Five Ways to Obtain a Second Citizenship

The offshore world changes with the tide. 

Still, as an experienced expat, you get used to going with the flow and, indeed, the ebb of everyday life.

Whatever happens in the world shouldn’t distract you from the fundamental principles of being a Nomad Capitalist. 

After all, you can only deal with the latest economic and political developments because these fundamentals are in place.

A Plan B could allow you to roll with the punches, but many of you are new to the offshore world, and even those who’ve been around a while could use a refresher.

So, let’s go back to the basics and talk about second passports, why you need them and the four main ways you can obtain a second citizenship. 

There’s a lot of misinformation out there on the topic and many people aren’t sure which method is best for them, all of which can lead to far too many ill-advised and expensive mistakes.

Even as a fundamental of the Nomad Capitalist lifestyle, if you don’t know why you’re pursuing a second passport, it could very well be that you’re chasing after a shiny object that sounds important but may not really help you to achieve your end goals.

So, let’s clear up any misunderstandings and examine the five different ways that you can get a second passport.

Why Get a Second Passport?

The entire argument behind the importance of having a second passport can be boiled down to one word: diversification. 

With only one citizenship, your life is completely in the hands of one group of (often unelected) government workers.

This one government system is entirely in control of how you’re taxed and how much you’re taxed. They can help themselves to your assets or restrict your freedom of movement around the world as they see fit.

Having a second passport puts the power back in your hands by dividing that control between different governments. It gives you the option to get rid of the citizenship that serves you least if the need were ever to arise.

Now, some erroneously believe that if having one passport could hold you back, having two or more must mean you’re really screwed. In reality, it doesn’t work that way.

Having more than one passport can be compared to the trick most young children use to get what they want. When an eight-year-old wants something, they’ll ask the parent they think is more likely to approve the request. If mommy says no, they’ll ask daddy in hopes that he will say yes.

If you have two passports, you can play the sovereign country equivalent of the mommy-daddy game within limits. 

With only one passport, one country is in charge. They can decide to take your assets or throw you in jail. They can do this because you technically have nowhere else to go; no other country has to let you in or provide you with assistance. A second passport provides you with a way out.

It’s the ultimate escape hatch, no matter what happens, serving as a Plan B, if nothing else. But your second passport will also allow you to live, work and go to school in another country while enhancing your ability to travel and increase your personal freedom.

There are many different reasons to get a second passport, but it will always serve as a form of diversification. 

For some, it’s the first step to dramatically lowering their tax bill. For others, it’s an insurance policy. For others still, it’s a way to connect with long-lost ancestors. And, for a select few, at some point, it’s just fun.

But most people do not worry about the benefits or reasons for obtaining a second passport, let alone understanding the many ways that they can do so. And for those who have asked, they have likely encountered a lot of misinformation on the topic.

How to Get a Second Passport

Let’s clear up any misunderstandings and examine the five different ways that you can get a second passport.

1. Naturalisation

The first method is the most common and the one that we are all most familiar with –  naturalisation. 

We call this the ‘take-it-easy approach’ because you can simply go and establish your residency in another country, spend a little time there and pay your dues. 

You wait three, five or seven years – or whatever the established number of years may be – and then apply for your citizenship and get your second passport.

Now, we’re all familiar with this path to citizenship. If you grew up in the US, you may have turned on the news at some point and seen some big ceremony where a bunch of people were being sworn in as US citizens. Those people had lived in the United States for many years and they were finally receiving their citizenship.

The difference for Nomad Capitalists is that you no longer have to pick up and move everything from one country in order to get citizenship in another country. 

There are countries that only require that you spend as little as one day a year there in order to get citizenship. Others require seven days, two weeks, three months, a year, or more.

There are different requirements, but the main idea is that you spend at least a little bit of time in the country to get to know it, but not so much as to compel you to pick up and move your entire life there.

Some of these are countries that you might not want to live in but they offer a good passport. So, by spending a little bit of time in your new country of ‘residence’ every year for a set number of years, you can become a naturalised citizen. 

