Being a citizen of more than one country is something many strive to achieve. Having the option of resorting to another home opens tremendous opportunities and provides dual or multiple nationals with resolute contingency plans and elevated final freedom.
Investors, especially, need more than one citizenship to pursue their global investments, safeguard their wealth, and allow their children to fulfill their potential when it comes to education and employment opportunities in world-leading nations.
So what is dual citizenship and what is multiple citizenship? How can you obtain more citizenships and eventually passports? What are the many benefits you can gain by becoming a multi-national with more than one passport? And which nations allow you to hold dual citizenship? We will answer all of these questions and more within this article.
Dual citizenship is holding two passports and citizenship certificates of two differing nations. Dual citizens are nationals of two countries, and have rights bestowed upon citizens in each of these countries. Many nations do not permit dual citizenship, but the vast majority of nations in the world permit their citizens to apply and hold another citizenship of a foreign nation.
You may find a country that allows dual citizenship under certain circumstances, such as the European nation of Spain for example, as it only allows its citizens to obtain another citizen of specific, selected Latin American countries.
Other nations such as China, India, and Saudi Arabia do not allow any type of dual citizenship, automatically revoking the citizenship of its national if they do acquire another citizenship. China and Saudi Arabia have even gone so far as to consider it a criminal offense to obtain another citizenship without first renouncing the original one a person holds.
Multiple citizenship follows on the same premise of dual citizenship; as it refers to citizens that hold more than two citizenships of two countries or more. Becoming a multiple citizen is the best way to obtain global mobility freedom, as in traveling the world visa-free, and obtaining full financial freedom to become a true global citizen.
An important distinction to make is the difference between citizens and permanent residents. Having a citizenship status awards you with more rights and a passport, while holding a permanent residency of a nation allows you to enter and leave without a visa, make that nation your country of residence, and maintain your status as a permanent resident indefinitely on condition that you keep passing security clearance and pay tax, if applicable. Permanent residency cardholders do not have any political rights such as the right to vote or run for office in most countries, as they remain citizens of a foreign country and cannot obtain these rights unless they obtain citizenship through dual nationality, or in some cases, such as China, renouncing their original citizenship.
There are many countries that permit dual citizenship. To be exact, 64 states worldwide permit dual citizenship throughout the world.
Most of the nations that allow dual citizenship are located in Europe such as the UK, North America, and Latin America. That is not to say that no African or Asian nations allow dual citizenship, as there are some nations that allow their citizens to hold dual passports and citizenship of foreign nations.
The complete list of nations that allow dual citizenship is shown below:
| Albania | Benin | Egypt | Kosovo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peru | Switzerland | Algeria | Bolivia |
| Finland | Latvia | Philippines | Syria |
| Angola | Brazil | France | Luxembourg |
| Portugal | Turkey | Antigua & Barbuda | Bulgaria* |
| Germany* | Malawi | Romania | United Kingdom |
| Argentina | Canada | Greece | Malta |
| Russia | Vanuatu | Armenia | Chile |
| Hungary | Mexico | Serbia | United States of America |
| Australia | Costa Rica | Iceland | New Zealand |
| Slovenia | Barbados | Croatia* | Ireland |
| Nigeria | South Africa | Bangladesh | Cyprus |
| Israel | Norway | South Korea* | Belgium |
| Czech Republic | Italy | Pakistan | Spain |
| Belize | Denmark | Jamaica | Panama* |
| Sweden |
*countries allow dual citizenship under certain circumstances
It is worth noting that many countries grant you their nationality and passport if you are born within their borders. This is a simple route in many nations for obtaining dual citizenship. If a person is born within the US for example, they automatically gain their nationality and passport and that person becomes a citizen of the country with one of the best passports in the world.
BEST CBI PROGRAMS
We have prepared an overview of Residency and Citizenship-by-Investment programs. This is a detailed guide on how you can get a 2 passport and obtain Citizenship- and Residence-by-Investment legally, without having to worry about the hassle of getting a visa.
To start off with the USA, the North American Nation does permit dual citizenship. America allows US citizens to pursue a second citizenship of another country, or even more than just one. U.S citizenship will not be revoked and can be maintained while holding a citizenship in another country as long as that country allows for dual citizenship.
