swiarra020 412 Second Residencies Through Cheap Real Estate Investments |: Reader View ‘nomadcapitalis.com 12 Second Residencies Through Cheap Real Estate Investments | Last Updated: August 24, 2020 Dateline: Twat, Montenegro ‘As those of you who are regular readers know, | use wh: call the “fect strato’ to stay globally mobile while establishing bases in certain countries. While 'm only in my mid-thities, | sometimes joke that m already an old man. | just can't handle the pe-petvl traveler Westy that | lived in my twenties, So, | decided to pick a few of my favorite places and settle dawn, and that meant gating a couple of easy second residencies ‘One ofthe places that | decided to do this was in Montenegro. Here, | was able to get a residence permit simply by buying property where | could then live during the pleasant summers, and because the cost of lving here is so low, | was able to get a nice place and ‘a residence permit for well under $100,000, You see, one of the easiest ways to establish residency in a country isto Invest in rel estate, but not all sidoncy and citizenship by Investment programs are created equal ‘You might be able to get cheap real estate and an easy residence permit in a county like Camivosia, but if you're anything ke me, then you're probably looking for @ place that's much more developed ‘On the other hand, you can get residency by investment in much more livable countries through programs lke the EU's Golden ‘Visas, but those programs can be expensive and ineicient. Infact, a growing number of Nomad Capitalists are trying to avoid the EU altogether thanks to Is high taxes, onerous regulations, and high cost of living. Unless your heart is set on an EU residency, then you'll nd much better options in emerging countries in Easter Europe, Latin ‘America, and Asia. For example, why invest 250,000 euros in bankrupt Greece Just because i's an EU country when nearby Montenegro offers residency fora fraction ofthe price? It you're wiling to venture off the besten path, then you may want to consider the residencies inthis article, There are plenty of “hidden gems" around the world with lower investment minimums and shorter application processing times, and some of these countries offer the chance to obtain a second passport through naturalization, too. ‘chromo-extansionstkmhokpogledimpntdbegandkbrikcldaatreadorindex htm?‘wrarre020 412 Second Residencies Through Cheap Real Estate Investments |: Reader View ‘As you read through this st, however, keep in mind that the landscape is always changing inthe realm of second residencies and citizenships. As a result, some of thse numbers may change. In fact, since | orginally published ths list in 2017, Georgia upped its minimum investment from $35,000 to $100,000. ‘The world of second residency is always influx, so my team and | will do our best to keep abreast of any changes to these residency by investment programs. In this article, well discuss why you should consider getting residency by investing in cheap real estate as well as 12 countries where you can do that rather easily The Benefits of Residency by Real Estate Investment Hf you'te looking or a place to lve, a place to invest, or a way to boost your tax strategy, gelting an easy second residence by investing in cheap real estate can surely benef you. Whether you're trying fo escape high taxes at home or you're a perpetual traveler looking to slow down, geting a residence permit with a cheap real estate investment isa solid strategy for quickly establising a home base in another county, ‘You see, investing in real estate is one of the easiest ways to get a residence permit. You won't need to find a job, enroll in school, or \wait until you're relied —you can have your residency within months simply by buying an apartment and filing out abit of paperwork. Investing in cheap international real estate is also a great way to boost both your tax strategy and investment portfolio. In many countries ~ including the United States ~ foreign real estate is considered a nor-reportable asset, which means that you won't need to pay tax onit unless you sell or rent your property. ‘Addtionally, becoming a resident of a tax-riendly country can help you reduce your tax burden by allowing you to become a tax non- resident at home, or if you're a US citizen, itcan help you claim the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, ‘Your investment wil also help you enhance your wealth by taking part in the growth of another county. Many of the up-and-coming countries on this list have rising real estate markets that wil allow you to eam rental yields and appreciation retums that you couldn't ‘chromo-extension:tkmhokpogledimpntdbegandkbrikicldatatreadorindex htm ?id=23, 28‘wrarre020 12 Second Residencies Through Cheap Real Estate Investments |: Reader View ‘even dream of in more established markets. Finally, getting