A golden visa firm says 'plan B' passports are going middle class

Buying second passports was erstwhile mostly the sphere of the superrich, but 1 finance migration patient says that's changing arsenic much middle-class Americans shop for them.

The finance migration manufacture has traditionally catered to those who tin spend the six aliases seven-figure value tags of galore "golden visas." Peter Thiel, who was granted New Zealand citizenship successful 2011 and temporarily relocated to Argentina this year, is among the billionaires to activity further passports and residences.

For able Americans, acquiring different citizenship mostly doesn't destruct their US taxation obligations, but offers the state to live, travel, and activity abroad.

Data shared exclusively pinch Business Insider by Immigrant Invest, a Malta-based citizenship-by-investment consultancy founded 20 years ago, showed that salaried professionals and retirees now relationship for 25% of its US consultations calls, up from astir 15% successful 2025.

The increasing cohort included doctors, tech workers, academics, existent property brokers, and lawyers, arsenic good arsenic retirees pinch individual savings. The institution analyzed 450 consultation calls pinch US-based clients betwixt January and July 2026. It compared the results pinch its 2025 information from the aforesaid period.

The company's accepted halfway clientele, which includes ultrawealthy investors, entrepreneurs, and business owners, has shrunk arsenic a stock of its US consultation calls, from astir 50% successful 2026 to 40% successful 2025.

Pavel Reshetnikov, a advisor astatine Immigrant Invest, told Business Insider that the costs of citizenship programs has stayed comparatively unchangeable successful caller years. This indicates that much Americans pinch savings are looking for a "Plan B" amid heightened governmental section successful the US and world geopolitical volatility.

Some of the astir celebrated options among Immigrant Invest's US clients are Caribbean citizenship-by-investment programs requiring debased six-figure sums. Grenada's program, for example, requires a aid of much than $235,000 to the National Transformation Fund, aliases a real-estate finance of complete $270,000. St Kitts and Nevis requires a publication starting astatine $250,000 aliases an finance of much than $325,000 into section existent estate.

There are besides cheaper options: citizenship-by-investment programs successful São Tomé and Príncipe, an land federation disconnected the westbound seashore of Africa, commencement astatine $90,000, while Vanuatu successful the South Pacific starts astatine $130,000.

Henley & Partners, 1 of the world's largest citizenship-by-investment advisory firms, said successful its 2026 Private Wealth Migration Report that request from US clients astir doubled successful 2025 from the erstwhile year. Most weren't readying an imminent move, according to the report.

"The awesome mostly are US-Americans surviving successful the USA, alternatively than expatriates already abroad, and they person nary volition of leaving, aliases astatine slightest not yet," Basil Mohr-Elzeki, Henley and Partners' caput of backstage clients successful the Americas, said successful the report.

Immigrant Invest said that arsenic precocious arsenic 2021, Americans successful wide showed small liking successful its citizenship-by-investment programs, pinch mediate people clients peculiarly rare. "Five years ago, I deliberation it was conscionable a very, very mini percent of US clients," Reshetnikov said. "Now it's a wholly different story."

Demand began picking up successful early 2025, astir the clip President Donald Trump took office, and US-based clients person since go 1 of its largest segments, accounting for arsenic overmuch arsenic 28% of consultations successful immoderate fixed month.

For galore of those Americans, the entreaty is little astir leaving the US than knowing they could successful the future. "They would for illustration to person an action and security for the full family to move location very quickly," Aleksandr Razinkov, who handles property relations for Immigrant Invest, said.

Second passports haven't abruptly go much affordable. But for a increasing group of able American professionals, a "plan B" passport is thing worthy spending their savings on.