam and renouncing other citizenship. This option is actively used by citizens of Russia and China. As of August 2012, representatives of 26 countries have used this right, buying more than 1,350 Latvian residential and commercial properties. The dominant position among buyers was held by Russian citizens (74%). And Chinese prefer to rent out their new housing – i.e., they do not plan to live in Latvia.
A passport of the Republic of Cyprus can also be obtained, but in addition to purchasing real estate, you will need to make a large donation. "If you donate 100 thousand euros to a local hospital, the interior minister will be very happy. He will thank you, come to your birthday party or company opening, find you a priest to bless the office. And you will get a passport of the Republic of Cyprus quite quickly, unlike ordinary mortals who, after the seven years of residence required by law, still have to beat the pavement for about three more years," says Varvara, a Kiev native who frequently visits Cyprus.
Saint Kitts and Nevis
The oldest citizenship-by-investment program operates in the island state of Saint Kitts and Nevis (Caribbean Sea), whose passport allows visa-free travel to the UK, Canada, South Africa, Switzerland, the EU, Japan, and South Korea. It has existed there since 1984 and allows granting citizenship to individuals not residing on the islands. This requires an investment of $250,000 in the Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation. But this investment is non-refundable.
Denmark
If you find a job in Denmark, and therefore, first of all, know the Danish language, you can count on a green card, as can your spouse or partner and children under 18. And it is easiest for a Ukrainian to find work in Denmark as an IT specialist, construction worker, shipbuilder, or doctor. Only after 2 years of permanent residence and legal work is it possible to obtain a temporary residence permit, and after 9 years, citizenship. Moreover, if you leave the country for more than a month, your residence permit is canceled. After submitting documents for citizenship, you will have to pass tests on knowledge of the Danish language, laws, traditional customs, and values of Danish society. A foreigner with a criminal record for committing criminal offenses cannot apply for Danish citizenship.
There is an opportunity to obtain Danish citizenship through family reunification – you can apply for citizenship if your close relative (children under 18 and parents) lives in Denmark and either you or they need each other's support. In the case of reunification of husband and wife, the spouses must pay a deposit of 50,000 kroner ($6,000) to the state, half of which is returned after six months if the second family member – the citizenship applicant – passes the Danish language test, and the rest is returned after obtaining permanent residence. It is important that such a family has permanent housing, even if rented, the spouses are over 24 years old, and they must prove that their connection to Denmark takes priority over their connection to their country of origin.
Kuwait: Save the Emir and Perform a Feat
Which citizenship is practically impossible to obtain is that of Kuwait. Even marriage and the birth of children there do not grant this right. Citizenship here is granted by the Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. And he does this on major holidays, pleasing no more than 20-30 people a year. A foreigner can hope to be granted citizenship only for special merits, for example, for a feat in war for the emirate or for saving the emir from an assassination attempt. Thus, the Kuwaiti authorities want to protect their national wealth from seekers of a better life.
Citizens of Kuwait are entitled to free education (for the especially gifted, tuition at leading universities in the world is paid for), free medical treatment in any country in the world, interest-free housing loans (the Quran prohibits making money from money, i.e., lending at interest), a minimum salary in the public sector of $2,500 (for guest workers – $1,000), $240,000 for a wedding, a loan of $1 million for building a house. But most importantly, when oil prices rise on the world market, the emir forgives all debts of his subjects and all loans are written off.
Mozambique: Marry a Servant
Another common way to change citizenship is marriage. For example, in Mozambique, a foreign woman must live in marriage with a local for 5 years to qualify for citizenship, while a man must do so for 10. And, as a resident of Maputo, Dmitry, told us, there are Ukrainians who became citizens of Mozambique this way: “My acquaintance Olga had long been working here as a nurse and initially did not intend to change citizenship, but recently Mozambique tightened laws on hiring foreigners, and the Ukrainian woman thought about marriage. A friend offered her servant Joao as a husband. He agreed, but immediately stipulated that he expected a reward. They agreed on $300 and had a wedding.”
Iceland
One can apply for Icelandic citizenship three years after marriage or after 7 years of living in the country, while being abroad for no more than 18 months at a time. The term may increase due to poor language skills or an offense. One fine for a traffic violation delays obtaining a passport by a year, murder by 14 years.
“I came to Iceland in 2001 right after school. My father had been working there for a long time. I studied a little at college, worked at a fish factory, on a construction site. Then I returned to Ukraine, and when the crisis began, I came back. I prepared for two years to obtain Icelandic citizenship, worked, paid taxes regularly. I passed the language exam without any problems: it's very simple. I gathered certificates from the Ukrainian and Icelandic police, tax records for 3 years, etc.
“I got a recommendation letter from an Icelandic friend, where he described that I successfully integrated into local society and have decent intellectual abilities,” said a former Crimean, now an Icelandic citizen, Konstantin. “I found out about obtaining citizenship from a newspaper, where at the end of a news story about an Iranian who once almost set himself on fire in protest against officials' indifference to his problem, there was a link to the list of the Parliamentary Commission of those who received citizenship in the outgoing year. I found myself in the list, there was an explosion of emotions and joy. And on December 31, an official citizenship order arrived by mail.”
Of course, one must also have a permanent job. And in Iceland, just like in EU countries, to hire a foreigner, the employer must first announce a recruitment among locals, then among EU citizens, and only then among other applicants, including Ukrainians.
Irina KOVALCHUK,
“Segodnya”