an easy second residency can often lead to citizenship. Many countries will allow you to naturalize after lving there fora few years, so getting a residence permit can be an important fst step inthe process of getting a second passport 12 Easy Second Residencies Via Cheap Real Estate Investment Now that you understand the benefits of getting an easy second residency through cheap real estate, let's dive into the countries whore you can do just that [While this list int exnaustive, these counties give you the best value in the world of residence by investment. For the most part, these countries are wellleveloped and quite vable, Best ofall, they allow you to become a resident if you make ‘even the cheapest of cheap real estate investments, However, as you're reading, | urge you to keep your goals and long-term strategy in mind. For instance, not all countries on this Ist ‘offer a path to citizenship, so if you're looking to eventually get a second passport, then you may want to rule those countries out. Wit tat sald, here are 12 second residency and citizenship options avaliable to anyone willing io buy cheap realestate If you want a second residency with no investment minimum, Albania can be an attractive option. 1. Albania Minimum Investment: $0° ‘Albania offers temporary residency to any teal estate investor who purchases a habitable property for thelr own use. “The good news is that there are a wide array of incredibly cheap condos on Albania’s central and southern coast with prices starting ‘round 20,000 euros, Ive always found Albania to be more bureaucratic than its neighbors, and I find that it has less to offer. Dont believe rumors that Albania will somehow join the EUs that's quite far away ~ if i's inthe cards at all Quite frankly, Albania's beaches simply don’t compare to those in Montenegro or Croatia, and Albania's passport isthe worstin the region next to Kosovo. Buildings atthe waterfront of Copacabana Beach in Brazil could be a fantastic investment option 2. Brazil Minimum Investment: $160,000 ‘Thee Is chatter on the internet of Brazil offering an “economic eizenship program.” which could not be further from the truth, Economic citizenship means that you make an investment in exchange for immediate citizenship; often, its actually a donation or at least a really bad investment. Brazil has no such program, requiring anywhere from one to five years to be naturalized, Itis possible, however, to make a cheap real estate investment tothe tune of 500,000 reals - about $160,000 — in Brazil in exchange for what s called a permanent visa. ‘The process involves forming a Brazilian company, sending your money in, and then selecting from any number of cheap real estate investment options and making deals as you please. It's rather flexible, buts also among the most bureaucratic programs on earth. That said, Brazil is a huge county with ne shortage ‘of properties to purchase to sult your lifestyle or business needs, With a vibrant culture and scenery, Colombia can be an excellent place to get residency by cheap real estate investment ‘chromo-extension:tkmhokpogledimpntdbegandkbrikcldaatreadorindex htm ?id=23, se‘wrarre020 412 Second Residencies Through Cheap Real Estate Investments |: Reader View 3. Colombia Minimum Investment: $23,000" ‘South America is one of the most welcoming places for foreign investors, | have done many deals there myself and have a personal home in the county. ‘Colombia is one of the world’s hidden gems, and plenty of expat forums and newsletters have discussed buying property there ~ particulary in Medellin real estate you want to get a Colombian residence permit, the minimum investment that you can make is about $23,000 in a Colombian business, However, if you want to invest that litle, oul likely be buying a parcel of what somebody else is doing, and sadly, many of these investors end up making ridiculous “investments” at the hands of fellow expats selling overpriced property or franchise shares. It you're looking for a second passport, then investing the lower amount will increase your timeline for naturalization to ten years. instead of five, Columbia expects investments to be equal to 650 times Columbia's minimum wage, which is continually changing. 