Cook Islands permanent residency
Cook Islands permanent residents are residents of the Cook Islands who hold permanent residency visas and who are not ethnic Cook Islanders.
By law, a maximum of 650 Cook Islands Permanent Residence certificates may be in effect at any one moment (excluding certificates issued to spouses of Cook Islanders or Cook Islands permanent residents who have been married for at least five years). Therefore, after applying for permanent residency in the Cook Islands, a person may have to wait for a length of time before a Permanent Residence certificate is issued to him or her.
Acquisition
A person who fulfils the following criteria is eligible to apply for permanent residency in the Cook Islands:
- Resided in the Cook Islands for the past 10 years (or, for New Zealand citizens, the past three years); and
- Has made a significant and positive contribution to and/or investment in the Cook Islands (particularly in terms of skills, expertise, community work or financial investment).
It is through the right amount of investment that an individual can buy their way to citizenship of certain countries. Permanent residency secured through investment is known as the Golden Visa.
The Golden Visa scheme has been quite a success in the Caribbean.[1] Cook Islands in the South Pacific are also getting many takers for their citizenship through investment scheme. An increasing number of Indians have been seen to have an interest in getting citizenship by investment in the Cook Islands. Indians can travel to the Cook Islands without a visa and stay for up to 31 days.
Vanuatu was the first among the South Pacific Islands to launch the citizenship by investment scheme. From 2017, citizenship of the country can be bought through the right investment.
See also
- Cook Islands nationality
