Global entrepreneurs always aim to take advantage of the best opportunities available. Even if such opportunities require them to move abroad. In recent years, many entrepreneurs have turned to Europe to expand their businesses. This move comes with the desire for the easiest EU citizenships at the shortest time possible.
But you’re probably wondering, why would entrepreneurs want a European passport?
Well, there are plenty of reasons behind that. It’s now smarter to obtain European citizenship if you want to conduct business there.
After all, one of the best ways to maximize your investment is by ensuring that you make the most with little to no government hindrance. This can only happen if you get citizenship through investment.
Some countries, your native country could be one of them, don’t make it easy for new businesses to thrive. It might seem surprising, but some governments aren’t quite interested in helping entrepreneurs. They’re very content with the existing businesses and don’t want anything that could create uncertainty.
That’s why some countries don’t have an entrepreneurial culture. They’d rather wait for a business venture to succeed in another country before their own.
Luckily, most European countries aren’t like that. You’ll be happy to learn that there are plenty of options available for you. Take advantage of some of the easiest EU citizenships and passports available for entrepreneurs.
Why Should Entrepreneurs Get A Second Passport?
Of course, you’re probably wondering why you should invest in a second passport. It wouldn’t make sense to get a passport when you could get a residence permit like most people.
Besides, you’re probably thinking to yourself that EU citizenships are hard to come by. So, why should you get one of the easiest second EU passports in the market?
Surely, there’s something wrong with them, right?
The answer is no. While some EU countries have a rigorous citizenship process, others are not strict and offer you the easiest EU citizenships routes.
Of course, these countries aren’t the better-known EU countries. But they still offer almost the same rights and privileges as Germany or France.
Besides, there’s one thing most people ignore when considering permits is the cost.
Residence Permits Aren’t For Everyone
European residence permits are expensive. Most of the residence permits by investment schemes start at 6-figures. Some countries offer golden visas at the cost of a million euros.
While this is great for some entrepreneurs, this isn’t the best option if you’re a young entrepreneur who’s just starting.
As someone who has just begun their business and investment ventures, you don’t want to spend too much on a permit. Therefore, it’s a smarter idea to go all the way and get a second passport instead.
We recommend that you get an EU passport to take advantage of its policies. Those with citizenship in European countries will enjoy some great tax policies.
Furthermore, some countries even let you register your company in a different country from the one you live in. As long as it’s in the Schengen area, of course.
Even with the easiest EU citizenships, you have unrestricted access to all EU countries. You can easily hire, expand and develop your business. If you’re an investor, you have the entire European market available to you.
Countries with the easiest EU citizenships are bustling hotspots for entrepreneurs. They have flexible laws designed to help you make the most of your business. These countries also make it easier for you to find talent as well.
If you ask us, getting EU citizenship can make things very convenient for you. Instead of shelling out money for a residence permit, why not opt for citizenship?
If anything, having a second passport is good for you in the long run as well. Here’s why.
Benefits of an EU Citizenship
There is no contest to the fact that EU passports are some of the most coveted ones globally. Even countries that offer the easiest EU passports are far better than countries that are not part of the European Union.
The reason is quite simple. EU nationals can enter more than 150 countries without a visa, making travel extremely accessible. In terms of advantages, you’ll find that there are many.
You’ll have unlimited working rights in the EU and international mobility. In most cases, you can transfer your citizenship to your children and grandchildren.
Here are some of the unique benefits of having dual citizenship.
1. No Need for Visa
We’ve discussed this one multiple times already and there’s a reason behind this. If you’re an American, Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand citizen, you can enter the EU without a visa. However, you cannot live, work or study there for more than ninety days every six months.
To stay there for more than ninety days, you’ll need a visa. Depending on your nationality, this can be a complicated and time-consuming process.
With EU citizenship, you can travel between 28-member states free with no restrictions whatsoever.
2. Full Working Rights
EU citizens are legally entitled to live and look for work in any European city. Since the process of an employee-sponsored visa is complicated, European companies prefer working with dual citizens, so there’s no need for permits and visas.
Similarly, as an EU citizen, you can easily register your company in any EU country quickly. In most cases, you can set up a new company for less than €100 in less than three working days.
There are also many different funds and initiatives available within the EU to support start-ups. In some cases, you can even seek funding.
3. A Great Plan B
In today’s world, an EU passport offers you unlimited travel, consular assistance, and safe passage. If you’re in a country where you find yourself in a dangerous situation, you can count on your passport to get you out.
