In an age of austerity getting international citizenship is ‘cheaper’ than ever writes The Economist:

• By investing $1.3M in financial assets or creating 10 jobs Portugal offers a residency permit. A passport can follow. Ireland, Spain, Macedonia, and Cyprus, to name a few, have similar schemes.
• For cash-strapped governments it is an easy way to raise funds without having to do much in return.
• It’s not just people looking to emigrate who take advantage of the schemes. Those who want to disguise their origins for international travel will often get the passport of another country (think an Israeli wanting to visit Iran).
• Others like international passports because those of some countries guarantee visa-free travel.

Read more here.

Source: The Economist