## Citizenship for Sale

_IMF Blog, July 7, 2016_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Citizenship for Sale](https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2016/07/07/citizenship-for-sale)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/en/blogs/articles/2016/07/07/citizenship-for-sale/index.md)
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## Bibliographic details
- Authors: iMFdirect
- Published: July 7, 2016

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### Overview
- Publication: iMFdirect blog post titled "Citizenship for Sale"
- Date: July 7, 2016
- Theme: Growth and implications of citizenship-by-investment or economic citizenship programs that allow individuals to legitimately acquire passports in exchange for investment.

### Motivations for purchasing citizenship or residency
- Greater global mobility (visa free travel in many countries).
- Tax planning.
- Family security.
- Demand is driven especially by high-net worth individuals in emerging market economies.

### Economic effects and scale
- These programs generate significant financial inflows into participating countries' economies.
- For some small Caribbean states, offering citizenship in return for investment has been a "win-win" that helped boost employment and growth.
- Inflows to the public sector alone in St. Kitts and Nevis had grown to nearly 25 percent of GDP as of 2013.

### Risks, governance, and macroeconomic challenges
- Critical challenge: preserving the credibility of citizenship programs.
- Need to weed out risks to governance and sustainability.
- Small countries may confront sizeable macro-challenges in managing large inflows.

### Dissemination
- The article is linked to a fuller piece published in Finance & Development.

### About the blog and the IMF
- IMFBlog is a forum for the views of International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff and officials on pressing economic and policy issues of the day.
- The IMF is based in Washington D.C. and is an organization of 191 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation and financial stability around the world.
- The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF and its Executive Board.

*Source: "Citizenship for Sale", iMFdirect, July 7, 2016.*

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## References

- [article](http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2015/12/gold.htm)
- [https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/gold_table.jpg](https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/gold_table.jpg)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2016/07/07/citizenship-for-sale_