China visa-free with Grenada citizenship for an Israeli entrepreneur

Mark’s task in the new project with a company based in Guangzhou is to train the Chinese team in advertising and marketing processes and help them enter the markets in the US and Canada. The project is expected to take one year to complete. During this period Mark will have to travel to China frequently.

Mark,

Owns advertising business, 39 years old

The Guangzhou Project is a chance in a lifetime! We train the team, the customer solves his problems, earns a profit, and the company develops. If it works out well, we will definitely receive new orders as the success of this project spreads by word of mouth.

Mark read our article "Citizenship by Investment: 10 Most Popular Programs" and on March 10, 2021, he turned to Immigrant Invest for advice.

The first step is to conduct a preliminary Due Diligence check on the investor. Immigrant Invest’s lawyers assess the risks of Mark’s application being rejected under the citizenship by investment programs.

Mark has no criminal record or instances of his visa applications being refused. Mark’s source of income is legal and is based exclusively on his business. He pays taxes on time, and all the company’s calculations and transactions are transparent and go through the corporate account. Mark has a clean record and he is eligible to participate in any government citizenship program for investors.

Vladlena Baranova,

Head of Legal & AML Compliance Department, CAMS, IMCM

Our preliminary Due Diligence check helps us pick up potential risks and reduce the possibility of our client’s application for citizenship by investment being rejected to almost zero. The preliminary Due Diligence check is carried out by our in-house certified Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer.

Requirements for a second passport and terms of the program. Visa-free travel to China was Mark’s main goal.

Mark planned to be in China at the end of August 2021 to start work on a project in Guangzhou. His budget for obtaining a second citizenship was $300,000.

Investor’s requirements for a second passport:

1. Ability to travel to China without visas.

2. The passport had to be delivered in less than 6 months.

3. Budget: $300,000.

Among the countries offering citizenship by investment, Grenada’s citizenship by investment program most suited Mark. With a Grenada passport, the holder can stay in China without a visa for up to 30 days a year. In addition to China, Grenada citizens can visit 144 countries without visas, including the Schengen states, Britain, Hong Kong and China.

The minimal cost of the program is $150,000, which is just half of Mark’s budget. In order to obtain a Grenada passport by investment, the applicant needs to either make a non-refundable contribution to the National Transformation Fund or buy real estate. Mark chose to make a contribution.

It takes 4 to 6 months to obtain a Grenada passport. Immigrant Invest started helping Mark on March 10. Just slightly more than five months remained until the deadline specified by Mark.

Immigrant Invest’s lawyers calculated the cost of participating in the Grenada citizenship by investment program. They prepared the required package of documents and applied for Mark’s citizenship within three weeks. When submitting the application, the investor paid the Due Diligence fee.

$216,690 — the cost of participation in the Grenada citizenship by investment program for a couple:

• $200,000 — non-refundable contribution to the National Transformation Fund

• $10,000 — Due diligence check

• $3,000 — fee for filing application

• $3,000 — fee for processing documents

• $500 — passport fee

• $150 — courier fee

• $40 — fee for oath of allegiance

Mark and his company have a clean financial history and he is a law-abiding citizen. Therefore, our preliminary Due Diligence check showed that there was a 99,9% probability that he would receive approval for any citizenship by investment program. However, the Grenada department in charge of citizenship applications sent a request for additional information.

Pavel Reshetnikov,

Consultant, Compliance Anti Money Laundering Officer, certified CAMS

The government department in charge of any citizenship by investment program reserves the right to make further inquiries in relation to any application without explanation.

There was no obvious reason for this additional request. In 95% of cases, additional requests are based on the fact that there are gaps in the investor’s financial history. The department handling the citizenship by investment program asks for the missing information, verifies it and thus rejects unsuitable applicants. However, there were no gaps in Mark’s financial history.

Another reason for an additional inquiry is the demand for constantly stricter Due Diligence requirements. The US, UK and EU regularly update their standards and make the investor’s Due Diligence processes stricter.

Grenada, which has close historical and economic ties with the US and UK, follows these trends and is also gradually strengthening its Due Diligence process. Therefore, we have to be prepared that the government may request additional information on the investor, even when they have a simple and satisfactory financial history.

Mark was asked to show all cash receipts for the last tax year: the company’s revenues and tax payments, transfers from the corporate account to Mark’s personal account and his tax payments. As a result, instead of three months, Mark’s Due Diligence took four months.

Immigrant Invest’s lawyers were prepared for such additional requests: our company monitors changes in the standards and requirements for verification procedures and regularly renews its licenses.

Vladlena Baranova,

Head of Legal & AML Compliance Department, CAMS, IMCM

We prepared all the documents: the company and Mark’s financial and tax reports. We attached the account statements for the closed tax year to these documents. Mark passed the Due Diligence check, although it lasted for a month longer than expected.

Mark’s application was approved on July 30, 2021, and he immediately paid the stipulated contribution to the Grenada national fund. On August 16, Mark and his wife Christina received their naturalization certificates and their second passports. It took five months to get Grenada passports.

Stages of Mark's participation in the Grenada citizenship program

1

March 10, 2021

Mark applied to Immigrant Invest

2

+ 1 day

Preliminary Due Diligence check

3

+ 3 weeks

Preparation of documents, application submitted

4

+ 3 months

Standard Due Diligence check

5

+ 1 month

Additional information request for Due Diligence

6

July 30, 2021

Application approved

7

August 16, 2021

Passport issued

1

March 10, 2021

Mark applied to Immigrant Invest

2

+ 1 day

Preliminary Due Diligence check

3

+ 3 weeks

Preparation of documents, application submitted

4

+ 3 months

Standard Due Diligence check

5

+ 1 month

Additional information request for Due Diligence

6

July 30, 2021

Application approved

7

August 16, 2021

Passport issued

On August 29, 2021, Mark wrote to Immigrant Invest from China and told us that he travelled there as a Grenada citizen.

At the passport control at the Guangzhou Baiyun airport, in addition to his Grenada passport, Mark presented a copy of his business contract and the invitation from his Chinese client. The invitation stated that Mark was a contractor for a Chinese company and planned to visit the country regularly over the next 12 months.

With a Grenada passport, Mark will be able to spend a total of 30 days per annum in China. This will be sufficient to cover 5‑10 business trips.

Immigrant Invest is a licensed agent for government programs in the European Union and the Caribbean.