Middle East Briefs
Parallel to the Center’s scholarly work, Middle East Briefs provides a brief analysis of a single issue at the top of the region’s political, social, or economic agenda. Targeted primarily at decision-makers and opinion leaders, the publication was launched in 2005.
Latest Brief
February 2025 – Golden Passports and Golden Visas in the Gulf
Noora Lori
Middle East Brief 163 (Summary) — Over the past decade, the Arab Gulf has emerged as an unexpected hub for “Golden Passport” and “Golden Visa” programs, granting foreign citizenship or residency in exchange for investment. What is driving this booming market? Why are individuals in the region acquiring second passports or residency rights without intending to relocate? In this Middle East Brief, Noora Lori examines three key factors influencing these choices: temporary migration laws, exclusionary citizenship laws, and global hierarchies with respect to visa policies. She argues that investment-based mobility reflects the growing commodification of legal belonging and widening global inequalities that shape access to rights, security, and freedom of movement.
Noora Lori is an associate professor of international relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University and a former Goldman Faculty Leave Fellow at the Crown Center.