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Wealthy Russians in recent months have become increasingly interested in the “Golden passports” programs, allowing to obtain a residence permit abroad in exchange for investments, including real estate. This writes Forbes, citing data from the consulting company Knight Frank.

According to analysts, the most popular with Russians citizenship of Portugal, the Caribbean (Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis), the third place — the island of Cyprus and Malta. At the same time in some “Golden passport” you can buy cheaper than before the pandemic — the flow of tourists has decreased, and countries are doing everything possible to attract investment. One of the measures — lowering the threshold required for citizenship investments.

In Knight Frank have calculated that the number of applications for “Golden passports” with the Russians in the period from March to may 2020 rose 20 percent compared with the figure for the same period last year. “During the quarantine, many customers focused on personal assets and family Affairs, including migration issues,” — said the head of the legal Department of company UFG Wealth Management Nicholas Varganov.

According to forecast by Knight Frank, the Russians will continue to buy the “Golden passports” in the autumn, when many countries will open the border for visitors, and customers will have the opportunity to choose investments on the ground.

In June it was reported that the spread of coronavirus and the closure of borders between countries are unable to affect the activity of buyers of foreign real estate. More than 60 percent of investors and advisers, including from Russia, considered the pandemic of the appropriate timing for the transactions.