Moldova is the fourth European country to introduce citizenship by investment programme, after Cyprus, Malta and Turkey. There are several other jurisdictions with the different residency by investment programmes, but the number of countries which offer their passports officially, in exchange for investment is relatively low. The Moldavian government launched the citizenship program officially in July, and they will start to process the applications from November 2018. The objective is to attract 1,3 billion euros in investments during the next five years from the applicants for the Moldavian passport. According to the statement of the Economics and Infrastructure Ministry the candidates must pass a four-stage due diligence process, and the program is opened only for the "applicants who meet the best international standards". The due diligence check includes the following verification stages:

• Economic and financial reputation
• Moldovan Intelligence and Security Service, Interpol, Interior Ministry, National Anticorruption Centre
• International due diligence companies.

Moldova is a not EU Member State European state but it aims to become an EU country. The attractive issues of the jurisdiction are (among other) is the access to the Schengen area and visa-free entrance in 120 countries, including Turkey and Russia. The Moldavian "CIP" will be the most affordable on the European market. In the case of a single primary applicant, it is enough to contribute 100,000 euros to the Country's Public Investment Fund or to invest 250,000 euros to become a citizen and obtain the passport. The total amount of contribution increases by each family member included in the application, and the qualifying donation reaches 155,000 euros for a family of five or more members. Parents (from 55 years old) and the dependent children (up to 29 years) can be included in the application. As an additional cost, the government's official and licensed agents ask for 35,000 euros per application. Moreover, there are due diligence and other smaller governmental fees. The application process takes maximum three months until the new citizen or citizens obtain their Moldavian passports.

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