0, i you plan on going it alone, ! suggest that you buy propery in your own name ina place like Bogota or Medellin. Colombia ‘offers a lot of promise if you know what you're doing, and investors can get instant permanent residency with about §165,000 in eal estate, ‘That residency can then lead to citizenship after five years, provided you spend one day in the country every six months, ‘The Colombian passport is rather good since it now offers visa-tee travel to Europe as well as all of Latin America I you're wing to learn a litle Spanish and putin the time to manage your propery investments in a bureaucratic county, i's worth considering ‘As one of the most economically free countries in the world, Georgia can be an excellent place to get a second residency through cheap real estat, 4. Georgia Minimum investment: $100,000 ‘Quite a bit has changed with Georgia's residence program since | first published this article in 2017. First, 've become a bit more confident in Georgia's realestate market than Iwas In the past. ve always been bullish on Georgia, but not aways on Georgian real estate. While | have now found plenty of opportunities to buy cheap real estate, it can be hard to tell which deals are good and which aren't Having done more than a dozen deals in Georgia, i's taken me a while to tel the citference, Georgia's investment minimum has also nearly tripled aver the past two years from just $36,000 to $100,000. That amount will et you a one-year residence permit. A permanent residence requires an investment of $300,000. While | personally think that this is abit high, you can get quite a lot for your money considering how cheap real estate isin the ‘counity, and you can also get a sizable retum on your investment In fact, | recently worked with someone who manages eight properties in Georgia, and he's currently getting about 13.3% rental yield ‘on his investments, ‘That's certainly on the higher end of what you can eam here, but regardless, Georgia is a great place to go i you're looking fora _g00d return on your investment - especislly considering that it has no properly taxes and a low rental income tax. Goting a one-year residence permit through real estate here actually involves a few more steps than residency for someone hing local workers. The program has slowed down in recent years and isnot the golden opportunity it once was. ‘chromo-extension:tkmhokpogledimpntdbegandkbrikcldaatreadorindex htm ?id=23, 48‘wrarre020 12 Second Residencies Through Cheap Real Estate Investments |: Reader View It you do manage to get residency by cheap real estate investment in Georgia, the upkeep on your residence permit is minimal, and clizenship is possible ater si years. Malaysia's MMZH visa allows foreign investors to get a longterm residence permit here rather easily 5. Malaysia Minimum Investment: $70,000" Malaysia is one of my favorite countries in Asia, and while the property market is rather saturated, a weaker ringgit makes itan interesting ifestyle investment destination. Malaysia doesn't offer a real estate residency per se — and nor is it possible to become a Malaysian citizen — but there isa “workaround” of sorts. Malaysia's MMH program allows anyone of any age to “atire” to Malaysia and obtain a ton-yoar social visit pass by depositing 300,000 Malaysian ringgit ina term deposit account. (The amounts halved if you're over 50.) That money cant be withdrawn for as long as your residence permit is valid, but yau ean withdraw half of your deposit after one year in order to purchase a home, ‘That means that anyone under 50 can essentially open an interest-bearing foreign bank account and keep just over $35,000 there long-term while putting the other $35,000 toward real estate ‘Almost all states in Malaysia limit foreigners to only buying real estate valued at 1 milion ringgit ~ or about $230,000 — or more, meaning your “cheap real estate investment” will east you just a litle bit more in practice. ‘The program offers many of the ifestyle benefits of European countries with better weather and afriondliertostorial tax system. ‘As someone who's actually bought real estate and gotten a residence permit in Montenegro | can attest to how straightforward the process i. 6. Montenegro Minimum investment: $0* in resident, I can tll you thatthe country is relatively easy to deal with but does make you cross your 's and dot your “The county is among the most riendly to investors in Europe, but I can also tel you that having the right support on the ground in Montenegro or any other country is essential; my process was extremely short and simple thanks to my Montenegro team, Montenegro's residency can be obtained in a similar fashion to neighboring Serbia, which you can read about below. Basically, you need to buy any habitable propery, and you should have atleast 12 square meters of space for each person in your family they also plan to get a residence permit) ‘A decent, small apartment near the sea will ost anywhere from $30,000 to $75,000, and it wil kely need a litle renovation work. New projects targeting the jet set can startin the mid-shefigures and go up from there. ‘Once you have the ile to a property in Montenegro, you can go through the procedures to obtain a one-year temporary residence permit However, while business residency can lead to citizenship after ten years, real estate residency never leads to citizenship ~ don't believe anyone who tells you otherwise, Ityou can ve there for six monts out of the year, Nicaragua Is a good place to go to get a second residency