The Complete Guide to Citizenship by Investment Due Diligence

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What is due diligence (DD)? How does it relate to the world of investment migration, specifically Citizenship by Investment? Find out in our complete guide to Citizenship by Investment due diligence.

Defining Due Diligence

DD plays a key role in RIF Trust’s industry. No longer is Residency and Citizenship by Investment shrouded in mystery. This is a multi-billion-dollar business field that is mainstream.

Citizenship by Investment programmes are transparent. The units behind them are happy to show that their offerings are above board. This is a clean industry that respects international laws.

To make the investment migration sphere spotless, Latitude and Citizenship by Investment units apply proper due diligence. This is not just a box-ticking exercise. As a client, you will be put under the microscope. This means that you will be subject to a variety of types of background checks.

Citizenship by Investment Due Diligence Requirements

Broadly speaking, you must meet similar conditions across all Citizenship by Investment Programmes. This is especially true in terms of the five Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Programmes. As a client, you will need to show that you are:

1. Financially sound; with your wealth not coming from nefarious means
2. Not a security or reputation risk
3. Not subject to any sanctions, investigations, or similar judgements or procedures

The emphasis on DD will see you have to produce comprehensive paperwork. They include, but are not limited to the following:

• Bank letters
• Bank statements
• ID(s)/passport(s)
• Police clearance certificates from your home country and country of residence
• Personal documents, including birth and marriage certificates.

Antigua and Barbuda CBI Due Diligence

You become an Antigua and Barbuda citizen by investment and by merit, too. As a safeguard to protect the programme by funding background checks, you must pay Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment due diligence fees totalling:

• $7,500 to cover you and $7,500 to cover your spouse
• $2,000 to cover dependants aged 12-17
• $4,000 to cover dependants aged 18+

In line with other Caribbean Citizenship by Investment Programmes, Antigua and Barbuda’s Citizenship by Investment Unit operates a mandatory interview for applicants and their dependents aged 16 and above. This costs $1,500.

If you’re a national of Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, or Yemen, you will need to have left these countries before the age of majority and/or permanently resided elsewhere for at least 10 years. In addition, you can’t maintain any economic connection with any of these five countries on the Restricted Countries List.

Required documents include:

1. Medical certificate including original results of HIV test dating from the last three months for you and all your dependants
2. Certified coloured copy of your current passport
3. Certified coloured copy of your national ID card
4. Original or certified copy of your birth certificate
5. Original police certificate for your home country and countries where you have lived for more than 6 months over the last 10 years.

Dominica CBI Due Diligence

Dominica also schedules a mandatory online interview for you and dependants aged 16+. The price is $1,000 per interview.

On top of this compulsory interview expenses, you are liable to pay the following Dominica Citizenship by Investment due diligence fees:

• $7,500 for you
• $4,000 for your spouse
• $4,000 for dependants aged 16 and above

If you’ve been denied citizenship in any country or been refused a visa to the EU, UK, USA or Canada, or anywhere Dominica has a visa-free arrangement with, you are ineligible as an applicant.

There are bans on applicants from Belarus, Northern Iraq, Russia, and Yemen. If you come from North Korea or Sudan, you can’t have lived there for 10 years, done business there, or retain assets in either. 

If you’re an Iranian applicant, you’re subject to enhanced due diligence. This comes with an extra price tag. You’re considered Iranian if you’re an Islamic Republic of Iran citizen or domiciled there.

Iranian applicants are liable for the following additional enhanced due diligence charges:

• $25,000 for you
• $15,000 for your spouse
• $15,000 for dependent children aged at least 16
• $10,000 for dependent children between 12 and 15

Required documentation includes:

• Medical Questionnaire and Certificate provided by a licensed medical practitioner
• Colour copies of relevant passports
• Birth Certificate
• Marriage Certificate
• Police Record from country of birth, country of citizenship, country of residence, and any country where you and dependents 16 and above have lived for longer than 6 months in the past 10 years, for each applicant sixteen (16) years and over
• Colour copy of driving licence
• Colour copies of all IDs
• Colour copies of documents related to source of funds
• Evidence of residential address
• HIV test results for you and dependants aged 12+
• A year’s worth of bank statements.

