Each applicant must invest at least $274,000 in different development projects. On top of the investment fee, they must also pay 100,000 euros per application.
By SYDNEY DENNENFEATURING STUNNING views of the Mediterranean coastline, the West Lagoon Resort in Netanya is an inviting vacation option to Eilat. (Roy Mizrahi/Lion Shoshan)(photo credit: ROY MIZRAHI/LION SHOSHAN)
Don't want to wait in pesky immigration lines while traveling? Well, if you have enough money, you may not have to. Now your money doesn't have to just buy you a relaxing vacation in the Mediterranean – it can also buy you residency. Some of the worlds most elusive travelers are enlisting in Citizenship by Investment Programs (CIPs), which means they are investing in the economies of specific countries and in turn gaining access to powerful passports, according to CNN. Montenegro officially announced it will be accepting applications as of October 4. The nation is offering 2,000 applicants the opportunity to have an elusive Montenegro passport, but it's not cheap. Each applicant must invest at least $274,000 in different development projects. On top of the investment fee, they must also pay 100,000 euros per application to help fund development in rural areas. The legal framework of CIPs allows foreigners with restricted passports to get these more desirable ones by making large financial contributions to the government or infrastructure development. The idea of paying for passports began in 1984 when two island nations in the Caribbean – St. Kitts and Nevis – introduced the first CIP. Now, programs like this have become almost standard in developed countries like the US, Canada and the UK, which all offer their own versions. Austria, Antigua and Barbuda, Malta, Cyprus and Dominica all have active CIPs based on the original framework.