through cheap real estate, ‘chromo-extension:tkmhokpogledimpntdbegandkbrikicldatatreadorindex htm ?id=23, 58‘wrarre020 412 Second Residencies Through Cheap Real Estate Investments |: Reader View 7. Nicaragua Minimum Investment: $30,000 Like many of its Latin American neighbors, Nicaragua offers residence permis to foreigners wiling to Invest in a local business or property, And as one of the most affordable countries in Central America, i's no wonder wity this residency by investment program is becoming increasingly popular among expats. ‘You can find out more about geting a Nicaraguan residence permit ho investing $30,000 (or more, depending on how you structure your investment) in an employment-generating business or in real estate, but fo summarize, you can get Nicaraguan residency by Given that the cast of living in Nicaragua is low, you can find excellent propertias in the country for remarkably litle money. However, while geting residency in Nicaragua is more straightforward than in many of ts neighbors, youl stll have to deal with a bit ‘of bureaucracy, and youll ikely need a lawyer to help you secure your residence permit, Nicaragua also requires you to stay in the county for atleast six months out ofthe year to maintain your residency, and while citizenship is possibie after fve years, it often takes longer, Panama offers plenty of options for nomads looking fora second residence, including residency by investment 8. Panama Minimum Investment: $5,000 (Friendly Nations)'$60,000-$80,000 (Other Residency Programs) It you're searching for a nomad-triendly second residency, look no further than Panama. This small Latin American country’s ‘omtrial tax systom, good offshore banking options, and low cost of lving make it an excellent place to get a second residency. ‘And to maintain your Panamanian residence card, you only need to visit the country for @ couple of days per year. Panama offers a wide variety of residency options, ineuding the Frienely Nations Visa, which allows eltzens of certain countries to become Panamanian residents by depositing $5,000 in a bank account and creating a Panamanian company, However, if you don't qualify fr the Friendly Nations Visa, you can sill become a Panamanian resident by investing $60,000 in ‘agricultural land or companies, $80,000 in land for rsforeslation projects, $160,000 in a Panamanian company, or $300,000 in a term deposit account ‘The only drawback to Panama is tha it isnt your best option for getting a second citizenship. Panama does not allow dual citizenship. ‘And while you can technically get your Panamanian passpor in as ile as five years, that's not always the case, In fact, | know people who have been living in Panama for 15 years and sill have not been able to get a Panamanian passport. Serbia is another Balkan country where you can get a second residency through cheap real estate investment 9. Serbia Minimum Investment: $0° Serbian residency is straightforward: buy a property, get a residence card. That sa, getting your Serbian residence permit involves about 27 steps from buying health insurance to obtaining the right kind of tle, but if you know what you're doing, the entire process is relatively quick, ‘Technically there is no minimum investment to obtain Serbian residency. You can invest as litle as $1,000 in real estate and be approved, ‘Thete Ie a catch, however: you need to lve in the property for a least one manth with few breaks wihile the police eheck your presence there, ‘chromo-extension:tkmhokpogledimpntdbegandkbrikcldaatreadorindex htm ?id=23, co‘wrarre020 412 Second Residencies Through Cheap Real Estate Investments |: Reader View While it's technically possible to buy homes in northern Serbia for $5,000 to $10,000, you would need to spend enough time there for the neighbors to recognize you, which might not be ideal Given that you'll actually have to lve there for a good amount of time, you'l ikely want to move toa larger city Ike Belgrade, where decent properties start at $50,000 and desirable ones typically go for at least $100,000, | recently bought an apartment right in downtown Belgrade. | am excited to have a place of my own when visting our growing office in the county. The residence permit an extra nice perk, as well ‘Another issue to be aware of, however, is that while you may obtain Serbian citizenship after five years of real estate ownership, you're supposed to live inthe country forthe majority ofthat time, ‘Quite frankly, Belgrade is an excellent place to lve, but | wouldn't count on @ passpot if youre lving nomesieally, ‘Though isa bit more expensive than some of the others on this list, Thaland's residence by investment program is one of the ‘easiest ones to navigate in Asia, 10. Thailand Minimum Investment: $300,000 ‘though it's one ofthe more expensive residency by investment programs on this list, | decided to add Thailand due