Golden Passports

Vox.com published an explainer about golden passports, which provide citizenship and travel documents for individuals who pay significant sums as investments in property or other public goods in foreign countries. These citizenship-by-investment paths short circuit the usual processes for admission in approximately 22 countries. The passports can cost anywhere from $100,000 on the low end to more than $1 million on the high end. Many countries do not require the passport holder to reside in the country issuing the documents.

Their use is on the rise in America and has historically been used in Russia and China. Wealthy individuals prize these passports because of their ease and the way they can smooth travel and expedite citizenship. For example, accoding to Vox, an ex-google executive applied for Cyprus’ citizenship-by-investment program in order to travel to the European Union during COVID lockdowns. Harlan Crow, the billionaire GOP donor, and other wealthy individuals purchase passports to Caribbean islands. The government awards citizenship and a passport in recognition of the “contribution” to real estate, a government program, or philanthropy. (Sometimes celebrities and professional athletes do not even need to apply before receiving citizenship at the government’s discretion.)

Critics saying that the practice cheapens citizenship and is unfair to the nonwealthy persons who face numerous obstacles and long waits before they can obtain citizenship. There have also been controversies associated with shady uses of the passports to shield individuals from liability or launder money, for example. Some countries have been closing down their programs in response to these misuses. 

You can learn more about golden passports in Kristin Surak’s new book, The Golden Passport: Global Mobility for Millionaires (Harvard Press 2023). A law review from Immprof blogger Kit Johnson discusses them in her 2018 law review article, A Citizenship Market.

MHC