Grenada CBI Due Diligence

Required documents for Grenada Citizenship by Investment include:

• Medical health certificates for you and all dependents following an examination by a registered medical practitioner and signed by a licensed physician or physician’s assistant
• A police certificate

Grenada does not process application is you come from Belarus, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. There’s a mandatory interview costing $1,000 for you and any dependants aged over 17. The standard due diligence fee is $5,000 for you, $5,000 for your spouse, and $5,000 for all dependents 17+.

The Grenada Citizenship by Investment Committee will recommend applications based on background checks. However, the final decision to approve or reject an application is made by the relevant Minister. 

Malta CBI Due Diligence

The Community Malta Agency, the Maltese Government body responsible for Maltese Exceptional Investor Naturalization (MEIN), goes above and beyond with a four-tiered due diligence. It is as follows:

1. Standard KYC due diligence via databases such as World-Check
2. Police authority clearance includes checks through Interpol, Europol, and others
3. Banking and audit assessment to ensure you are not engaged in activities such as laundering money and financing terrorism, and can vouch for your source of investment
4. Two outsourced due diligence reports from international companies to cover as much ground as possible is covered and leave no stone unturned

MEIN due diligence fees are as follows:

• €15,000 for you
• €10,000 for your spouse
• €10,000 for dependants aged 13+

Maltese due diligence comprehensively examines your source of funds and wealth. This sets Malta apart from other countries offering Citizenship by Investment in terms of the necessary disclosure.

St Kitts and Nevis CBI Due Diligence

If you have been denied citizenship of any country or been refused a visa to any country that has a visa-free agreement with St Kitts and Nevis, you are not eligible to apply for CBI in this Caribbean country. This is also true if you’re a national of any of the following countries:

1. Afghanistan
2. Belarus
3. Iran
4. Iraq
5. North Korea
6. Russia

In July 2023, St Kitts and Nevis Citizenship by Investment reiterated its commitment to due diligence. A government notice stated that: “Investors applying for Citizenship by Investment are now required to have a mandatory interview either virtually or in person at a location specified by the Citizenship by Investment Unit and approved by the Board of Governors.”

“Interviews will be conducted by an independent professional firm commissioned by the Citizenship by Investment Unit, who will also perform background due diligence checks, or the Unit itself.”

“All background due diligence checks will be commissioned by the Citizenship by Investment Unit and will be conducted by independent professional firms from the United Kingdom, USA and Europe, and in accordance with the requirements set by the Board of Governors.”

St Lucia CBI Due Diligence

The St Lucia Citizenship by Investment Programme is a member of the regulatory Investment Migration Council (IMC). It applies painstaking attention to due diligence. This extends to you and your dependents aged 16 and above.

St Lucia employs intelligence partners near and far to maintain the integrity of its passport. This ensures it continues to be a useful tool for visa-free travel. You can continue to enhance your global mobility with this travel document.

In common with its fellow Eastern Caribbean CBI competitors, St Lucia no longer accepts investments from Belarusian or Russian nationals. 

The standard due diligence fees are $7,500 for you and $5,000 per qualifying dependant. September 2023 brought the implementation of applicant interview and identity verification. You now need to pay an extra $500 for you only.

Türkiye CBI Due Diligence

The main route to Turkish Citizenship by Investment is the real estate option. Article 35 of Law No. 2644 on Land Registry establishes the provisions. 2/3rds of the application processing time consists of due diligence of you and your family.

Türkiye, in common with competitors offering Citizenship by Investment, does not just let anybody in. It wants to weed out the rotten apples. So, it only admits those with good character.

You will have to supply police records to show that you don’t have a criminal record. Also, you must provide evidence of proof of wealth to finance your investment.

Vanuatu CBI Due Diligence

In January 2022, the Vanuatu Government addressed concerns regarding the low rejection rate of investors. It now employs the services of the renowned British FACT UK agency, to provide third-party due diligence investigations. This ensures the Vanuatu Citizenship by Investment Programme meets global, as well as local, standards of due diligence.

Your application will be liable to a $5,000 Financial Intelligence Unit fee. As part of the application process, you must supply police clearance from your home country. In addition, citizenship officers will take the thumb prints of you and all dependants older than 12.

How to Negotiate Citizenship by Investment Due Diligence

There is plenty of small print to look out for on CBI application forms. To ensure you don’t get tripped up by due diligence, consult a leader in global migration such as RIF Trust. So, don’t delay and contact us today.