tos popularity ‘among the Nomad community. ‘Thailand also has one of the most straightforward real estate residence programs in Asia ~ a ragion that's known for making it ficult fr foreigners to buy property ‘To get a Thal residence permit, you simply need to invest 10 milion Thai baht - roughly equivalent to $300,000 - in eal estate. Once yyou do, you can get a long-term residence card. ‘You can also choose from other options, tke bank deposits or government bonds, but if you're looking for any kind of return on your ‘cheap real estate investment, then buying a condo or apartment is going to be your best bet However, as with most Asian counties, there are restrictions on the lypes of properties that you can actually buy, and in Thailand, foreigners can only buy new real estate to qualify for residence by investment, While this does limit your options, you can find plenty of new condos in cities tke Bangkok and Chiang Mai Retums here aren't going to be as high as in neighboring Cambodia, but you can stil find good investment opportunities — especially if you'r willing to look at up-and-coming areas. It you're wiling o spend time in Turkey, you can get @ second residency through cheap real estate there rather easily 11. Turkey Minimum Investment: $0° (Residency) / $250,000 (Citizenship) ‘Turkey was long the investment daring of wealthy Middle Easterners who viewed it as @ secular Muslim safe haven for their cash Despite a string of terror attacks, the Turkish ira held up well and property prices remained steady. ‘That could't go on forever, though, and now the Turkish lia is at an alltime low and property prices have stabilized. Noting that, the Turkish government introduced a cilizenship by investment program that allows anyone wiling to invest $250,000 in real estate to obtain immediate citzenship 50 long as you hold the investment for three years or more. ‘According to the Turkish Aidines in-fight magazine, that could be as simple as buying a condo at SeaPeatl in Istanbul as indicated by the heading, “Get a Turkish Passport” ‘chromo-extension:tkmhokpogledimpntdbegandkbrikcldaatreadorindex htm ?id=23, 78‘wrarre020 12 Second Residencies Through Cheap Real Estate Investments |: Reader View ‘You can buy any habitable property or properties. You can check out our Turkey real estate guide to learn about our favorite areas to buy properties This program has become much more attractive in recent years and is one of the better bargains when it comes to citizenship by investment, You can learn more about how to buy a Turkish passport in our ultimate guide, ‘To many people's surprise, you can actully become a resident ofthe United States by investing in real estate 12. The United States Minimum Investment: $500,000 ‘This last country may come as a surprise to many of you permanant resident ofthe United States by investing $500,000 or more in certain types of real estat ‘especially if you're familiar with my blog. However, you can become @ Granted, this one isn't so cheap ~ nor is it desirable from my view ~ but is far cheaper than it should be. And there's a bonus: you ‘can get US clizenship after five years, Please walt while | remove my tongue from my cheek. Most of our readers are seeking o leave the high-tax, high-regulation environments of western countries, but f you're trying to move to.a developed English-speaking country, then the US can be the lesser of all evi. Its perhaps the easiest country in the Americas ~ and certainly the easiest in the developed world to get residency and citzenship in, and while youl need to lock yourself into the US tax system, taxes in the US tend to be a bit lower than in other developed countries, So, if you want to become a resident or clizen of a western country, then the United States offers the least expensive permanent residency program. ‘The United States is the home of cheap real estate in the western world, and unless you're from India or China, then you won't need {o-waitteribly long for your green card, The us investment or through a regional canter program, and some of these reglanal center programs involve real estate deals 5 program allows foreign investors to insert ether $500,000 or $1 milion nto the US economy as either a direct While you may not be able to invest directly into a property you can Ive in now, your money would support a real estate project, \which may be a more comfortable investment than other EB-5 deals out there. + Author + Recent Posts ‘Andrew Henderson is the world’s most soughtafter consultant on international tax planning, investment immigration, and global citizenship. He has personally ved this Ifesiyle for over a decade, and now works with seven- and eight‘igure entrepreneurs and investors who want to “go where they're treated best" Latest posts by Andrew Henderson (se ail) ‘chromo-extension:tkmhokpogledimpntdbegandkbrikcldaatreadorindex htm ?id=23, 38