Are you considering a second citizenship, but the thought of a lengthy and bureaucratic naturalization process is daunting? Whether you're looking to renounce your current citizenship or seeking to expand your travel freedom, the idea of obtaining a second citizenship quickly is a dream of many.
This is where citizenship by investment programs come into play. Imagine acquiring dual citizenship, increasing your travel freedom, protecting your assets, and securing a safe haven, all in under one month from the comfort of your home. We created this guide to help you discover the easiest countries to become a citizen, enabling you to navigate the world of second citizenship and naturalization with ease.
In a world that's constantly evolving, the concept of 'dual citizenship' has become a strategic asset, especially for those who find their home country's passport limiting. Forward-looking countries have opened their doors to talented and wealthy individuals, and they’ve streamlined the process to make it as fast and efficient as possible. Offering you a unique opportunity to acquire a golden passport.
Whether you’re considering a real estate investment or a donation, the path to citizenship is simple and efficient with CitizenX. You won’t have to learn a new language or uproot your life - you can become a dual citizen from the comfort of your home, only speaking English.
El Salvador: The Freedom Passport
Minimum investment - $1 million
Time to citizenship - 2 months
El Salvador's newly announced Citizenship by Investment program, also known as the 'Freedom Passport,' has garnered significant attention. While the program boasts a remarkably streamlined process, concerns have been raised about the overall quality of the Salvadoran passport in comparison to the substantial USD $1 million donation required. The program offers an expedited naturalization process, allowing successful applicants to obtain citizenship within six weeks, along with no residency requirement, making it one of the easiest Central and Latin American country to get citizenship.
El Salvador's 'Freedom Passport' program, a pioneering collaboration between Tether and the Salvadoran government, has garnered significant attention as the first of its kind. The entire application process can be completed online, with the donation paid in USDt or Bitcoin. Prospective applicants can initiate the process by making a non-refundable USD $999 deposit, which is then credited towards the USD $1 million donation upon completion of successful due diligence. You need to possess a clean criminal record, and once approved, you’ll be granted Salvadoran citizenship, with the option to collect your new passport in person or have it shipped to you.
El Salvador has experienced a remarkable transformation under the leadership of President Nayib Bukele, transitioning from having one of the highest murder rates globally to now boasting one of the lowest rates in the Americas. This turnaround has been accompanied by a progressive approach to cryptocurrency, with El Salvador becoming the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender.
The Salvadoran passport provides visa-free access to over 130 countries, including Europe’s Schengen area, Russia, Japan, and Singapore. However, it is slightly less powerful than the passports offered by the five Caribbean Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programs, which have a substantially lower minimum investment.
Despite the country's significant improvements in recent years, there is still an image problem associated with El Salvador, which may lead to increased scrutiny when traveling on an El Salvadoran passport. This scrutiny is due to the historical association of El Salvador with gang-affiliated crime and a high murder rate.
Turkey Citizenship by Investment program
Minimum investment - $400k
Time to citizenship - 3 months
Turkey's Citizenship by Investment (CBI) program has gained significant popularity over the past six years, attracting a diverse array of investors, from US citizens to those from China, seeking easy citizenship. The program offers a diverse range of investment options, including bank account deposits, real estate investments, and government bonds, among others. By far, the most popular route is real estate, with a minimum investment of USD $400k, which can be allocated to a single or multiple properties. Once the property purchase is finalized and verified, applicants undergo due diligence, pay the program fees, and subsequently attain Turkish citizenship.
Notably, Turkey boasts one of the largest real estate markets in Europe, providing investors with the flexibility to acquire property on the open market, as opposed to being limited to government-approved projects, as is the case with many other programs. This presents an opportunity for investors to potentially recoup their investment or even generate a profit upon future property sales.
Situated at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Turkey's strategic location is exemplified by its largest city, Istanbul, serving as a global business hub. The Turkish passport is ranked 35th in the world, offering visa-free access to over 129 countries, with promising prospects for increased Western visa-free travel in the future. Furthermore, as an official European Union candidate country, Turkey is under consideration for EU membership, which, if granted, would enable Turkish passport holders the freedom of movement to live, work, and study across all European Union countries.
Vanuatu Citizenship by Investment program
Minimum investment - £130k
Time to citizenship - 1 month
Vanuatu, a serene country comprising 83 islands in the South Pacific, has established itself as a forward-looking country. Actively seeking to attract talented and wealthy individuals to bolster its citizenship base. The Vanuatu Citizenship by Investment program stands out as the world's quickest, with processing times of less than one month. The program is meticulously designed to offer a seamless and remote application process, eliminating the need for any physical visits to the country. Moreover, Vanuatu presents an enticing environment for tax benefits, with no personal income tax, no capital gains tax, and no inheritance, gift tax, or wealth tax.
Vanuatu's recent launch of a new investment option for their Golden Passport program is now the best deal in the entire industry, with annual returns and a minimum of half of your investment back in five years.
Dubbed the Coconut Fund, this path to citizenship has a minimum investment amount of USD $138k, with conservative estimations of USD $70k returned to the applicant within five years. This effectively means that the program is 50% off, and your new passport will end up costing less than $70k, making it the cheapest and fastest golden passport program in the world. This innovative program not only offers a fast track to citizenship but also provides the opportunity for passive income through its attractive returns, making it an appealing option for American investors and individuals seeking a streamlined path to a second citizenship.
