Turkey CBI

[rb91134]

I am originally from a 3rd world country and have recently obtained a Caribbean CBI passport. My official residence is in the UAE.

I am planning on getting an additional passport as a backup given how much scrutiny the Caribbean countries are currently under. The biggest concern (apart from potentially losing Schengen access in the future) is having some of my banks/brokerage accounts get shut down because of my Caribbean passport.

My criteria for the new passport:

1. Has to be uncorrelated with my Caribbean citizenship
2. $ required <= $500,000.
3. Time required <= 12 months.

Malta is out because of the $ required for it. So my only option right now based on these criteria seems to be Turkey. I know that Turkey doesn't have Schengen access, but I can live with that. Questions:

1. Would you recommend any other alternative to Turkey?
2. Assuming the only option is Turkey, do you know of any reputable Turkish law firm that can handle the entire process for me?

Thank you.

 

[Sols]

1. Would you recommend any other alternative to Turkey?

With the given requirements, Turkey is hard to beat.

For example, Egypt recently lowered their requirement to 300,000 USD. But it's a lot less powerful than Turkish citizenship. The same can be said for several other CBI schemes (official and unofficial).

 

[Meta]

Go with a local firm. Any real estate agent would happily recommend one, some would even pay their fees. Which are like 3-5 grands. Don't go with global CBI big names. They will charge you 20-30 and refer you to a local firm. Can't recommend a name, sorry.

 

[MiddleEuroAsia]

For example, Egypt recently lowered their requirement to 300,000 USD. But it's a lot less powerful than Turkish citizenship. The same can be said for several other CBI schemes (official and unofficial).

Egypt is 250k, and you can get it for much much lower through other means if you are willing to invest some capital in the country. I obtained mine in 3 weeks.

1. Would you recommend any other alternative to Turkey?

Egypt. While travel options in Egypt may be limited, having multiple passports can make up for that. Additionally, if you have already established yourself in the UAE, having Egypt passport can complement your experiences. With a little creativity, Egypt + UAE can present lucrative prospects that are worth exploring. So, the limited travel options should not deter you.

But yeah, Undoubtedly, in the current climate, these two destinations are unrivaled and offer a plethora of opportunities waiting to be seized.

 

[rb91134]

@MiddleEuroAsia Thanks for your response. Will it be possible for you to elaborate on this: "With a little creativity, Egypt + UAE can present lucrative prospects that are worth exploring" - i.e. what are the lucrative prospects that an Egypt citizenship + UAE residency setup can provide that are not available to my current Caribbean citizenship + UAE residency setup?

 

[JohnnyDoe]

Egypt is 250k, and you can get it for much much lower through other means if you are willing to invest some capital in the country.

What are these other means?

 

[pfser]

What are these other means?

There's a new bill to come out soon.

Egypt Cuts Minimum Investment Amounts for its Citizenship by Investment Program - IMI - Investment Migration Insider

Minimums will drop in the real estate investment and bank deposit options. After a slow start, the program approved 200 applicants last year.

www.imidaily.com

 

[lacomaco]

Without knowing why do you want a Turkish citizenship with very bad visa-free travel and possible military service your question cannot be answered professionally

 

[daxbr]

There's a new bill to come out soon.

Egypt Cuts Minimum Investment Amounts for its Citizenship by Investment Program - IMI - Investment Migration Insider

Minimums will drop in the real estate investment and bank deposit options. After a slow start, the program approved 200 applicants last year.

www.imidaily.com

As part of the deal, would it be possible to convert to Islam, change name, birthdate according to Hijiri calendar and place of birth to Mecca?

 

[backpacker]

There's a new bill to come out soon.

Egypt Cuts Minimum Investment Amounts for its Citizenship by Investment Program - IMI - Investment Migration Insider

Minimums will drop in the real estate investment and bank deposit options. After a slow start, the program approved 200 applicants last year.

www.imidaily.com

The real estate options is quite attractive. The other options not so much, considering constant devaluation of EGP and the non-competitive price of a "donation".
However, do take note that Egypt applies global income taxation to tax residents. Tax rates are quite high.