This is because EU citizens have the right to request unrestricted counselor support from any member nation. It doesn’t matter if your country doesn’t have a representative in the country. You can reach out to any EU member state embassy that’s closest to you and get safe passage out.
4. Property Ownership
Owning property is very easy if you’re an EU citizen. You don’t need a permit or fill up a series of forms to buy property in the Eurozone. If you want to diversify your real estate portfolio, you can own property in several European countries.
EU Citizenship By Investment Programs Available for Young Entrepreneurs
There are many citizenship by investment programs available for entrepreneurs within the European Union. While every member country has its requirements, you have the option of choosing what country works best for you.
Every EU country has a different industry it is best known for. Their governments invest in certain industries over others. For example, if you’re interested in the IT sector, Estonia, Germany, Sweden, and The Netherlands are great options for you.
For the manufacturing industry, Poland and the Czech Republic are great for you.
Of course, it isn’t easy to land a German, Swedish, or even Dutch passport for young entrepreneurs. But Estonia is quite liberal compared to these countries.
Either way, once you have a European passport, you won’t have to worry about traveling to these countries. It’ll be completely free for you. You can even establish your start-ups there.
The point is, as a young entrepreneur, you should aim towards countries that offer the easiest EU citizenships. It’ll open a world of opportunities for you.
In the upcoming section, many EU countries are mentioned. These countries offer citizenship by investment in government bonds, stocks, and even real estate. You should have a look at these to see what options are available to you.
Easiest EU Citizenships for Entrepreneurs
So far, we’ve talked about the advantages of a European passport. We’ve understood why it’s better to apply for one, as compared to a residence permit. We’ve discussed the opportunities European countries provide citizens of all member states.
Now, let’s look at countries that offer the easiest EU citizenships.
1. Portugal
The first country on our list of the easiest EU citizenships is Portugal.
While Portugal is often discussed for the Portugal golden visa, few people talk about naturalization. That’s quite surprising actually, given how flexible this process can be.
For starters, you don’t need to be physically present in Portugal to start the process. As long as you establish connections for your business in Portugal, you’re good to go.
What makes Portuguese citizenship ideal?
You don’t need to buy property, nor do you need to invest in government funds or bonds. All you need to do is hire ten Portuguese citizens for your company and you’re good to go.
Of course, when you do so, you’ll have to pay social taxes, which Portugal has lowered. Even for Western Europe, the wages in Portugal are lower. They’re quite compatible with start-ups. In university towns like Braga, you’ll find start-up culture there making business easier.
By hiring people and paying them under a single company, you’ll be on the same path for naturalization as everyone else who’s on a golden visa. The plus side is that you don’t have to divert money elsewhere for the passport.
Now, like most of Europe, Portugal’s very particular about taxes. You’ll need to be quite proficient with your tax planning. Under certain conditions, you can even set up your business in another country and since you’ll have workers in Portugal, you’ll only pay some tax.
Remember to be particular about this process and you’ll be good to go.
2. Belgium
Next on our list is Belgium. If you start a business that directly contributes to the Belgian economy, you can get a residence permit. This will, in turn, lead to citizenship. For this country’s citizenship, in particular, you’ll have to ensure that you live here.
Unlike Portugal, you don’t have to immediately hire some locals to work for you- you just need the right framework. As long as you can provide adequate plans to show how your business will contribute to the local economy, you’re good to go.
What makes Belgian citizenship ideal?
Now, many people associate Belgium with the European Union. Of course, this is because the EU headquarters is located in the country. But the best thing about their citizenship program is that it’s quite separate from the EU.
They don’t care how the business will impact the rest of Europe or if you plan on expanding it to other countries.
Their primary concern is with the local economy and how your business will benefit locals. As long as you can prove this, you can get a permit and then work towards Belgian citizenship.
There’s been a lot of talk of the European Union being dissolved. This has made the idea of settling in countries that benefit from the Union but Belgium is a strong country itself. Even before the EU existed, Belgium was doing quite well.
While we admit that the tax system isn’t the greatest, it’s a great economy to invest in, and it’s one of the strongest passports in the EU as well.
3. Lithuania
Now, moving towards the Baltic countries, we have Lithuania.
Lithuania is one of the easiest EU citizenships to have since all they want is for you to put in about €28,000 into a business and keep it going. The Lithuanian company must generate employment for a minimum of 1 Lithuanian Citizen with a salary not less than two average salaries of Lithuania, about €1,780.
You can hire a few people here and there, but what they want is for you to keep running your business. You need to be able to show that you can keep the business going and benefit their economy. They’ll give you a residency for Europe to ensure that you can run the business as smoothly as possible.
