11 Criteria to Consider Before Deciding on a Second Citizenship

Have you ever thought about whether you should apply for a second citizenship, but are not sure if you are really interested? In this article we talk about the different factors you should consider before making your decision.

The demand for second citizenships has always been very high among Latin American citizens. However, since the introduction of nationality taxation in the United States and the growing fear of citizens of Western countries (Canada, Australia, and Europe in general) of possible economic crises and even war, as well as the constant control measures and attempts to squeeze their citizens and inhabitants more and more fiscally, it is now also the citizens of the richest and most developed countries who attach importance to obtaining an additional passport.

In this article we will talk briefly about 11 factors to consider when choosing a second nationality, diving deeper into the first 3 factors, with a special emphasis on the freedom to travel. It is possible that we will publish a second part in the future, in which we will further develop the other 8 factors. Be that as it may, you can find detailed information on many of the options we discuss here in our Citizenship Encyclopedia.

At Denationalize.me, we have been supporting our clients with a plan B (and often also with a plan C, D, E…) for more than 7 years now. Applying the flag theory, we try to find the best protection for the particular circumstances and preferences of each individual. Decisions as important as this depends mostly on individual wishes and concerns —especially when it comes to the flag of citizenship. For many, a (permanent) residence permit is often enough.

Moreover, you should borne in mind that many of the typical citizenship-by-investment programmes are massively advertised with misleading information (especially those in Caribbean countries), and many uninformed people end up blindly trusting these advertisements and falling into unpleasant traps.

In today’s article, therefore, we would like to draw on our experience to discuss some of the most important factors to consider when deciding on a citizenship programme. These factors are often missing from the usual marketing campaigns in most countries, or are presented in a misleading way. Naturally, we will also look at some of the best options for us, which we can of course help you apply for through our international partners. In our Denationalize.me Citizenship Encyclopaedia, which you can buy via this link, you will find more information and, above all, more details about each of these programmes. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like assistance in applying for a new citizenship.

The 11 key factors for choosing additional citizenships

Broadly speaking, we can speak of 11 decisive criteria when deciding on one additional citizenship or another. All these decisions should always be considered in relation to your existing citizenship, so that the different destinations gain or lose interest in relation to your current citizenship.

For the purposes of this article, we will assume that you already have some Western nationality (Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, etc.) and that you will keep it in the future, as it currently brings more advantages than problems. If this is not the case and you only have a passport in a Latin American country (Mexico, Chile, Argentina), perhaps one of your first objectives should be to obtain citizenship in a country of the European Union. In this regard, Spain is usually one of the best and quickest options, especially in combination with the inpatriate regime (Beckham law).

In any case, since nationality in a European or Western country may become a burden in the future, you should also be aware of the advantages you could lose and the problems that may come with owning a Western passport. You always have the option of giving up your nationality altogether if you feel that there is a viable alternative to achieve your goals and you fear that expatriation will become more complicated in the future.

Now, let us take a look at the 11 decisive factors for choosing a second nationality (in this article we will only delve into the first 3):

