By John Lee.
The escalating tensions between Baghdad and Erbil have triggered an unprecedented upsurge in applications from wealthy Iraqi nationals for second citizenship programs.
Data collected by Savory & Partners, one of the largest companies in the Middle East that provides citizenship-by-investment programs, shows that compared to the same quarter last year, interest has increased by 300 percent, while applications processed are more than 42 percent higher than last year.
Company founder and CEO Jeremy Savory (pictured) told Iraq Business News:
“The immediate days following the Kurdistan referendum saw a remarkable spike in the number of applicants from Iraq, not only from Kurdish Iraqis, but from all parts of Iraq.
"In the past, the Iraqi passport was very strong ... but over recent years the number of countries which have visa-free waivers has dropped considerably; hence, the need for second passport that enables people to travel to more countries visa free has seen a great spike.
“We have done Iraqi citizenship applications for Iraqi nationals for all the five Caribbean jurisdictions, all of which have been approved by the government. We have done European citizenship applications for Malta and Cyprus for Iraqi nationals, too.”
Iraqis constitute the company’s third largest client group after Syrians and Lebanese, with St. Kitts, Grenada and Dominica in the three most popular programs with an equal demand for all three programs. The company had only one Iraqi rejection in the last six years out of total of close to 800 passports, a rejection rate of less than 1 percent.
This is really a good story.Thanks guys!
Very interesting facts. I agree many of my Iraqi friend applied for the second citizenship programmes after the referendum.
Very good story, indeed.Thanks guys for posting.
I believe this is the case now with most of the Middle Easterners.
How we can apply for a second citizenship?
Do you think this is because of the referendum? It would be good to investigate the finer details. Are the Kurd Iraqi applying for a second passport or is it wealthy foreigners who are Iraq citizens in Kurdistan?
What interests me is the wealth aspect. People have to have wealth to take up citizenship-by-investment programs. The receiving country doesn't want bums. They want investment in exchange for citizenship. So where is it coming from I wonder.
Curiously, Indians come to Australia and buy into 7/11 (Quicky Marts) Untied Fuel and consortium like this. You hear of so much poverty in countrys like India and the Kurds took a belting under Sadam to the extent they had to be put in safe camps. So where is their wealth hiding? Are we fed tripe information.
The referendum might not directly trigger the increase, but many people who have money and were in the happy process of establishing businesses over there, they changed their mind after the disapprobation by the Iraqi government.