Migration solutions: Turkey or São Tomé and Vanuatu with a Greek residence permit?

At first glance, both strategies provide international mobility, alternative citizenship and risk diversification.

In this article, REVERA explains the key differences between the citizenship programmes of Turkey, Vanuatu, São Tomé and Vanuatu, and a Greek residence permit, as well as their impact on budget, timing and business opportunities.

Investment

To obtain Turkish citizenship, an investor must purchase real estate worth at least USD 400,000 and retain it for a minimum of 3 years. Selling it earlier may jeopardise the status, so budget and timeline planning are critically important.

REVERA recommends planning the budget and timing in advance in order to minimise the risk of losing the status and to ensure the maximum return on investment.

A combined strategy involves splitting the investment:

1. Step 1. Citizenship of Vanuatu or São Tomé and Príncipe through an investment programme — the investment typically amounts to between USD 90,000 and USD 130,000, depending on the programme selected and the composition of the family.
2. Step 2. Obtaining a Greek residence permit through the purchase of real estate. In addition to the standard threshold under the programme, there are also properties on the market starting from EUR 250,000 — usually within real estate renovation projects — which may also be used to obtain a Greek residence permit.

At the same time, an important practical point is that such a combination of statuses can be structured within an overall budget starting from approximately EUR 420,000, which is comparable to the cost of the Turkish citizenship programme.

Timeframe for obtaining status

• Turkish citizenship is usually processed within approximately 12 months.
• Vanuatu citizenship: 3–5 months.
• São Tomé and Príncipe citizenship: 3–5 months.
• A Greek residence permit under the Golden Visa programme takes approximately 2–4 months.

Accordingly, the combined strategy makes it possible to obtain citizenship significantly faster than Turkish citizenship. At the same time, the European residence permit may be processed in parallel.

The combination of a passport + EU residence permit makes it possible to obtain all the required statuses in approximately 7 months, almost twice as fast as Turkish citizenship.

Mobility

A Turkish passport provides visa-free or simplified entry to more than 110 countries; however, it does not grant freedom of movement within the Schengen Area.

The combined strategy provides international mobility: a Vanuatu or São Tomé passport gives visa-free access to more than 100 countries, while a Greek residence permit grants freedom of movement within the Schengen Area — a key advantage for business travel and investment in the EU.

Residence

Turkish citizenship gives the holder the right to live, work and do business freely in the country.

A Greek residence permit does not require permanent residence, allowing the investor and their family to use it as a “European residence” for free movement and doing business in the EU without the need to relocate.

Family members

The Turkish citizenship programme may include:

• the applicant’s spouse;
• minor children.

The citizenship programmes of Vanuatu and São Tomé have a wider range of eligible family members. The application may include:

• a spouse;
• children (usually up to the age of 25, provided they are financially dependent);
• the applicants’ parents over the age of 55.

The Greek residence permit by real estate investment programme may include:

• a spouse;
• children up to the age of 21;
• the parents of the main applicant and of their spouse.

Accordingly, the combined model often makes it possible to include a wider range of family members. It is important to note that a Greek residence permit for parents may be obtained even if they hold Belarusian and Russian passports. The key requirement is that the main investor must hold an alternative passport.

Who most often chooses the combination with a Greek residence permit:

• investors who already hold a residence permit in Cyprus or another country, but whose citizenship is still a long way off, while access to the Schengen Area is already needed;
• families where the parents live outside the EU and need to obtain long-term European residence permits;
• families whose children study in EU countries — in this case, a Greek residence permit makes it possible to obtain long-term status and facilitates parents’ travel to visit their children;
• people who already live in Schengen Area countries on work residence permits, but wish to have an additional and more stable residence status;
• investors who view the purchase of real estate as a “back-up plan” and want an alternative place of residence outside the countries of their current citizenship.

What is important to consider when choosing a strategy:

• whether an actual move to the country is planned, or whether the status is needed primarily for international mobility;
• in which countries the family plans to live or spend a substantial amount of time;
• how many family members are intended to be included in the application.

The REVERA Private Clients team has many years of experience in supporting investment citizenship and European residence programmes.

We will help analyse your situation, select the optimal strategy and support the process at every stage — from choosing the programme to obtaining statuses for the whole family.

Author: Yaroslavna Zadesenskaya.