• Relative freedom to travel: With a strong passport (such as Spanish, Portuguese, Italian or Argentinian, for example), this is not a particularly relevant factor. However, with the right combination, you can further expand your freedom to travel and access global opportunities that would otherwise be off-limits. You should not forget what would happen if you renounced your German nationality, and you should also consider the possibility of acquiring a third, fourth, etc. nationality.
• Supranational membership: Being an EU citizen has many advantages and, at present, only minor disadvantages. However, there are other supranational entities besides the EU with varying degrees of integration: South America’s Mercosur, the Caribbean’s Caricom, West Africa’s ECOWAS… among other alliances. You should be aware of the advantages and disadvantages associated with these entities when choosing your future citizenship.
• Diplomatic support vs. state control: Despite its decline, the EU and many of its member states remain an economic and political power with numerous embassies and honorary consulates around the world. Microstate citizenship does not offer as many levels of contact, but on the other hand, a strong government presence abroad can also bring disadvantages and dangers.
• Compulsory military service and the risk of war: This is an issue that concerns many young people (and parents) nowadays. Choosing the wrong nationality at the wrong time can have fatal consequences. However, the existence of compulsory service in the country is not necessarily a bad thing, and can even be an advantage —and both compulsory military service and the general mobilisation of all adult males is only problematic in terms of the real threat of that country going to war.
• (non-)Cooperation with the country of origin: A second citizenship should, above all, be an insurance against future detrimental developments in your home Therefore, the position of the state of your new citizenship vis-à-vis your home country is crucial: is there too much cooperation between the two countries? Do the politicians of your home country actively influence this other state?
• Stigma about buying a passport: Many passport buyers see this factor from the outside, as a white person with a Caribbean passport attracts as much attention as a black person with a Cambodian passport: the likelihood of these passports being acquired by birth or residence is quite low, like it or not, and in many cases, this can lead to significant disadvantages on a day-to-day basis. Even despite the visa exemption, this could still cause problems when entering the country.
• Family and inheritance: Do you want to acquire a nationality for yourself alone, or also for your family? What additional fees will you have to pay for each member of your family? Are parents, siblings, or other relatives eligible for this citizenship? Will your future spouses and children also benefit from the new nationality? You should ask yourself all these questions before choosing a destination based on your personal circumstances.
• Passport refusal: A new nationality will only be beneficial if you can make good use of your passport. Therefore, you should pay close attention to the local conditions of validity and possible refusal. This is something that can vary greatly from one citizenship to another.
• Renunciation of nationality: Despite considering all the factors mentioned so far, you may be forced to renounce your new citizenship in the future. Do you know if and under what conditions this country allows it? Do you know what should be considered when renouncing your current nationality?
• The bureaucratic and KYC process effort in applying: This factor is highly underestimated by entrepreneurs who value their time —even more so if they have a family. The application process can take, depending on the programme, from a few hours to a few hundred hours. The actual duration, on-site requirements, and other bureaucratic factors vary greatly from country to country; and it is important to put this in perspective. We know how frustrating it is to put dozens of hours of work into an application only to have it rejected on the grounds that it was signed with the wrong pen.
• (Hidden) costs and counter-value: Of course, the choice of nationality is also highly cost-dependent, but there are many things to consider that may be overlooked at first glance. For example, the total costs of some programmes are often lower than others, but they often charge high fees in the small print in addition to lower investment amounts, which makes the process much more expensive. It is important to keep an eye on the big picture or you can quickly lose a fortune —especially if you are accompanied by several family members.

Relative freedom to travel

European passports are generally considered to be the strongest in the world. Currently, the United Arab Emirates holds the title of best passport, a title it snatched from Germany —which went from 179 to 177 visa-free countries. The Spanish passport holds the second place with 178 visa-free countries, and third place with 177 visa-free countries is shared by France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, and Switzerland. The United States and Canada, with 172 visa-free countries, are in eighth place. From 13th place we find Latin American countries, starting with Brazil (13th place), then Argentina (14th), Chile (15th), Mexico (20th), Uruguay (21st), Peru (23rd) and so on. The American dictatorships are much further back, Venezuela in 41st place (entry to 127 countries without a visa) and Cuba in 69th place (entry to 77 countries without a visa). Among the worst passports are those of Pakistan, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria… passports that allow between 46 and 39 countries to be visited without a visa.

Be that as it may, a ranking criterion such as this, which only considers the number of visa-free countries, is misleading in many ways: visa-free entry to a country must really respond to your personal interest in travelling to that country to be considered an advantage. Just because Spain has visa-free access to some developing countries that you would not know even how to locate on a map does not mean that the Spanish passport is the best in the world for travel. Yes, it is certainly handy for extreme Perpetual Tourists like Christoph Heuermann, co-founder of Denationalize.me (who has already visited every country in the world without major visa problems); but for the average entrepreneur or investor, being able to travel to far-flung places is pretty irrelevant.

