Best Citizenship for Money in Europe:
Malta vs. Cyprus vs. MontenegroWhere to "buy" citizenship in Europe? The opportunity to legally obtain citizenship for money is offered by three European countries at once: Malta, Cyprus and Montenegro. But which option is right for you? Let's try to figure it out.

To become a citizen of a European state, you need to apply for a passport and citizenship in the relevant jurisdiction. The process and conditions for obtaining citizenship vary from country to country. As a rule, a candidate needs to live in such a country for a certain number of years, thereby confirming the establishment of a "stable connection" with it, and pass a special test (assesses knowledge of language, culture, laws and society) ... This immigration route is named as follows: citizenship by naturalization.Another option is citizenship through marriage. This immigration route will take less time. But only if the marriage is recognized by the court as fictitious, citizenship can be annulled. You can also serve in the army of the receiving state for a certain time, gaining the opportunity to apply for his citizenship and passport and obtain the status of a citizen even faster than through marriage. But the fastest and easiest option is citizenship by investment. Malta, Cyprus and Montenegro are 3 European countries that currently offer this opportunity. The table below summarizes the most important facts about all three Citizenship by Investment programs. With its help, you can quickly spot the differences between them and find the best option. Based on this information, you can decide which scheme is best for you.     
                                                      Montengro                                        Malta                                                               Cyprus                      

Year of the launch of the European Citizenship by Investment Program	2019	2014	2013
The official name of the scheme	Crnogorsko Državljanstvo Prijemom	Individual Investor Program (IIP)	Cyprus Investment Program (CIP)
Total minimum cost	€ 350 000	€ 880 000	€ 2 150 000
Return on investment in real estate	€ 250 000	it is possible to make a returnable investment in real estate (instead of rent) * in the amount of € 350,000, but in this case, the total minimum cost will increase to € 1,150,000	€ 1 500 000
Quota	2000 (total)	1800 (total)	700 (in year)
Investment options	Donation + returnable investment in real estate   or Investing in a business in the agriculture, fishing / wood processing industry	Donation + bonds + real estate lease or returnable real estate investment	Donation + Residential Property for Lifetime Ownership + Returnable Investment in Residential Property   Donation + Lifetime Residential Property + Returnable Investment in Business, Commercial Real Estate or Securities
Visa-free countries	123	183	173
Personal visit required	yes	yes	yes
The right to use the visa-free regime when traveling to Schengen	yes	yes	yes
Eligibility for Visa Waiver Travel to the UK	not	yes	yes
Eligibility for Visa Waiver Travel to the United States	not	yes	not
Eligibility for Visa Waiver when Traveling to Canada	not	yes	not
The right to use the visa-free regime when traveling to Russia	yes	not	not
Eligibility for Visa Waiver when Traveling to China	not	not	not
Eurozone	yes	yes	yes
EU membership	candidate	yes	yes
GDP per capita, USD (World Bank 2017 data)	4,77	12,5	21,65
Wealth level - GDP per capita, in dollars (World Bank 2017 data)	7 670	26 945	25 233
Population	629 thous..	432 thous..	1.1 mill.
Time for issuing a "golden passport" (months)	3	12	6
Residence conditions	3 weeks	12 months	6 months
Double citizenship	yes	yes	yes
Oath ceremony	yes	yes	yes
EU citizenship / passport	not	yes	yes
Publication of names and surnames of citizens in the official newspaper	not	yes	not
Public debt in billion, euros	0,713	0,527	1,045
Income tax	15%	35%	35%
Corporate taxes	9%	35%	12,5%
Currency	Euro	Euro	Euro
Basic VAT rate	19%	18%	19%
Real estate prices in the city center (m2) on average (data numbeo)	€ 1,397	€ 3 282.01	€ 2 049.00
Number of tourists per year	2,2 million	2,6 million	3,9 million
Due diligence of candidates	Strict	Very stringent enhanced due diligence	Strict
"Transparency" of the program "citizenship by investment"	Very high	Very high	Average
Passport validity (years)	10	10	10
Biometric passport	yes	yes	yes
Eligibility to enter government service / Nominate / Voting in local and municipal elections	yes	yes	yes
Voting rights in elections to the European Parliament	not	yes	yes
Honorary Citizenship	not	not	not
The ability to transfer citizenship by inheritance to representatives of the next generation	yes	yes	yes
Passport reissue fee, in dollars	30	570	80

*If you apply for citizenship at a minimum cost, you will have to rent the property, spending € 16,000 per year for five years.

In general, it can be noted that the offer of Cyprus is much better than the citizenship by investment of Montenegro or Malta. This is undoubtedly the best scheme for migrant investors in the world, but too expensive. Only dollar multimillionaires and billionaires can afford this option. On the other hand, Cyprus real estate is now growing in value. Therefore, by issuing a second passport and citizenship for the immovability of Cyprus (5-year returnable investment), Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians can increase their wealth in the future.