 

[extremedox101]

what are the lucrative prospects that an Egypt citizenship + UAE residency setup can provide that are not available to my current Caribbean citizenship + UAE residency setup?

nothing egypt sell bulls**t. its full of poverty with low-grade passport . i spend a lot of time there , so much currency devaluation ,bureaucracy, hiking prices due to inflation, extreme corruption . however if you plan to do business in egypt they don't dig deep for source of money once you show interest in bringing dollars to country .therefore some people with not so clean money love it.
Caribbean passport on other hand is great help you travel 150 countries . cost is ideal .

 

[MiddleEuroAsia]

@MiddleEuroAsia Thanks for your response. Will it be possible for you to elaborate on this: "With a little creativity, Egypt + UAE can present lucrative prospects that are worth exploring" - i.e. what are the lucrative prospects that an Egypt citizenship + UAE residency setup can provide that are not available to my current Caribbean citizenship + UAE residency setup?

PM'ed you.

As part of the deal, would it be possible to convert to Islam, change name, birthdate according to Hijiri calendar and place of birth to Mecca?

Haha, as abusrd as your comment is, but yea you can change your name

The real estate options is quite attractive. The other options not so much, considering constant devaluation of EGP and the non-competitive price of a "donation".
However, do take note that Egypt applies global income taxation to tax residents. Tax rates are quite high.

I know the real estate option seems like the best bet for the Egypt CIP passport, but as I said, there are other options available.
Anyway, for real estate, You can pay in installments and if you have an international bank account with a local branch in Egypt, like HSBC, you could get a mortgage loan and rent out your property to cover the costs all while having your CIP passport, risk free to an extent.

What are these other means?

Pm'ed you.

nothing egypt sell bulls**t. its full of poverty with low-grade passport.

Same can be said about the carribean, there are nicer areas, and you don't have to live in Egypt either, think of it as "bridge" to more lucrative opportunities in the MENA region.

i spend a lot of time there, so much currency devaluation ,bureaucracy, hiking prices due to inflation, extreme corruption.

Are you an Egyptian? yeah I agree with the rest of your points, but again, same can be said about turkey regarding your point with currency devaluation

however if you plan to do business in egypt they don't dig deep for source of money once you show interest in bringing dollars to country.

Spot on. That's why I chose it as a bridge for a lot of things.

therefore some people with not so clean money love it.

Or people who want to stay under the radar/off the beaten track and still have access to good infrastructure and decent banks.

Standard Chartered and Deutsche bank has a representative office in EG, you also have Barclays, HSBC, Bank of Nova Scotia, citibank, commerzbank, Credit Suisse, BNP Paribas, ADIB, ADCB, FAB, ENBD, mashreq, QNB, NBK...etc.

and their entry points and SOF requirements are, well, lax compared to other countries, and once you have an account with one of them, it's easier to open accounts in other countries. as you see, most of UAE banks have strong presence in Egypt and money flows in and out of these two in less than 24 hrs. without a single question.

This could be useful for certain individuals, but it depends on how creative they can get with their businesses

 

[hokus]

I know the real estate option seems like the best bet for the Egypt CIP passport, but as I said, there are other options available.

Can you PM me about this?

 

[backpacker]

I know the real estate option seems like the best bet for the Egypt CIP passport, but as I said, there are other options available.
Anyway, for real estate, You can pay in installments and if you have an international bank account with a local branch in Egypt, like HSBC, you could get a mortgage loan and rent out your property to cover the costs all while having your CIP passport, risk free to an extent.

Newest development -> Egypt to offer five-year visa for $700 in bid to boost tourism
Let's wait for the details and how it gets implemented. If done the right way it is an interesting option not only for digital nomads.