US citizenship is one of the most coveted citizenship statuses in the world, as the USA does recognize dual citizenship it becomes mouthwatering to consider obtaining it along with that of another country to become a dual citizen. Your country of origin does play a huge role in this equation, however, as it must recognize the second citizenship, as not all countries allow dual citizenship.
Most dual citizenship countries allow dual nationality with the US. There are some exceptions such as the aforementioned Spain, as it does not have a dual citizenship treaty with the USA hence it does not permit dual citizenship with the US for its nationals. Spain will not revoke the Spainish nationality, but it will not recognize the US citizenship, while the USA will recognize the second citizenship of its US citizens if they obtain a Spanish passport or otherwise.
Many US citizens look for a second citizenship to renounce their US citizenship, however, as the tax imposed on US citizens makes it difficult to achieve complete financial freedom. The US stance on allowing US citizens to hold second citizenship means they can acquire another citizenship before renouncing the US one. Many wealthy Americans hence pursue citizenship by investment to get their dual citizenship before renouncing the USA nationality and stop paying US tax. The country for relocation commonly fully depends on the goals. For example, Portugal is an ideal fit for retirement that you can easily find out from the story of the US entrepreneur John Bandak who has decided to relocate there. Portugal is also suited for crypto entrepreneurs and lowering the tax burden. Saint Lucia may be another option, as the country’s business environment drew a lot of US investors.
There are a few countries that do not allow holding more nationalities, with some even considering holding dual citizenship as a criminal offense. The majority of these countries are situated in Asia, specifically the Arabian Gulf Region and Central Asia, as well as in Africa.
The nations that outright ban dual citizenship are:
| Afghanistan | El Salvador | Lithuania | Singapore |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andorra | Estonia | Malaysia | Slovakia* |
| Austria | Georgia | Montenegro | Tanzania |
| Azerbaijan | India | Netherlands* | Thailand |
| Bahrain | Indonesia | Nepal | Ukraine |
| China | Japan | Poland | United Arab Emirates |
| Djibouti | Kazakhstan | Saudi Arabia | Venezuela |
*countries allow dual citizenship under certain circumstances
As you can see from the list above, no continent on Earth is void of countries that do not allow dual citizenship. So it is best to check the legalities and laws of your country before pursuing a second citizenship. Many countries have laws that don’t allow or disallow dual citizenship, but do it on a case by case basis depending on the nation.
As a rule of thumb any country that allows its national to become a citizen of two countries allows them to hold more than two citizenships and become more than just a dual citizen, but a global citizen.
Our expertise and professionally assembled team can help you create the best portfolio of citizenships, researching which second nationality suits your needs best and helping you acquiring it. We deal in citizenship by investment, providing a wide range of citizenship by investment programs that allow you to obtain citizenship and a passport to enter various countries visa free.
Our extensive knowledge of citizenship by investment not only helps you gain a passport that enables you to travel visa free, but allows you more financial freedom through more favorable tax regimes and banking options.
The easiest way to acquire a second nationality is by investment. There are a plethora of nations that allow you to obtain their passport and nationality by investing in either real estate, government bonds, or donating to a government development fund. This is the simplest route available, excluding becoming a citizen by birth, but that is a statistically improbable situation, and just a handful of people are able to have their birth in the country they wish to become citizens of.
Caribbean nations such as Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts & Nevis, and St. Lucia all have citizenship by investment programs so does the Pacific nation of Vanuatu. Turkey also has an extremely successful program that many investors, especially from the MENA region, have diligently pursued. Your country of birth is not an obstacle when it comes to these programs, which makes the options for you quite bountiful.
We at Migronis can help you decide which nation is the best for you and which program suits your budget and needs perfectly. To know more about the options available for you
The easiest countries are those of Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, Turkey, and Vanuatu. You can become a citizen of those countries through investment.
Yes, many countries allow this, you can become a national of more than one country if you create the correct portfolio.
Yes, US laws allow you to hold other nationalities in addition to the US one.
Only if the country you obtain the nationality of requires you to renounce your US one (such as China or Saudi Arabia). Other than that you will not lose it.
There is no limit, you can hold as many as you can get.
There are 64 countries that allow it. Check our article above to see which ones.
Yes, you can hold both nationalities.
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