How to Legally Obtain Second Citizenship and Passport
November 1, 2009Economic citizenship program is a legitimate program supported by the Government providing for citizenship to foreign investors in exchange for a substantial contribution to the country’s economy.
Economic Citizenship Basics
While being a citizen of one country, you may feel the need to acquire a citizenship and passport of another country. An alternative citizenship and passport of a decent country with a good international reputation may bring you a number of advantages, such as easy travel to certain first world countries with no visa requirements, more personal safety when traveling to specific countries, insurance for you and your family against unexpected personal, political or economical strife, better choice of places to live and much more.
Second citizenship and passport can also become a good business instrument for expansion of your investment and entrepreneurial abilities, improvement of your taxation regime, asset and privacy protection.
Most countries have in place the according laws for regulation of granting citizenship to aliens. You can normally qualify for citizenship of a foreign country on the grounds of birth on its territory, marriage, lineage or religious affiliation. If none is the case, there is an option of naturalization. The latter normally requires several years of permanent residence in the country (3 to 10 years).
However, there exist quicker options. Some countries maintain economic citizenship or citizenship-by-investment programs. Governments of those countries utilize the program to attract investors of good character to make a substantial contribution to the development of the country’s economy. These investors can then apply for citizenship and passport within the relevant regulations. The latter includes a rigorous vetting process with a detailed criminal background check. None of such countries issues passports to criminals.
At the present moment, we have several countries in the world witch provide official economic citizenship.
Note that to be a citizen of two and more countries, each of them should recognize dual citizenship. If one of the countries does not recognize it, you are to renounce the previous citizenship to leave only one.
If you plan to use second citizenship and passport for asset and privacy protection purposes, you should be aware that building of the according scheme may involve years. It is also important to understand that instant citizenship or fast-track citizenship programs, unlike the official citizenship programs, are not guaranteed from being stopped or suspended any time.
That is why it is recommended to start acting in this direction as soon as possible. The earlier you get this instrument in your possession, the more effective it may appear for your further planning.
