Plain English
Investment migration glossary
The jargon, explained without the jargon. Every term you’re likely to meet when comparing second citizenship and residency programmes.
- Approval in principle
- A government’s confirmation that your application has passed its checks, usually issued before the final investment is made and the passport or permit is granted.
- Authorised agent
- A firm formally licensed by a programme’s government to submit applications on behalf of clients. Reputable applications are filed through an authorised or government-approved agent.
- Biometrics
- Fingerprints and a photograph collected as part of an application. Some programmes require one short visit for this; many citizenship programmes do not require any visit at all.
- Citizenship by Investment (CBI)
- A legal route to a second nationality — and passport — in exchange for a qualifying investment or government contribution. Citizenship is usually granted for life and can be passed to children.
- Read: what is citizenship by investment →
- Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU)
- The official government body that runs a country’s CBI programme — receiving applications, conducting due diligence and issuing decisions.
- Common Reporting Standard (CRS)
- A global framework under which banks automatically share account information with tax authorities. Relevant to how financial information is exchanged once you hold accounts in new jurisdictions.
- Dependant
- A family member who can be included in your application — typically a spouse and children, and often dependent parents, grandparents or adult children. Each programme defines this differently.
- Dual citizenship
- Holding the nationality of two countries at once. Most investment-migration programmes permit it; the key question is whether your *home* country also recognises it.
- Due diligence
- The background checks a government runs on every applicant — source of funds, criminal record, sanctions and reputation. Rigorous due diligence is what keeps an investment-migration passport credible and valuable.
- Read: due diligence & the process →
- E-2 Treaty Investor Visa
- A US visa that lets nationals of treaty countries live in the United States by investing in a US business. It is popular because some second citizenships (notably Grenada, and also Türkiye) make their holders eligible.
- Grenada citizenship & the E-2 →
- EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program
- A US route to a green card (permanent residence) through a qualifying investment that creates American jobs. It leads to US permanent residence and, in time, citizenship.
- Explore US EB-5 →
- Golden visa
- The common name for a residence-by-investment permit, typically in Europe. It grants residence rights (and often regional travel) rather than citizenship.
- Compare European golden visas →
- Government contribution
- A non-refundable payment to a state fund (for example a National Development or Economic Diversification Fund) that qualifies you for citizenship. The most common — and usually cheapest — CBI route.
- Investment fund route
- Qualifying by subscribing to a regulated fund (for example a Portuguese venture fund or a Hungarian real-estate fund) rather than buying property directly. Capital is usually returned at the end of the fund’s life.
- Investment Migration Council (IMC)
- The worldwide association for the investment-migration industry, which sets professional and ethical standards for advisers and member firms.
- Minimum stay requirement
- The number of days per year you must physically spend in a country to keep a residence permit — or to qualify for citizenship later. Many golden visas have little or none; citizenship almost always requires real presence.
- Naturalisation
- Becoming a citizen of a country after meeting its residence and other requirements, rather than by birth. The residence period required varies widely — from a few years to ten or more.
- Passport Index
- A ranking of the world’s passports by how many destinations each can access (visa-free, visa-on-arrival and eVisa). A quick way to compare the “power” of different nationalities.
- Open the 2026 Passport Index →
- Permanent residence
- The indefinite right to live in a country. Some programmes (such as Malta’s MPRP or Cyprus PR) grant permanent residence from the outset, rather than a permit that must be upgraded over time.
- Explore Malta Permanent Residence →
- Residency by Investment (RBI)
- The right to live in a country in exchange for an investment. Often called a “golden visa”. It is not a passport, but most RBI programmes can lead to citizenship after a set number of years of residence.
- Read: what is residency by investment →
- Schengen Area
- A group of (mostly EU) European countries that have abolished border controls between them. A Schengen residence permit or visa allows travel across the whole area. Note that some EU states — such as Cyprus — are not yet in Schengen.
- Source of funds
- Evidence showing that the money used for the investment was earned or acquired lawfully — for example through salary, business profits, sale of assets, inheritance or investments.
- Read: the application process →
- Tax residency
- The country that has the primary right to tax your worldwide income — determined by where you live and your ties, not by which passports you hold. A second citizenship does not, by itself, change your tax residency.
- Visa-free access
- Countries you can enter without arranging a visa beforehand. The headline measure of a passport’s “strength”. Related terms are visa-on-arrival (a visa issued at the border) and eVisa (an online authorisation).
- Read: passport power explained →
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