World’s wealthy look to Turkey and the Caribbean for alternative citizenship during the pandemic

Research by Astons, the international experts on real estate, residency and citizenship through investment, has revealed that Turkey has become the pandemic destination of choice for those seeking alternative citizenship, along with a number of Caribbean nations.

Astons also expect Turkey to become the destination of choice for the world’s wealthy when it comes to securing additional citizenship in the coming years.

Astons analysed current investment data from the CBI on the uptake for alternative citizenship, as well as forecasting how this uptake will change by 2023 based on data from the last five years.

The latest research shows that with an annual increase in citizenship investment of +147%, the Turkish program has soared in popularity during the pandemic, with an estimated 13,322 investors seeking Turkish citizenship in 2020.

This is by far the highest level seen during the pandemic, with Saint Lucia seeing the second largest number at 2,481 followed by Antigua and Barbuda (1,317), while Grenada has also proved popular (1,111) seeing the second-largest annual increase at +36%.

However, Astons forecasts the popularity of Turkish citizenship by investment to continue to grow over the coming years, with the program forecast to see an average annual increase of +31% until 2023.

This would see as many as 30,540 investors opt for Turkish citizenship in 2023 alone, generating $7.6bn for the country based on the minimum investment requirement of $250,000 alone.

Managing Director of Astons, Arthur Sarkisian, commented:

“Turkey has really become the destination of choice for the super-wealthy keen to secure alternative citizenship during the pandemic. Investment levels more than double in 2020 alone and this growth is expected to remain on a long-term basis.

The nation offers a relatively affordable minimum investment and is perfectly positioned geographically to entice interest from Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

That said, it will be interesting to see how this demand fluctuates should Turkey see stiff competition in the form of a Russian investment program. While many details are yet to be confirmed, the first program of its kind in Russia looks set to offer a range of benefits that could well draw investors away from Turkey and other popular citizenship by investment programs.”