Freedom to travel should be measured, for example, by the difficulty of obtaining visas. Some countries require criminal record certificates to obtain a visa. In many countries, such as Germany (Christoph’s home country), applying for a visa from abroad is an extremely long and tedious process. In other countries, such as Paraguay or Spain, they are issued in a matter of a day or even online. Another example: Americans can enter Equatorial Guinea without a visa, while Europeans must go through a complex process to obtain a visa. On the other hand, Americans face many restrictions when travelling to ‘enemy countries’, which is not the case when you have an Argentinean, Chilean, Mexican or Spanish passport: obtaining a visa for North Korea, Iran, or Venezuela is extremely laborious for US citizens and requires a lot of effort and time. For Spanish speakers, on the other hand, these countries are either visa-free or allow you to obtain a visa on arrival at the airport (visa on arrival).

In addition, when assessing the freedom to travel you will have to do a good and objective documentation work in various lists, rankings, and classifications: does this country allow e-visa or visa on arrival on national territory? Does it really apply in the same way in all countries of the ranking? The German passport, for example, allows entry into many West African countries that actually require a pre-approved visa on arrival. Yes, it requires some effort, but much less than if you had to send your passport to an embassy or even to present yourself personally there. Christoph travelled to Nigeria with a pre-approved business visa on arrival for tourist purposes to avoid having to apply in person in Berlin.

Even if you really need a visa, it is important to bear in mind how long the process takes and how important the country is. If you travel to a State on the US blacklist, for example, you lose the option of the ESTA (which must be renewed every two years) and must obtain a B1/B2 tourist and/or business visa to enter the US legally. Although getting an appointment usually requires a wait of several months and a personal appearance at the embassy (in the country of origin), it also brings additional advantages (180 days of stay instead of 90), and gives access to multiple entry with a validity of 10 years. Last but not least, it also saves you a lot of stress when entering the country, because you are in a better position when you have a visa. Therefore, not having an ESTA is not necessarily a disadvantage if you can otherwise meet the usual visa requirements.

As a side note. The US has access to all your flight information within the IATA system. If you were to enter the US with ESTA authorisation illegally (e.g. having visited a blacklisted country in between), you would be banned from entering the country for several years. In addition to well-known pariah states (such as Iran, Syria, Yemen, and North Korea) other countries such as Iraq, Somalia and even Cuba are also on the list. That is right: anyone who has been to Cuba after 2021 will no longer be able to obtain an ESTA. You will be allowed entry with a second, unstamped passport or a new passport, unless you use land borders.

ESTA is an exciting topic in its own right, and depends to a large extent on the visa refusal rate of the travelling nations. In principle, only countries whose population can consistently demonstrate less than 3% of visa (or ESTA authorisation) refusals in the US are granted ESTA. Germany is getting dangerously close to this rate, mainly because citizenship is currently being given away to almost anyone. It is quite possible that Germany will lose access to ESTA in the coming years, joining the half of the EU that does not currently have this option. In principle, ‘visa-free’ entry into the US is not a major disadvantage. There are currently no LATAM countries eligible for ESTA.

Let us now change the subject and turn to the United States’ number one antagonist: Russia. Here, citizens of the EU and other Western states are required to apply for a visa for entry. However, virtually all newly industrialised and developing countries can enter Russia without a visa.

Instead of the standardised US visa rules for almost all nations, Russia has a real patchwork of visas depending on the country: Serbia is one of the few European countries to which Russia grants an automatic 30-day stay, Cape Verde is granted 60 days, and Vanuatu has a 90-day stay permit. All these countries also have attractive citizenship programmes. Depending on your individual preferences (whether leisure or business), a longer stay in Russia may make more or less sense. The mere fact of entering without a visa is of little significance on its own.

