Funny that the EU would ban those with purchased passports but show up on a raft with no documentation of any sort and you are welcomed with open arms.
Classic right wing babble... The ones coming on a raft are asylum seekers, people who pay multiple 100k for a passport are probably mainly tax rich tax evaders.
I am uneasy about this. They have valid passports. So now any country can unilaterally decide which passports are valid. What’s next? Oh, you had your gender marker changed, your gay. I don’t expect Norway to do it. But they are paving the way for others to do it. A slippery slope.
My partner and I moved to Malta 6 months ago on a retirement visa. Process was smooth due to guidance from the team at ACT. https://www.act.com.mt/ message me for more info on process we followed.
As a CBI passport holder myself, this strikes me as counterproductive. CBI holders have passed both domestic and international background checks, met financial independence thresholds, and demonstrated the means to invest globally. The criteria for citizenship by investment are based on the character of the individual, not the circumstances of their birth. Norway is effectively penalizing people for choosing their citizenship deliberately rather than inheriting it . . . which is a strange position for a country that prides itself on meritocratic values.
Such a valuable post. We have considered a second passport by investment, but it never made sense to us financially. With the way the world is right now, I suspect we may see more stories like this. Interesting days.
1. Boy am I glad I got my passport because my grandparents' brothers were murdered rather than paying 200,000 euros. 2. This explains why Portugal ended the golden visa program. Thanks for the primer.
Vanuatu is a well-recognised centre for money laundering and those passports were almost exclusively held by people you don’t want in your country. No mistakes were made in processing. The system was corrupt and everyone knows it. AML/CTF means countries MUST crack down. Know where Vanuatu never had visa-free access, while still accessing Schengen? Australia. And there’s a reason for that. The concept of passport for purchase is ludicrous and only of interest to the wrong people. And Vanuatu has spent decades courting them and making their financial system as opaque and inviting as possible. It’s no innocent little island of naive and capacity-constrained bureaucrats.
But "everyone knows it" needs some actual evidence behind it.
The Guardian actually got the names of all 2,000+ Vanuatu applicants from 2020 and went through them. They found a handful of questionable cases, most involving people who became problematic after getting approved.
The "only wrong people" part I really disagree with. Approx. 50,000 people get CBI citizenship every year globally. Most are buying travel freedom or a Plan B. A few bad headlines don't represent the whole population.
Vanuatu's standards were too loose and the EU suspension was probably fair. But assuming every buyer is a criminal is just wrong.
I’m a former diplomat and Pacific island expert. I know a bit more about it than you are giving me credit for. In the Pacific, everyone knows, it’s a small place and information is currency. The Guardian has no access to suspicious matter reports from the international banking system, they only see what reaches the courts and that is much, much less than what is known.
The Norwegian government calling second passports "fraud by omission" reveals how citizenship itself becomes a commodity when wealth can purchase belonging. This crackdown suggests we're witnessing the collapse of the Westphalian order's final pretense that nations are anything more than exclusive clubs with varying entry fees. What happens to national identity when the ultra-wealthy treat passports like collectible cards, and governments respond by revoking the very concept of dual allegiance?
Probably prudent, any wealthy American or Israeli citizen can just buy another passport and get unfettered access to their citizens. Gotta protect those borders from the terrorists, right?
Funny that the EU would ban those with purchased passports but show up on a raft with no documentation of any sort and you are welcomed with open arms.
That's a whole other discussion in itself. Just a note, Norway is not an EU-member however, but they are part of Schengen.
Classic right wing babble... The ones coming on a raft are asylum seekers, people who pay multiple 100k for a passport are probably mainly tax rich tax evaders.
Classic left wing babble. There are a number of reasons to get a second passport. I have one, through ancestry.
Keep guessing your way through life- it's the millennial lefty trademark.
Ohh strong argument! Chapeau! Boomer keep booming ;)
I am uneasy about this. They have valid passports. So now any country can unilaterally decide which passports are valid. What’s next? Oh, you had your gender marker changed, your gay. I don’t expect Norway to do it. But they are paving the way for others to do it. A slippery slope.
