When the world moved to a new dimension of remote working, various industries adopted their way of life to align with the technology-based, remote working environment. Governments too, redesigned their methods of operation to accommodate the new age of globalisation, and investment migration is no exception to this rule. This led to remote application process in the CBI industry.
The thought of obtaining a second citizenship through a remote application may have seemed outlandish a decade ago, but it is a very real and feasible process today. Various countries throughout the world offer remote routes to obtaining a status within the country without the need of physically being there, and this evolution has been expedited by the pandemic.
The remote application process for Citizenship & Residency and other immigration-related matters is a new development to reduce the need for in-person interactions. The process involves the use of technology such as online forms or video conferencing to allow applicants to complete the necessary paperwork and communicate with government officials.
The remote application process for citizenship and residency typically involves the following steps:
An important thing to note is that various countries had remote Citizenship by Investment processes in place before the pandemic made it a necessity.
The Caribbean Five, a coalition of Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programs in the Caribbean Sea consisting of Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts & Nevis, and St. Lucia, already allowed applicants to submit their applications remotely.
An applicant could receive their new citizenship certificates and passports while never leaving their home country through a licensed international agent.
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When St. Kitts & Nevis and Dominica first launched their CBI programs back in 1984 and 1993, respectively, the application process and delivery of the passports were conducted through the mail. Now software systems are set in place, while physical documents remain delivered by courier.
Programs, such as Malta’s Citizenship by Investment Program, or Greece’s Residency by Investment Program, required applicants to personally submit their applications within the country itself, meaning travel was required.
As COVID brought everything to a screeching halt, governments scrambled to reorganise their processes in order to adapt to the new landscape.
The Caribbean Five, already masters in remote processing, had little to do as they continued processing files remotely. Nevertheless, they did innovate to make things easier. St. Lucia, for example, launched an online payment portal to ensure applicants who could not reach banks during the pandemic had a secure way of transferring their funds.
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Antigua & Barbuda, the only country that required successful candidates to visit the nation for five days within the five years after obtaining citizenship, suspended that requirement, making it much simpler for those wanting to maintain their citizenship but unable to travel.
As things cooled down and travel corridors reopened, most investment migration programs decided to maintain their remote application processes to make it easier for applicants who did not have the time, ability, or will to travel to submit their applications.
While there remains a large set of moving parts in the process of investment migration (consultancy firms, government agents, banks, due diligence agencies, etc.), the entire process has become more streamlined than ever, making it simple for anyone to obtain their second passport from the comfort of their own home.
To know more about how you can get a second citizenship without leaving your home country, contact us today to book a consultation with one of our experts.
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