In general, entry into countries considered ‘great powers’ can provide you with an interesting insight into each country’s position in the world and a possible vision of the future development of a passport. Only a few countries (such as the Seychelles, Grenada, Dominica and, once again, Serbia) have access to both China and Russia as Schengen visa-free countries. Serbia is a good example of how history tends to repeat itself: until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1990, the republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia’s predecessor) had the strongest passport in the world. This was due to its neutral, non-aligned status as a country, which gave it access to both the West and the Soviet Union, as well as to many neutral countries. After the fragmentation of Yugoslavia and the Balkan wars, Serbian freedom of travel was greatly devalued, but the trend has been reversed since the 2000s. Today, the Serbian passport allows visa-free access to some 150 countries. Although the country is sceptical towards the EU and the West, it retains visa-free access to the Schengen area, the UK, and many other countries; while keeping the doors to the East open.

What an attractive citizenry like Serbia’s lacks (and in large numbers) is mainly the strengthening of relations with ‘insignificant’ developing countries with which there are hardly any trade relations. Germany has monopolised the advantage in this sector as the former world export champion, as well as through its generous development aid. Australia, New Zealand, and Canada are still missing from the list of countries that offer the possibility of acquiring citizenship by investment. It is up to the individual to decide for himself whether visa-free access to certain countries is that decisive, as many countries (such as the United States) offer multiple-entry visas for each nation for many years provided the applicant meets certain personal characteristics. Visa-free entry to Tuvalu, Lesotho or St. Lucia is great for fanatical travellers, but of little relevance on a global scale.

Therefore, any decision regarding the freedom to travel must consider the current regulations of your previous citizenship and fit in with your travel plans. For example, now that Germans can enter China without a visa for two weeks, the German passport has gained another interesting plus point. However, if 2 weeks in China is not enough for you, the Grenadian passport allows you to enter China without a visa for about 3 months. If you have a lot of business to do in China, getting the nationality of a country with advantages of access to that country(or any country you are interested in) can be a great help.

In purely technical terms, however, the West African passport gives Germans the most freedom to travel, as these are the countries that require Germans to obtain a visa. Anyone travelling to the region on business can avoid a lot of frustration by strategically investing in a passport. For example, Cape Verdean citizenship (which Denationalize.me can also help you obtain) is within reach with a modest investment in local businesses. Cape Verde is a fairly Europeanised and democratic island state with a large white minority, but offers freedom to travel and settle, unlike the corrupt military dictatorships of the ECOWAS region of West Africa. In addition to facilitating access to Russia and other Portuguese-speaking countries (former Portuguese colonies such as Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and Angola), this passport allows you to cover the shortcomings of the German passport should you decide to keep it. Thus, the lack of visa-free access to the Schengen area would no longer be a concern.

Moreover, visa-free access to the Schengen area is another blatant case of misleading advertising: with almost 30 Schengen countries, a visa-free regime is quantitatively no great leap forward or backward. Vanuatu, for example, experienced this first-hand when it lost access to the Schengen area following criticism of its CBI programme’s admission criteria. Too many Russians and other undesirable persons wanted to use Vanuatu’s programme to gain easier access to the EU.

And yet, Vanuatu’s remains an attractive programme that can certainly compete with Caribbean states even though it currently offers significantly less visa-free access: legitimate naturalised citizens can easily apply for a multi-annual visa for the Schengen area. Anyone who can acquire nationality can also easily fulfil the conditions for obtaining a Schengen visa. Only ineligible persons will have problems with this application.

This is, of course, a crucial point. With a visa or prior authorisation, it is possible to identify persons of concern well in advance and, if necessary, not to let them in. In a visa-free entry, however, the check is carried out at the border crossing point at the earliest possible moment, which makes recognition much laxer. This is the great advantage of passports that are generally considered stronger, such as European passports. It is unfair, but a Colombian, Mexican or Jamaican citizen is much more likely to be subject to a drug check at customs than a European simply because of the nationality reflected in their passport. Therefore, we also recommend taking passport stigma into consideration, as we will explain in detail in the second part of this article.