What makes Lithuanian citizenship ideal?
Lithuania, as mentioned, is part of the Baltic region. These countries have very attractive tax incentives. They have the great talent available for you to hire. They also follow a model where you’re taxed if you take money out of your business. Until then, everything’s quite straightforward.
As a Northern-Eastern European country, you can easily find talent at affordable rates. Of course, for a country like Lithuania, you need to ensure that you’re living there for a while.
Once settled, you will be working towards citizenship by investing in Lithuania for a decade. So, if you’re interested in moving to a country with cooler weather and four seasons- this is the one to move to.
4. Latvia
Latvia has a very interesting Latvian residency and citizenship program. Like Belgium and Lithuania, they want you to put money into or develop a company that will benefit the local economy. They want you to grow these businesses and pay the taxes associated with them.
The country has a program where- if you’re doing this- you pay practically no personal income tax. They also have no social taxes for employing locals, and there are many other tax incentives as well.
What makes Latvian citizenship ideal?
In terms of job creation, Latvia isn’t as strict as other Baltic countries. Riga is the hub of the region, and there are beautiful properties available for sale.
However, the issue with living in Latvia is that you’ll have to live there for 10 years before you get your citizenship. You need to ensure that you live there for nine months every year. Latvian banks had a crisis a few years ago, so you’ll have to be careful.
Of course, the government’s brought in many incentives to meet investors’ concerns, and the country’s been doing quite well.
On the other hand, you get affordable talent which will help your company grow. So, if you’re looking for a place that offers long-term residency and will give you a chance to plant roots, Latvia’s the place to be.
5. Estonia
Out of all the countries on this list, Estonia has one of the highest capital contributions required for residency.
You’ll need to put €65,000 into a business. If you’re a sole proprietor, the price goes down to €16,000.
To begin your path to citizenship, you’ll need a permit. You will also need to hire a few people, but you don’t have to do that immediately.
What makes Estonian citizenship ideal?
Estonia originally came up with the idea of taxing people only if they took money out of their companies. So, you will have to do some tax planning before you move. Apart from that, the government has made everything easier.
It has an extremely straightforward hiring process. Everything is digitalized. Estonia’s also one of the most expensive of the Baltic states. So, services don’t come cheap. But due to the digital era-savvy approach of the government, you can expect things to go quite well.
There’s great talent available there.
If you’re willing to put in the time and the work, you can easily acquire citizenship in eight years. It’s a lovely country- not too urban or rural. If you’re interested in moving to a quaint place, then Tallinn is the place for you.
Once the requirements are met, it’s a very easy process for citizenship. So, if you decide to move to Estonia, make sure that you’ve got everything planned properly. If that’s done, then you will get your passport.
Don’t follow the e-residency trend, and make sure that you can commit to staying there for a while. Everything else is very simple.
6. Bulgaria
The last country on this list is Bulgaria which undoubtedly offers the easiest EU citizenships program.
Like Portugal, Bulgaria has had this historic program for establishing businesses. Once you hire ten people to work for your company (registered in Bulgaria), you get a permit quickly. Then you can begin working towards citizenship.
What makes the Bulgarian citizenship ideal?
The process is a lot quicker than the Baltic states that want you to stay for eight to ten years before. In fact, you can get your Bulgarian citizenship in potentially five or six years. As you can see, that’s less than half of the time required by other countries on this list.
Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia, isn’t regarded as an interesting place by many people. So, a lot of people don’t prefer moving here. However, if you’re looking for great talent within the realms of the EU, Bulgaria is a great choice.
Up-and-coming entrepreneurs will find this country quite refreshing and good for business.
The downside is that Bulgaria isn’t part of the Schengen Area. This means that you’ll have to go through borders when traveling to other European countries. So, you can’t travel to other EU states during the weekend or for a day out. You’ll be limited to Bulgaria.
Get the Easiest EU Citizenships with Nomad Capitalist
As you can see, the easiest EU citizenships are within your reach, as long as you have the right team at your disposal.
Nomad Capitalist helps entrepreneurs and investors with a seven or eight-figure net worth get more out of their money. With us, you can relax, knowing that we’ll only provide you with the best service possible.
Our team will go the extra mile to help reduce taxes the right way and develop a plan B personalized for you. With our team of experts, you can enjoy a roadmap to second citizenships as well.
Everything we do is completely legal to ensure that transition is as smooth as possible. With Nomad Capitalist, you’re guaranteed to go where you’re treated best. So, what are you waiting for?
Get in touch with us today and begin your journey into becoming a global nomad.
