These countries are selling their visa at discounted prices due to Corona crisis
By : Marwa Mahmoud
A number of countries that give their nationality or passport in exchange for sums of money or foreign investment were forced to offer financial discounts and cuts in search of liquidity, after a financial crisis that caused by Corona pandemic in many countries of the world.
The “Caribbean” countries have programs for granting citizenship or passport to foreigners, but these countries currently suffer from great financial distress due to Corona “that hit its tourism sectors, which prompted it to start offering” big discounts on the passports it sells to wealthy foreigners, “according to a report published by Bloomberg News Agency and viewed by Al Arabiya Net.
Many small islands in the Caribbean depend on “citizenship by investment” programs as a means of obtaining hard currency, in addition to their dependence on tourism, an industry that has been hit hard by the spread of the Corona epidemic, as the hotels and beaches of these islands have become almost completely empty.
Bloomberg says that the islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean, which are quiet islands with a population of only 53 thousand people, were among the first countries to introduce discounts in order to attract more Rich foreigners in an effort to overcome the financial crisis.
And these two islands offered a special offer until the end of the year, whereby the person wishing to obtain citizenship provides a financial contribution of $ 150,000 to the “sustainable growth fund” in the country and for this amount he receives passports for a family of four. This represents a 23% decrease from the regular price of $ 195,000.
According to “Bloomberg”, there are other islands in the same region that offer cheaper offers to obtain their nationality, including Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda.
“These days, in light of the spread of the Corona pandemic, when tourism stops, we have to find ways to find revenue to support our economy,” said Les Khan, chief executive of the investment unit in Saint Kitts and Nevis.
He added that many countries in the region, including Saint Lucia, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, and Dominica, have made changes to entice more foreigners, as some of these countries offer citizenship for an amount amounting to only one hundred thousand dollars.