As an Iranian national who has been living and working permanently in Switzerland for 3 years, what routes are available for obtaining citizenship by investment there? If not in Switzerland, what would be my best options in Europe at this time?
Answers
Nowadays, there is not any citizenship by investment program in Europe.
For an Iranian citizen who has been living and working in Switzerland for the past three years, it is important to understand that Swiss citizenship is generally acquired through ordinary naturalisation and requires, among other conditions, the relevant period of legal residence and compliance with the applicable naturalisation requirements.
I would recommend you to connect with a Swiss immigration attorney to guide you through that process.
Under Portuguese law, Law no. 23/2007 does not prohibit Iranian nationals from applying for a Residence Permit for Investment Activity (Golden Visa). Portugal offers a flexible residence-by-investment route, requiring a minimum physical presence of only 14 days every two-year period (Article
65-C of Regulatory Decree no. 84/2007). Under Article 6(1) of the Portuguese Nationality Law (Law no. 37/81), legal residents may become eligible to apply for Portuguese citizenship by naturalization after ten years, subject to meeting the applicable legal requirements.
For Iranian applicants, the main practical hurdle is often banking and compliance rather than immigration eligibility. Financial institutions must carry out enhanced due diligence, verify beneficial ownership and assess the source of funds under Law no. 83/2017 and the applicable sanctions
framework. While Iranian nationals are legally eligible to apply, the feasibility of the investment will therefore depend on the applicant's specific circumstances, the origin of the funds and the ability of the relevant banks and receiving entities to process the transaction.
For an Iranian national living and working in Switzerland for three years, there is no Swiss citizenship-by-investment programme.
Switzerland generally requires 10 years of residence for ordinary naturalisation, together with the applicable permit and integration requirements.
Portugal is a potential alternative.
Portugal does not offer direct citizenship by investment. It does, however, maintain a Golden Visa / ARI residence-by-investment programme.
Current qualifying routes include, among others, a €500,000 investment in qualifying non-real-estate investment funds, €500,000 in qualifying research, €250,000 in qualifying cultural activity, or certain qualifying business investments. The programme also has a relatively low physical-presence requirement and allows family reunification.
The ARI can ultimately provide a route to Portuguese nationality. However, this is now subject to the current Portuguese Nationality Law. For nationals of countries outside the EU and CPLP, the general residence requirement is currently 10 years, together with language, integration, security and other statutory requirements.
For an Iranian applicant, AML, sanctions and banking compliance are critical.
Iran is subject to enhanced international financial scrutiny. EU sanctions also impose specific restrictions concerning designated Iranian persons and entities and certain transactions involving Iranian financial institutions. (EUR-Lex )
This does not mean that an Iranian citizen is automatically prohibited from obtaining Portuguese residence.
The key question is whether the applicant and the investment can pass the relevant AML, sanctions and banking checks.
We would therefore review:
source and origin of wealth;
source of investment funds;
Swiss banking history;
employment or business activities;
tax records;
beneficial ownership;
sanctions and PEP screening;
any Iranian banking exposure; and
the family members included in the application.
A clean and well-documented Swiss financial history can be particularly relevant.
Therefore, for this profile, we would not recommend selecting a programme based on nationality alone. We would first conduct a legal and compliance assessment and then compare Portugal with the other European routes realistically available.
The objective would be to identify a route that is legally available, bankable and capable of progressing through the relevant AML and immigration due diligence.