The Vanuatu passport offers visa-free travel to over 98 countries, including Ireland, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Russia, significantly enhancing travel freedom and eliminating the need for visas. Furthermore, Vanuatu citizens have the unique right to live on the country's 83 islands, providing an unparalleled living experience close to Australia. Being significantly cheaper, faster, and more streamlined than CBI programs from Caribbean countries such as St. Kitts and Nevis or Antigua and Barbuda, Vanuatu is the most attractive option.
3 Alternative Routes to Acquiring a Second Passport
Citizenship by Naturalization
Brazil has a favorable path to citizenship; if you have a child born in the territory, the child will be born a Brazilian citizen, and you will receive permanent residency; after having lived in Brazil for just one year, you can apply for citizenship.
Another route to citizenship, albeit a much slower path, is to live in the country of choice on a residency visa for a number of years and then go through the country’s naturalization process to become a citizen.
In Europe, Portugal is the most attractive country for this, with it being straightforward to acquire a residence permit by proving monthly income and then apply for citizenship after only five years of residency.
In Latin America, Peru, Argentina, and the Dominican Republic also stand out as having low two-year residency requirements in most cases to apply for citizenship, making them some of the fastest countries in the world to naturalize.
Another benefit of these countries is that once you’re a citizen, you can easily acquire a Spanish non-lucrative visa and have an expedited route to EU citizenship in just two years. With an EU passport, you can live, work, and study in all EU countries, including Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
Citizenship by Descent
One of the most well-known paths to second citizenship is through descent, with different countries like Ireland having generous policies that, in some cases, can allow people to become citizens with ancestry as far back as having an Irish great-grandparent.
Italy also has a generous citizenship by descent program that allows people with Italian heritage to become citizens, which is common with many Canadians and Americans.
Golden Visas or Residency by Investment
Golden Visa programs are similar to Golden Passports in that they require an investment, but it is in exchange for a residence permit that leads to citizenship, instead of a passport. Golden Visas allow you to work towards citizenship with minimal to no physical presence requirements in most cases. European countries such as Greece, Portugal, and Spain all have golden visa programs. These residency programs allow you to become a naturalized citizen after residence. Golden Visa programs usually have lower minimum investment requirements compared with golden passports and are most popular among expat retirees who want to relocate to countries with higher standards of living.
Easiest Countries to get Citizenship by Naturalization
Argentina
Argentina grants citizenship just 2 years after getting permanent residence, making it one of the easiest countries to obtain citizenship by naturalization.
Peru
Peru offers a straightforward naturalization process, granting citizenship to foreign nationals after living there for 2 years.
Uruguay
In Uruguay, married couples can obtain citizenship within just 3 years of residency. For single applicants, the requirement is 5 years.
Easiest Countries to get Citizenship by Descent
Italy
You may be eligible for Italian citizenship if you have an ancestor who was a citizen of Italy on or after March 17, 1861. The key requirement is that the lineage must be unbroken, meaning no ancestor revoked their Italian citizenship or acquired citizenship of another country.
Romania
Romania is one of the easiest countries to obtain citizenship by descent, allowing individuals to claim citizenship if they have a parent, grandparent, or even great-grandparent who was a Romanian citizen. The country's nationality law is based on jus sanguinis (right of blood), meaning descendants of Romanian citizens can be eligible for citizenship, even up to three generations back.
Notably, Romania also offers citizenship to descendants of former citizens who lost their citizenship involuntarily due to historical border changes or oppressive regimes. With a straightforward application process and the ability to prove ancestry from a broad pool of eligible ascendants, Romania stands out as a highly accessible option for those seeking citizenship by descent.
Ireland
If you were born in Ireland before 2005, you are automatically granted citizenship. After January 1, 2005, citizenship depends on your parents' citizenship status at the time of your birth. Irish citizenship can flow indefinitely as long as the previous generations maintained their Irish citizenship.
Easiest Countries to get Golden Visas and Residency by Investment
Portugal
Portugal's Golden Visa program was one of the most popular in Europe since its launch in 2012. The Portuguese Golden Visa offered a low minimum investment of €250,000 and only required an average stay of 7 days per year in the country. However, the program was ended in 2023.
Spain
Spain's golden visa process can be very quick, sometimes taking less than a month. It has no residency requirements and the residency rights also apply to financial dependents and spouses. The minimum real estate investment is €500,000. The Spanish government announced that it will be closing the program in 2024.
Greece
Greece's Golden Visa has a low investment threshold of just €250,000, making it one of the most affordable in Europe. It also doesn't require golden visa holders to actually reside in Greece.
Malta
Malta offers one of the cheapest golden visa programs in Europe, with a minimum investment of just €150,000 through its Malta Permanent Residence Programme.
Alternative Investor Passport programs
There are also multiple alternative golden passport programs globally, including five countries in the Caribbean - Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and Dominica.
In the European Union, there’s only one direct Golden passport program, Malta; after a substantial €738k investment and some time spent residing in the country, you can acquire Maltese citizenship.
The main difference between these programs and the three countries highlighted in this guide is the longer time frames to become a citizen.
The fastest and most effortless route to a second passport by far is Vanuatu. Baseflow has created the fastest and easiest citizenship by investment process in the world. Apply today and receive your new Vanuatu passport here.