Naturalisation is a great way to get a relatively affordable second citizenship, but it does take time.

2. Citizenship by Descent

The next way to get a second citizenship is through your ancestry by what is officially known as citizenship by descent. This is primarily for folks of European origin who can go back through their family tree and find out who their ancestors are and in which country they held citizenship.

Almost every country will make you a citizen (if you aren’t one already) if your parent is a citizen of the country as well. 

The one exception to this, which is common for people we work with, is people from the United States who have one parent from Canada who could receive Canadian citizenship by descent but have not.

But in Europe, you can go back further and claim citizenship from second, third or even fourth generations or more. 

Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Spain, Italy, Ireland, many of the Balkan countries and Hungary all allow you to go back at least two generations. 

Other countries will allow you to go back as far as you can within certain year limitations (such as Italy) to find out if you have an ancestor from that country that would qualify you for citizenship by descent.

Of the programs currently available, Ireland is definitely the easiest and the rest are somewhat tricky.

As we have gone through this process for many clients, we understand that it’s a lot of work, a lot of digging through archives and a lot of frustration.

In fact, we know a guy who got Italian citizenship after about four years of working on it. 

People often look at this method as a cheap, easy and fast way to get a second passport. But in reality, it’s not always fast or easy.

However, if you want a high-quality passport and you think that you have someone two or three generations back, primarily from Europe, you may be able to obtain a useful second passport if you’re willing to put in the work.

3. Citizenship by Investment

The third way to get a second passport, which we often talk about, is economic citizenship, or citizenship by investment. 

You can learn more about exactly how the process works in our ultimate guide to citizenship by investment.

While we’ve published many articles on the topic, the title basically explains itself: you can become an economic citizen through a monetary investment or donation to the country of your new citizenship.

In some cases, you can make an investment in the country in something like real estate or government bonds. But in most cases, the best thing for people to do is to simply make a donation to the country.

St Kitts and Nevis has the longest-running program of this nature. It costs in the low six figures for a single person to get a passport very quickly.

As opposed to the first approach of naturalisation, where you sit back and relax, this approach is all about getting your second passport fast. Economic citizenships can be issued in as little as two or three months, although six months is the average time for most programs.

You can use your new citizenship by investment to get a passport that allows you more travel freedom. With these second passports, you could also enjoy new tax privileges or renounce your US citizenship. 

You get all the benefits of a second passport in a matter of months. And all in exchange for putting a little bit of money into the country’s coffers.

4. Exceptional Citizenship

The fourth way of obtaining a second passport is a method that a lot of people don’t often talk about. It’s known as exceptional citizenship.

Now, if you Google around and you’ve been reading blogs on the topic, you may have heard some people discussing  Austrian citizenship and referring to it as economic citizenship. 

But Austria has no law specifically stating that they are in the business of selling citizenship and passports.

However, what’s more likely is that Austria might give you a passport if you’re willing to donate a significant amount (we’re talking millions of euros) or invest in creating substantial jobs. Although, this is not an officially recognised government program.  

There is no actual law that says that anyone who brings €10 million into the country gets a passport.

Basically, Austria’s program is all about getting the right people to approve of you. Sometimes, a donation or job creation is what it takes to sweeten the pot for these folks to make a decision in your favour. 

If they do, then it might be possible to be granted Austrian citizenship through exceptional circumstances. 

Austria is not in the business of selling passports and it takes more than just money to impress them, but you could be granted exceptional citizenship.

Other countries allow this as well, like Poland (although this has often been a very difficult process) or New Zealand (who granted exceptional citizenship to Pieter Thiel). 

If you can prove this about yourself, then the President, the Prime Minister, Congress, or whatever government body that has jurisdiction over such a decision, can choose to waive all the other requirements for citizenship in your exceptional circumstance.

If a decision is made in your favour, then you don’t have to meet the naturalisation requirements, learn another language or make a donation. They simply waive all that and you become a citizen.

