The Pros and Cons of Ius Pecuniae: Investor citizenship in comparative perspective

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to look at economic aspects of citizenship and compare states offering naturalisation to investors. By analysing different investor citizenship programs, the paper highlights the normative tension between those states that seek to maximize their economic utility and grant citizenship to investors by waiving all other naturalisation requirements, and those that uphold genuine ties with the polity as the core of citizenship by retaining them. The paper is developed as a two-level analysis of investor citizenship, starting from a global overview of facilitated access to citizenship, which is a common, yet seldom used discretionary tool of the governments. In the context of the global comparison, the paper highlights the distinction between the facilitated naturalisation for investors in countries that offer residence in the first instance (e.g., the UK, the U.S., Canada, Belgium, Australia, Singapore), and those that waive other regular naturalisation criteria (e.g., Commonwealth of Dominica and St. Christopher and Nevis). Following the global overview, the paper offers a more in-depth comparison of European countries that offer citizenship by investment while dropping other requirements, such as residence, language and knowledge of the country for these applicants.