But back to the Schengen visa: all Caribbean nations that offer the possibility of acquiring citizenship by donation continue to have visa-free access to the EU. The real question, however, is how long this will be the case. Under pressure from the EU, almost all programmes are increasing their investment amounts, tightening the already abnormal bureaucracy required and introducing interviews and minimum attendance requirements. The EU is not likely to appreciate this, and Caribbean passports are expected to lose visa-free access to the Schengen area by 2025. This will happen under the ETIAS programme, which will finally be introduced in 2025 after years and years of delays. In practice, this is an ESTA for non-Europeans that requires a similar investment of both effort and money. Anyone who has acquired a passport through a donation or investment will have their electronic pre-authorisation rejected, or risk being banned from entry: only citizens by birth or who obtained citizenship through normal naturalisation processes will be able to enter the country without a visa. You will need to consider these likely options when choosing your passport, especially if you wish to forego a European passport. Caribbean citizenships are not always the best, as your (future) freedom to travel is more of an abused marketing gimmick than a usable reality.

There is a difference of 40 visa-free countries between the number one passport (St Kitts and Nevis) and the weaker one (Dominica) even though both are former British colonies. And I ask myself, is the St Kitts passport really worth the extra expense over the much cheaper Dominica passport, which, unlike the St Kitts passport, allows visa-free entry into China? You cannot generalise about which passport is better solely based on the countries it allows visa-free entry, as the quality of a passport depends on your life goals. Do not hesitate to consult us to find out what is the ideal strategy for ‘travelling more freely’ in your specific case.

Some citizenships offer special privileges for those who want to take travel to the extreme: the Jordanian passport, which can be bought completely officially and legally, is the only one that allows access to Libya, and the Georgian passport offers access to Turkmenistan —which was the last country left for Christoph, founder of Denationalize.me, to visit due to its isolation. For businessmen who have dealings with these countries, the selective investment in these passports may therefore be well worth it.

Supranational affiliation and freedom to travel

The issue of freedom to travel is closely linked to supranational citizenship. Today, almost every country in the world is a member of a supranational organisation with varying levels of integration. Below, we will look at some of these often-unknown options that can expand your freedom to travel.

Some coalitions are relatively small: for example, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua offer the greatest possible freedom to travel between countries with only an identity document. In Europe, for example, there is also the little-known freedom to travel between Serbia, North Macedonia, and Albania.

However, larger alliances, such as the South American Mercosur region, have special criteria: in principle, naturalised citizens cannot immediately benefit from freedom of establishment in other Mercosur countries: even if you can travel to Brazil from Chile via Argentina or Paraguay with only an identity card, you cannot automatically settle there. Naturalised Mercosur citizens only enjoy full freedom of establishment in other countries after 5 years. Contrary to what is spread on many platforms, a residence permit from Paraguay, for example, would not be sufficient to settle in other countries —unfortunately this is a widespread myth.

In the Schengen area, on the other hand, a permanent residence permit from one of the Schengen countries gives you full freedom of movement.  Golden Visa programmes continue to exist there, but the requirements and costs have increased and have become stricter in recent years. By spending up to half a million or a million in real estate or other investments in Spain, Italy, Portugal, or Greece —to name a few countries— you can move around the Schengen area without a visa, without having to live in the country offering the golden visa and without having to pay taxes there. After 5 to 10 years, naturalisation is usually guaranteed. Similarly, a donation of just under 100,000 euros in Malta or Latvia can guarantee naturalisation.

Therefore, should you wish to renounce your original nationality in Europe (in Spain, Italy or wherever), you do not necessarily lose free access to the Schengen area. Even if the passport you choose requires a visa, you will always have the option of investing in a Golden Visa.