Obviously, it is very difficult to qualify for citizenship under this method.

Countries like Singapore and the Gulf nations are primarily looking for actors, artists and people who can bring some art savvy into their country because they fear that they don’t have enough culture. 

So, if you’ve been in a big TV show or something like that, you may be able to get citizenship in the Gulf.

Olympians also often get this kind of exceptional citizenship from countries like Qatar that want to win Olympic medals and make a name for themselves in international competitions.

There are other less wealthy countries that want investors. They will give you citizenship if you can come and start an amazing business, hire a lot of people or whatever it may be that they believe will bring acclaim to their country. 

If that’s the case for you, then the President, or whoever has that power, may be able to grant you exceptional citizenship as well.

Obviously, this is the most nebulous method of them all and one which nobody really talks about it. 

They primarily focus on the first three methods. But, exceptional citizenship is available in many different countries in one form or another.

However, for the vast majority of us, this is not a practical citizenship route to pursue.

5. Citizenship through Marriage

There can be a stigma around this path to citizenship. We often have to go through the comments section of our YouTube channel and delete strange comments from people offering money for marriage.

This is obviously not the right way to go about it.

However, if you’re in a legitimate marriage with a partner who is a citizen of another country, you have an advantage when it comes to applying for citizenship in that country.

There is a common misconception surrounding citizenship by marriage. There are people under the impression that if they get married to a citizen of any other country, they’ll have a second passport faster than they can blink.

There are a few countries where this is the case; places like Cape Verde will give you citizenship almost immediately. Most countries, however, are abandoning this kind of speed in their citizenship process.

The reality of the passport game is that most countries are tightening up their restrictions on who they give passports to, making Cape Verde an exception rather than the rule.

In most countries, it isn’t the marriage that gets you citizenship. Marrying a citizen of another country makes it easier for you to become a permanent resident so that you can then step into the queue for naturalisation.

As an example, we recently worked with someone who was engaged to a woman who could claim Mexican citizenship by descent. She went through the process to claim that citizenship and once they got married, the time between his residency and naturalisation was shortened from five years to two.

Every country has its own laws and rules on how marriage can shorten your naturalisation process and learning these rules can help you decide if getting a second citizenship through your spouse is the right option.   

How to Get a Second Passport: FAQs

How to Get a Second Citizenship the Right Way: A Word of Advice

The best advice for anyone looking for a second citizenship is to understand why they need one. Once you know that, you can examine each method and see how they work within your personal timeline.

Perhaps you want better visa-free travel. If you’re missing out on travel opportunities because of your passport, a second passport could be worth it. 

Or, maybe you’re more focused on paying less in tax or gaining more privacy. Knowing your reasons is important.

So, too, is focusing on those reasons and not chasing the latest shiny object. The actual passport you obtain is just one tool in your tool chest. Each person needs a different tool.

The US citizen who needs a second passport to escape tax has different needs than the Chinese millionaire who is tired of applying for visas and worried about his children’s future.

If you’re a Chinese millionaire with no passport offering good visa-free travel, then getting that is probably on the top of your list. However, the US or UK citizen seeking a second passport should consider a passport that complements what they already have, rather than offering more of the same.

The secret ingredient in second citizenship isn’t ‘fast’, but ‘diversity’. For most Nomad Capitalists who already have a decent passport, a second passport offers the chance to be tied to a country that doesn’t read your emails or tax you into oblivion.

Like anything else in your Nomad Capitalist lifestyle, don’t be dogmatic. Determine your desired outcome and work backwards to find the best passport and the best method for obtaining it. You don’t have to waste your time insisting on one particular option when there are so many countries and so many ways to obtain a second passport.

We’ve helped thousands of high-net-worth individuals plan and complete their journeys to second citizenship without a hitch. 

Our clients are paired with experts in tax, investment strategy, asset protection and immigration to help them ‘go where they’re treated best’. Reach out to our team and learn how our Nomad Capitalist plans can help you.