Is there any Schengen country giving a long term visit visa based solely on net worth? I have tried Portugal, Estonia, Netherland and Finland and every time I get a multiple entry visa for 4-6 months! It is really annoying.
Supposedly it can go up to 5 years based on frequent travel: Multiple-Entry Schengen Visa
But yeah nothing just from net worth. That’s why people buy Caribbean citizenships, the passport is effectively a ten year Schengen visa.
USA is much better at this, by giving 10 year tourist visas straight up they remove this incentive to sell access to the US.
Caribbean passports don’t have much value to people with, for example, US passports, as we already have access to Schengen. (right?)
@ohbee right but I’m assuming @kai.kiyoto does not already have a passport granting visa free travel to Schengen
I’m already in line for the Portuguese GV. Just waiting for it to come through. In the meantime, all the Schengen visas I get are 6 months including from Portugal!
It is insane!
I thought the multiple entry Schengen visas were still limited by the 90/180 day rule. Your comment makes it sound like you have been getting visas valid for longer than 90 days. Is that the case or did I misunderstand your comment?
Yes, you’d be still limited by the 90-180 rule. The point is you don’t have to apply for a visitor visa all the time and go through the same process and costs.
(which is sometimes impossible because of limited appointment options)
If you’re a frequent traveler, who doesn’t stay more than 90 days in a rolling period of 180 days, then 3-5 year Schengen visa is ideal.
Supposedly, if you are a frequent traveler, you can request gradually longer visas: multiple entry - How do I ask for a long validity Schengen visa? - Travel Stack Exchange
From Visa Code | EUR-Lex
Multiple-entry visas with long validity may be issued for one, two or multiple entries. The Visa Code sets out rules on the issuing of multiple entry visas with a progressively longer length of validity:
- 1 year, if the applicant has used three visas within the previous 2 years;
- 2 years, if the applicant has already used a 1-year multiple-entry visa within the previous 2 years;
- 5 years, if the applicant has already used a 2-year multiple-entry visa within the previous 3 years.
AFAIK, you apply in the normal way, including a cover letter that explains why you want a long-term visa and evidence of your previous visas.
@kai.kiyoto have you ever qualified for the 1 year visa (used 3 visas in last 2 years)?
Ideally, I should have gotten these longer visas, but they don’t seem to follow this themselves! IT is frustrating as hell! I’ve used 4 visas in the last 2 years!!
@kai.kiyoto did you include a cover letter requesting the longer visa together with copies of your recent visas?
Yes! Every time! All came from a different country too.
@kai.kiyoto if you have a lot of spare money you want to stick in a Panama bank, maybe this would be an option: Panama Traveler Passport - Kraemer & Kraemer
I haven’t done any research on this, just saw someone talking about it in a YouTube video.
Holy crap this is so cheap, I should’ve gone this instead of Portugal GV!
@kai.kiyoto if you don’t want the EU citizenship and just want visa free travel to Schengen it seems the Panama Travel Passport may be a better fit. Especially if you have a nationality that doesn’t allow dual citizenship, since it sounds like you can carry a Panama Travel Passport without losing your original citizenship.
For those of us with US passports who already have visa free Schengen travel, and are allowed dual citizenship, the main draw of the GV is the EU citizenship.
1 Like
Looks good actually.
Do you know anyone went through this process?
If there are good banks with fair interest rates, that might make sense.
I do not. I just saw it recently on YouTube, search for “Panama travel passport”.
The big question for me would be how safe your money is in the Panama state bank. Probably less safe than FDIC insured bank in the US. But Panama is supposed to be relatively economically stable? Since they run the extremely internationally important Panama Canal.
I’m not worried too much about Panama national bank defaulting on their debts to be honest.
The passport they give is called “special passport”.
It might be an issue to enter some of the visa free countries for Panama citizens with that specific passport.
For Schengen zone, it might be a different story with each country / port / entry officer.
I checked the relevant UK gov website. They specifically ask the nationality of the passport / travel document holder? In that case, you ll be treated as if you are traveling with your original passport and will need visa.
Yeah see this table, they claim it works for most Schengen countries but not all: https://thewanderinginvestor.com/foreign-residencies/what-is-the-panama-travel-passport-and-how-to-get-it/#:~:text=I%20travel%20to-,Schengen,-with%20a%20Panama
Seems like a weird gray area where Schengen, which is supposed to have uniform visa policy, does not actually have uniform visa policy. So if you enter e.g. Spain which supposedly accepts this passport, then fly internally to France which doesn’t, you might be in some legal gray area? I don’t know.
The article just says
Technically this might be an issue, but in reality there aren’t any border controls within Schengen so it’s very doable. Just make sure that you exit Schengen through a country that recognizes the Panama travel passport.
But I wouldn’t take that as legal advice.
How do you think we can raise awareness about the fact that PT investors who normally require a Schengen visa to visit Portugal are at the greatest disadvantage and often overlooked? For example, US or UK passport holders can at least travel to and from Portugal freely, start residing there without pre-approval, and even initiate a lawsuit if their case is considered urgent by the courts.
I believe Portugal should at least offer long-term multi-entry Schengen visas to individuals who are officially awaiting a decision. It is almost certain that anyone who has applied will eventually become a resident, or even a citizen. Not only would it be fair to provide these individuals with a long-term visa to ease their travel, but it is also necessary so they can start visiting Portugal and spending more time there. After all, a “connection” to Portugal is often required when applying for citizenship, and the sooner that connection is established, the better. I’m not even mentioning applicants with minor dependents; there is a significant difference in adapting to a new country, school system, and language between now and whenever you finally receive your first residency card.
These “expletives” gave us 10 day visa in spite of us sending proof that we were going for residency biometrics. They really don’t care. This was from washington DC.
1 Like