Frequently Asked Questions

DTC Services provides professional guidance around citizenship, citizenship by residency and international mobility opportunities.

You can begin with the Programme Finder or request a consultation. DTC uses your broad objectives to narrow the public programmes worth discussing.

We assist clients internationally and can arrange remote consultations. Business registration information can be provided during an enquiry.

Possible routes can include descent, marriage, naturalisation after lawful residence, exceptional merit and qualifying citizenship-by-investment programmes where currently authorised. Each country has different eligibility rules; see our how-to guide in Insights.

Sometimes. Family rules are country-specific. Check the definitions of spouse, minor child, adult dependent and parents for each pathway, along with required evidence.

Permanent residence is permission to live in a country under immigration law. Citizenship creates nationality, while a passport is a travel document issued to citizens. Neither residence nor investment should be confused with automatic citizenship.

A citizenship programme provides a route to nationality under the laws and requirements of the relevant jurisdiction.

Yes. Government requirements, qualifying criteria, fees and procedures can change, so current programme rules should be checked before an application decision is made.

It is a nationality application route available in certain countries where a qualifying contribution or investment is one eligibility component. Background checks, government approval, legal documentation and other rules still apply.

No. An investment does not guarantee that a government will grant nationality. Applicants must satisfy the applicable legislation, screening requirements and official decision process.

Examples represented in the current website portfolio include St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Vanuatu and São Tomé and Príncipe. Each operates under its own rules, which should be confirmed with the competent authority.

No. Nationality is conferred under domestic law after a formal process, and a passport is a document issued to a citizen. Payments do not replace due diligence or guarantee an outcome.

It is a longer-term route where residence comes first and citizenship is pursued later after the applicable residence and nationality requirements are met.

DTC currently presents Malta and New Zealand in the citizenship-by-residency category.

No. DTC presents these routes with citizenship as the longer-term objective; residence is a stage within the pathway rather than the final service being offered.

Residence-to-citizenship ordinarily requires an eligible immigration status and fulfilling naturalisation criteria, often including physical presence. Citizenship by investment is a distinct lawful route offered only in certain jurisdictions.

Family rules vary by programme, so spouse eligibility is reviewed against the requirements of the selected route.

Dependant eligibility varies by programme and can depend on factors such as age, relationship and dependency.

Applications commonly involve identity, civil-status, financial, professional, police-clearance and supporting documents, with the exact list set by the programme.

Some documents may require notarisation, certification, apostille, legalisation or translation depending on where they were issued and the programme rules.

Timelines differ by programme and can be affected by document readiness and government processing.

Yes. Government review periods, background checks, additional document requests and policy changes can affect timing.

The consultation focuses on your objectives, family profile, preferred regions and the programmes you are considering so the next steps can be structured clearly.

Complete the private consultation form on the website and DTC can review the enquiry and arrange the appropriate next step.

It describes a longer-term planning route in which lawful residence comes before any citizenship stage. Citizenship is not automatic from residence and the applicable nationality route must be assessed under current Maltese law.

No. Passport rankings describe mobility for people who already hold Maltese citizenship. They do not indicate whether a prospective applicant qualifies for a residence or citizenship route.

Nationality and residence rules can change. The route, residence evidence and any physical-presence expectations should be checked against the current legal framework before relying on a timeline.

Malta discontinued its former direct-investment investor citizenship framework in 2025. Current citizenship routes, including naturalisation by residence and discretionary merit, must be assessed separately under Maltese law.

It is the process of assessing a lawful Vanuatu citizenship route against the applicant’s objectives, eligibility, family profile, documentation and current government requirements.

It is a public mobility measure for current Vanuatu passport holders. It is not an eligibility score and does not predict an application outcome.

Yes. Government procedures, due-diligence standards, qualifying conditions and fees may change, so current rules should be confirmed before an application decision is made.

Caribbean routes can differ in family definitions, qualifying options, due-diligence standards and application structure even when the destinations appear similar at first glance.

It describes travel access for current passport holders according to the cited source. It is not an eligibility score or an approval predictor.

Family inclusion is governed by current programme definitions and may depend on relationship, age and dependency evidence. Those rules should be checked before a family application is structured.

Useful comparison points include current eligibility, family definitions, qualifying routes, due-diligence requirements, documentary preparation and how the passport fits the client’s wider planning goals.

It shows the relative mobility of the Saint Lucian passport according to the cited ranking source. It does not indicate application eligibility or approval likelihood.

Potential dependant eligibility is governed by current programme definitions and may depend on age, relationship and dependency evidence.

Because it may be less familiar to applicants, current legal and programme documentation should be checked carefully before relying on general descriptions or older marketing material.

It describes destination access for current passport holders according to the cited source. It does not confirm application eligibility.

No. Dependant definitions are programme-specific and should be checked directly against the current framework.

It means the planning discussion begins with a lawful residence pathway and treats citizenship as a later objective after the applicable residence and nationality conditions are met.

No. Passport mobility describes access for existing New Zealand citizens. Skilled residence eligibility is assessed under the relevant immigration rules.

DTC presents New Zealand through a skilled residence-to-citizenship planning route, so the applicant’s professional profile and the current residence pathway are central to the initial review.

For the standard citizenship-by-grant route, the government generally requires 1,350 days in New Zealand across the prior five years and at least 240 days in each of those five years, subject to applicable conditions and exceptions.

A passport power rank is a public comparison of travel access for people who already hold that passport. It does not determine citizenship eligibility and should be read together with the source and update date.

Yes. Rankings can change as visa policies, eTA rules and bilateral travel arrangements change. DTC country pages therefore identify the public source and the date the data was checked.

Citizenship and residence applications commonly involve identity, background, source-of-funds and other compliance checks. The exact scope depends on the jurisdiction and current route.

Government processing, document readiness, background checks, additional requests and policy changes can all affect timing. Any timeline should therefore be treated as indicative unless the relevant authority states otherwise.