Indian media is rife with reports that Vinod Adani (Gautam Adani’s elder brother), Pankaj Oswal (of Burrup Holdings Limited, one of the world’s largest liquid ammonia production companies), and Surendra Hiranandani (real estate baron and co-founder of the Hiranandani Group) have snagged golden passports. And only last year, according to data from Citizenship Invest, it was revealed that Indians make up a formidable 9.4 per cent of total global applicants for golden passports.

Indian expats in the UAE are gung-ho about the Golden Visa scheme being offered — and its benefits are myriad… think residency, business opportunities, property ownership — and not even having to live in the country for extended periods of time.

But what exactly is a golden passport?

Simply put, it’s a facility, in the form of a document, that you can buy at any of the enlisted countries that open their doors to big-ticket investment by offering citizenship; at times, they offer a golden visa, which comes with a specified timeframe, but it’s usually long enough for investors to easily apply for citizenship in due course.

Why are people keen on investing in other countries in order to acquire a ‘different’ passport?

According to globalcitizensolutions.com, the reasons are manifold.

1) “Travel mobility: Opens up travel doors with expanded visa-free opportunities. This is particularly true for Indians whose passports allow them visa-free travel to very limited countries.

2) Streamlined border crossing: Golden passports, like EU passports, provide easy access to the European Union and the Schengan Area.

3) A backup in crisis: Political instability, national emergencies, and global pandemics can potentially lead to troubling situations and attendant consequences. Golden passports provide an invaluable second option for assistance and refuge.

4) Personal safety: Golden passports are an added layer of protection concerning personal safety and security. This significantly benefits travellers from countries with limited diplomatic representation overseas.”

Another significant reason — especially for Indians — are the business opportunities and tax advantages a golden passport provides (many of the countries are tax havens).

There is an entire list of countries (Cyprus, Malta, Dominica, Grenada, Portugal, St Kitts and Nevis, Spain are on top of the heap) that offer golden passports — for a price.

Prices of investment differ from market to market. For instance, in Spain, you can purchase a property worth at least € 500,000 or invest € 1 million in shares and stocks in the local market; the minimum investment in Portugal, on the other hand, is € 250,000.

For many Indians, living abroad long enough is a sure-fire scheme to obtain a passport of the country they worked in and watched their kids grow up in. But there are exceptions. In the GCC, for instance, citizenships are rarely acquired, and many Indians who have become used to a different, more cosmopolitan, lifestyle find it tough to get acclimatised back home. For them, and for Indians who live and work in India, golden passports can be a way to “buy” their ways into a different ecosystem. —  Sushmita Bose is Managing Editor of nrifocus.com