Concept
Egypt and Jordan keep their citizenship-by-investment programs apart from Caribbean and Middle Eastern schemes. Passports from both countries are weak for travel, procedures are bureaucratic, and the sums are comparable to far more convenient jurisdictions. The value here is singular and quite specific: both Cairo and Amman are bound by investment treaties with the United States, which open access to the American E-2 investor visa. For some clients, this access alone determines interest in the program, while passport mobility takes a back seat.
Egypt: Four Routes
The Egyptian program offers four options. A non-refundable contribution to the treasury is 250,000 USD. Real estate purchase starts at 300,000 USD with an obligation to hold the property for five years. Business investment is 350,000 USD plus a non-refundable donation to the state of 100,000 USD. A bank deposit is 500,000 USD, which is returned after three years in local currency and without interest. A government fee of 10,000 USD is added to any option, and all funds are transferred from abroad in dollars. From application to passport issuance typically takes six months to a year.
Jordan: Eight Routes After the 2025 Reform
Jordan overhauled its program in summer 2025, replacing the previous three options with an expanded set of eight routes. The lower threshold is now 750,000 USD. Refundable treasury bonds require 1 million USD with a six-year holding period, and the rate is set by the Central Bank of Jordan. Business investment is 750,000 USD outside Amman with the creation of ten jobs for Jordanians, or 1 million USD in Amman itself with twenty positions. Purchasing shares in local companies costs 1.5 million USD with a three-year sales ban. Authorities issue a decision on the application in approximately three months.
Why This Passport: Access to the E-2 Visa
The main reason wealthy clients even look at Egypt and Jordan is the bilateral investment treaties these countries have with the United States. A citizen of either is entitled to apply for an E-2 visa: it allows living in the United States and running one's own business there, is renewable without a hard upper time limit, and covers spouse and children under 21. Citizens of Russia, China, or India have no direct path to E-2, since their countries are not among the treaty nations. Second citizenship of Egypt or Jordan removes this barrier and costs noticeably less than the Turkish or Grenadian route to the same visa.
⚙️ The E-2 visa is non-immigrant and does not by itself lead to a green card: it grants the right to live in the U.S. as long as the business operates and status is maintained. The investment must be real and substantial, and the enterprise must be active. For a family with plans for the American market, this route is often faster and cheaper than the EB-5 visa.
Limitations and Reputation
🔗 Related
Citizenship by Investment · Second Passport and Plan B · Grenada Citizenship · St. Kitts and Nevis · Dominica
The passports themselves have few strengths. The Egyptian passport provides visa-free or simplified entry to about fifty countries, the Jordanian is comparable, and neither opens the Schengen area or the United Kingdom. Both programs involve serious vetting: source of funds, biography, and due diligence are scrutinized closely. Egypt in 2025 significantly tightened verification and issued only a few dozen passports through the investment line for the entire year, showing how narrow the actual flow remains. For a holder of Russian capital, all this means heightened attention from banks and consulates to the origin of funds and to the very fact of second citizenship.
🍓 The main value of both programs is access to the U.S. E-2 visa. Egypt starts from a contribution of 250,000 USD or real estate from 300,000 USD, Jordan from 750,000 USD under the lineup of eight routes updated in 2025. The choice is justified where the ultimate goal is business and life in the U.S., and the original citizenship provides no direct path to E-2.
This material is expert-analytical in nature and does not constitute individual legal or tax advice.
Key factual claims
- Jordan overhauled its program in summer 2025, replacing the previous three options with an expanded set of eight routes.
- Related links: Citizenship by Investment · Second Passport and Plan B · Grenada Citizenship · St. Kitts and Nevis · Dominica · E-2 Treaty Countries (U.S.