It's a very slippery slope!
As the author noted, it wasn't allowed at the beginning, it was not just enforced, so when people complain that it now is, is kinda stupid for them
My partner and I moved to Malta 6 months ago on a retirement visa. Process was smooth due to guidance from the team at ACT. https://www.act.com.mt/ message me for more info on process we followed.
Thanks Margo, thats very helpful that you share someone that you can recommend! I will DM you about this, if you don’t mind.
As a CBI passport holder myself, this strikes me as counterproductive. CBI holders have passed both domestic and international background checks, met financial independence thresholds, and demonstrated the means to invest globally. The criteria for citizenship by investment are based on the character of the individual, not the circumstances of their birth. Norway is effectively penalizing people for choosing their citizenship deliberately rather than inheriting it . . . which is a strange position for a country that prides itself on meritocratic values.
Yes, I agree this measure of taking matters into their own hands without any legal justification is concerning.
Retire
Added you!
Whaaat, this is crazy! Great to keep up to date through you as always, Benny 🫶
You are most welcome! 😎
Such a valuable post. We have considered a second passport by investment, but it never made sense to us financially. With the way the world is right now, I suspect we may see more stories like this. Interesting days.
Thanks guys, appreciate it! And yes, will be interesting to see what else is to come.
Retire
Hey Stacia, you can either subscribe or send me your mail via DM, then I can add you! :)
1. Boy am I glad I got my passport because my grandparents' brothers were murdered rather than paying 200,000 euros. 2. This explains why Portugal ended the golden visa program. Thanks for the primer.
Portugal did not end its Golden Visa program. The requirements for approval changed, but it is very much active.
Very welcome! :)
Passports for sale. Great.
When are you getting yours? :)
I'm on social security and I can afford to pay my bills but I can't afford to do anything else.
You apparently can afford to pass judgment on others and how they set priorities.
You're the one that's making a judgment. About me. I was just stating a fact about me that's not judging anybody it's just a fact.
Thank you—such a clear and useful post for those of us looking for options outside our home country
Very welcome Christine! And thanks :)
Vanuatu is a well-recognised centre for money laundering and those passports were almost exclusively held by people you don’t want in your country. No mistakes were made in processing. The system was corrupt and everyone knows it. AML/CTF means countries MUST crack down. Know where Vanuatu never had visa-free access, while still accessing Schengen? Australia. And there’s a reason for that. The concept of passport for purchase is ludicrous and only of interest to the wrong people. And Vanuatu has spent decades courting them and making their financial system as opaque and inviting as possible. It’s no innocent little island of naive and capacity-constrained bureaucrats.
I agree background checks should be rigorous.
But "everyone knows it" needs some actual evidence behind it.
The Guardian actually got the names of all 2,000+ Vanuatu applicants from 2020 and went through them. They found a handful of questionable cases, most involving people who became problematic after getting approved.
The "only wrong people" part I really disagree with. Approx. 50,000 people get CBI citizenship every year globally. Most are buying travel freedom or a Plan B. A few bad headlines don't represent the whole population.
Vanuatu's standards were too loose and the EU suspension was probably fair. But assuming every buyer is a criminal is just wrong.
I’m a former diplomat and Pacific island expert. I know a bit more about it than you are giving me credit for. In the Pacific, everyone knows, it’s a small place and information is currency. The Guardian has no access to suspicious matter reports from the international banking system, they only see what reaches the courts and that is much, much less than what is known.
The Norwegian government calling second passports "fraud by omission" reveals how citizenship itself becomes a commodity when wealth can purchase belonging. This crackdown suggests we're witnessing the collapse of the Westphalian order's final pretense that nations are anything more than exclusive clubs with varying entry fees. What happens to national identity when the ultra-wealthy treat passports like collectible cards, and governments respond by revoking the very concept of dual allegiance?
It should deport all colored people instead
Norway was a bargain. The USA wants $800,000 to 1 Mil. !
Probably prudent, any wealthy American or Israeli citizen can just buy another passport and get unfettered access to their citizens. Gotta protect those borders from the terrorists, right?