Antigua is not the only country that fugitive rich Indians like Mehul Choksi can simply ¡°buy¡± citizenship for. The Caribbean is a popular hotspot for people seeking so-called citizenship-by-investment. In return for investing in the country¡¯s infrastructure and development, anyone can get a second passport and citizenship ¨C without any need to have been born or even spent any time there.
It is one way these Caribbean islands fund their development, and the process takes just a few months.
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To get an Antigua and Barbuda passport, Choksi would just have had to pay a minimum of $200,000 (Rs 1.3 crore) as a contribution to the Antigua National Development Fund, or make an investment of $400,000 (Rs 2.7 crore) in a real estate project in Antigua, or an investment of $ 1,500,000 (Rs 10.3 crore) in a business there.
With the passport, he can now enjoy visa-free travel to approximately 132 countries, including the UK and all the countries of the Schengen area. He does not even need to live in Antigua and only needs to spend five days there in five years to retain his citizenship.
However, according to the Citizenship by Investment Unit of Antigua website, an applicant who is the subject of a criminal investigation is an ¡°ineligible applicant¡±. The website states: ¡°Deprivation of citizenship will occur where such registration as a citizen was obtained by false representation or fraud or wilful concealment of material facts.¡±
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Anyone with enough cash can also buy a passport for St Kitts and Nevis and have it within four months. All they have to do is to make a $150,000 (Rs 1.03 crore) contribution to the St. Kitts Sustainable Growth Fund or a $200,000 (Rs 1.3 crore) investment in a government real estate project. Once they have that passport there are 141 countries you can enter visa-free, including the UK and India.
Those looking for a low-cost option can consider Dominica where an applicant can get irrevocable second citizenship and passport, with no visit to the country or even physical residency required, for just $100,000. All they have to do is to make a $100,000 (Rs 68 lakh) contribution to the Dominica Government Fund or spend $200,000 (Rs 1.3 crore) on real estate there.
With that, they get visa-free or visa on arrival access to more than 115 countries around the world, including the EU, Switzerland, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Since the local law does not contain any restrictions on holding dual nationality, obtaining second citizenship by investment in Dominica is a confidential process that does not even require a person to renounce their existing citizenship.
It is a similar requirement for the sought after destination of St Lucia where applicants have only to make a contribution of $100,000 (Rs 68 lakh) in the National Economic Fund, $500,000 (Rs 3.4 crore) in Saint Lucia government bonds or buy a house worth at least $300,000 (Rs 2.06 crore) to get citizenship.
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Getting citizenship of Malta is much more expensive and costs at least $1,000,000 (Rs 6.8 crore) ¡ª but it gets applicants a coveted EU passport and visa-free travel to 160 countries, including the US.
To get Maltese citizenship applicants simply have to pay a non-refundable contribution of $650,000 (Rs 4.4 crore) to the National Development and Social Fund set up by the government of Malta and spend at least $350,000 (Rs 2.4 crore) on purchasing a house.
Sarosh Zaiwalla, founder and senior partner at London-based Zaiwalla and Co, said: ¡°Nirav Modi may already have got a second passport and not declared it to the Indian authorities. You would have to give up your Indian passport, but a place like St Kitts may not insist on that. For a Singapore passport, on the other hand, you have to invest and then get residency status and then apply, so it takes years.¡±
¡°If Nirav Modi has applied for political asylum in the UK then it takes at least a year for a political asylum case to get decided and then you can appeal and you would have residency in the UK during all that time whilst your case is pending,¡± Zaiwalla added.