Citizenship of some countries also has advantages in terms of freedom to travel under special conditions. Pacific Rim countries enhance their already interesting freedom to travel with the APEC card. APEC is the Asian-Pacific Economic Council —to which, among others, Chile and Mexico also belong, countries where the acquisition of nationality is easier. The application requirements of the participating countries differ considerably, but are generally feasible for internationally active business people. APEC status is accompanied by a travel document, which often facilitates or extends diplomatic access to several countries of the bloc. Third countries also gain access to Austria and New Zealand, where they would otherwise not be able to travel without the appropriate documentation. Another significant advantage that we recommend you consider is that the permitted stay in some Southeast Asian countries, which are often restrictive in this respect, has also been considerably extended.

Another important supranational organisation is West Africa’s ECOWAS, with 14 member states that enjoy freedom of establishment among themselves. Residence and work permits are often difficult to obtain in these emerging but corrupt states, so if you want hassle-free access, we recommend investing in the citizenship of a member state, such as Cape Verde (contact us for more information).

Let us not forget the Caribbean CARICOM organisation either: if you are only looking to live tax-free in a Caribbean state, the citizenship you choose to invest in does not matter much. This is because every Caribbean passport that can be purchased comes with implicit freedom of establishment in all other CARICOM nations. You can therefore simply choose the most favourable and simplest solution, especially if you consider that most Caribbean countries differ little structurally: for example, almost all are united by their British colonial past and therefore belong to the Commonwealth, which allows for consular representation through British embassy staff —which could become an advantage in certain situations.

However, there is no need to go through each and every supranational body in this article. The Gulf Cooperation Council (of which both the UAE and its neighbouring countries are members) offers its citizens many advantages in the member states. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to obtain citizenship in the UAE, and comes with huge costs and long waiting times.

Diplomatic support vs. state control

One of the key factors to bear in mind is a double-edged sword: while micro-states that like to sell citizenship have only a minimal consular network, major economic powers such as the United States, Germany or France usually have a large number of consulates in virtually every major country. This makes it extremely convenient to apply for documents (such as new passports, for example) without necessarily having to VISIT the embassies in the capital cities. Experience has shown that the honorary consulates (often owned by businessmen) are much more flexible than the bureaucratic embassies. Here, too, there is often compensation for non-residents, as well as for other special cases that the embassies themselves do not want to deal with in the first instance.

However, just as this global support can be very convenient at times, it can also become a dangerous tool of global control. Eritrea, for example, is the only country in the world other than the US that taxes its citizens worldwide based on their citizenship, and maintains an extensive network of embassies despite its small size to control and tax its migrant citizens —sometimes resorting to torture of family members who remain in the country to collect their taxes.

This may not yet be the case for Western passports, but during the pandemic, for example, even holders of good Western passports ended up realising that their passports were worth less than the paper they were printed on. There have been total-entry bans in certain countries such as Austria, Thailand, or Uruguay, for example. Other countries, such as Kuwait, completely banned their citizens from travelling during the pandemic, and others cut consular support considerably.

Many people critical of that situation realised that a passport considered to be strong and better than most does not guarantee security from future problems. If you have a public opinion contrary to that of the government, you are likely to be left stranded when trouble arises and you find yourself abroad. While diplomatic means can quickly lead to the release of innocent detainees, one or two people always end up rotting in Third World prisons because it suits the government of the day.

Having the citizenship of a politically neutral third country that provides consular support to its citizens regardless of their personal ideology can be very valuable: citizens of former British colonies now belonging to the Commonwealth, for example, have an advantageous network of contacts thanks to access to the community’s consulates. Those who are citizens of small states are often able to live in peace and quiet, which speaks highly in favour of doing so with a passport in Caribbean nations or in Vanuatu.

If you would like our help in deciding whether to acquire a new citizenship, you can use our advisory services for more in-depth information. You can also contact us and get direct recommendations on partners to apply for personalised programmes or compare the different citizenship options in the Denationalize.me Citizenship Encyclopedia.