In recent years, dual citizenship has become increasingly popular, especially among business people and entrepreneurs. Some want dual citizenship to grow and expand their businesses into other countries, while others seek dual citizenship to have a safe haven.

Either way, dual citizenship offers many benefits and, because of the increasing number of citizenship and residence by investment programs available, it’s becoming more accessible.

In this post, we’ll look at what dual citizenship is and what benefits it offers, both in general and for businesspeople specifically.

What is Dual Citizenship?

As the name implies, dual citizenship is when you’re a citizen of two countries. As such, you’ll have two passports, one for each country, and you’ll be entitled to enjoy the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of each country.

Now that you know what dual citizenship is, the immediate question is: How do you obtain dual citizenship? There are actually several ways you can do this. For instance, some people obtain citizenship in another country in addition to their home country because their parents or grandparents were born there. You can also obtain dual citizenship through marriage.

Likewise, other people obtain citizenship through working or staying in a country for a defined time and others do so through investment. It’s important to remember, however, that the rules for obtaining dual citizenship differ from country to country, and some countries don’t even allow dual citizenship.

What are the Benefits of Dual Citizenship?

We’ve now provided a broad overview of what dual citizenship is. Let’s now consider some of the benefits of having dual citizenship.

Freedom to travel

One of the major benefits of having dual citizenship is that it gives you greater freedom to travel around the world. For example, when you have passports for two countries, you can travel freely between these two countries subject thereto that, when entering or leaving the country you’re travelling to, you use the passport for that country.

This means that, for instance, if you’re a citizen of both the United Kingdom and the United States and you travel to the US, you need to enter the country using your US passport. But, it goes further than this. Different countries’ passports also allow you to travel visa-free to other countries.

So, while your home country’s passport might allow you to travel visa-free to 100 countries, another country’s passport might entitle you to travel visa-free to 150 countries. For example, an Indian passport will allow you to travel visa-free to 60 countries, while a German passport will allow you to travel to 190 countries. In turn, this enables you to travel to more places without needing to go through the hassle of obtaining a visa.

Freedom to Work

When travelling to and staying in a country, you’ll likely encounter some restrictions that limit your ability to work in that country. When you do, you’ll often need to apply for employment authorisation before you can take up any job. This could be a lengthy and complicated process.

However, when you have citizenship in that country, you’ll eliminate this problem. In addition, being a citizen of a country will also open up other job opportunities that exclude foreign nationals.

Freedom to Property Ownership

Some countries place restrictions on foreign nationals’ ability to own property. In some cases, countries might even prohibit foreign nationals from owning any property. With dual citizenship, you won’t have this issue, and you’ll be able to own property both in your home country and the other country where you’re a citizen.

Quality of Life

Dual citizenship could allow you to stay, without restrictions, in a country that offers a better quality of life than your home country. For instance, another country might offer better healthcare, education, safety, or infrastructure than your home country. By obtaining citizenship in that country, you’ll be able to enjoy all these benefits.

Less Hassle

Typically, when you work or stay in a particular country in terms of a residence permit, you need to renew the permit after a specified period. These periods differ from country to country. No matter the periods, you’ll deal with complicated immigration forms and, in some cases, you’ll have to pay renewal fees.

In addition, many countries require that, when you’re staying in the country in terms of a residence permit, you notify the authorities of any changes in your address or employment. When you’re a citizen of a country, you’ll avoid this.

Family Sponsorship

Finally, citizenship in a country could also allow you to sponsor your family members. This, in turn, will then allow them to become citizens of that country. The requirements for this and the family members you can sponsor depend on the specific country. For example, some countries only permit you to sponsor your immediate family including your spouse, children, and parents while others allow you to sponsor your grandparents and your siblings.

The Benefits of Dual Citizenship for Businesspeople

We’ve now looked at some general benefits of dual citizenship. Let’s now look at some specific benefits that dual citizenship can offer to business people and entrepreneurs.

Fewer Travel Restrictions

We’ve already mentioned that having dual citizenship means you can travel to more places around the world without needing a visa. For business people, this is extremely valuable.

For example, if your business has locations in your home and another country, dual citizenship would allow you to travel between these two countries without restrictions as often as you like. And, because dual citizenship gives you visa-free access to more countries, business travel will be simpler.

Ultimately, by having fewer travel restrictions as a global entrepreneur, you’ll be able to run your business more effectively and efficiently when you have dual citizenship.

Increased Stability

Unfortunately, with the current economic and geopolitical landscape, you should consider that incidents can happen that could drastically change both the financial and political situation in your home country. However, when you have dual citizenship, you’ll have two distinct advantages when this happens.

Firstly, when you have dual citizenship, you can easily relocate your business and assets to a country that is more financially or politically stable when there is upheaval in your home country.

In addition, when your home country faces periods of political uncertainty and there’s an increased risk of conflict, unrest, or sanctions, citizenship in a second country can provide you with a safe haven where you can live, work, and run your business in a safer environment.

More Investment Opportunities

We’ve mentioned earlier that some countries place restrictions on your ability to own property when you’re a foreign national. In addition, many countries prohibit you from using their banking system or investing when you’re not a citizen. As a result, this could prevent you from taking advantage of excellent investment opportunities, interest rates, or exchange rates.

In contrast, when you have citizenship in that country, you’ll have access to its banking system and a wealth of investment opportunities. In turn, taking advantage of these opportunities could help you grow your business and, by implication, your wealth.

More Business Opportunities

Consider this for a moment; when you have access to travel without restrictions, you have access to millions of potential customers in other countries. Apart from this, you’ll also be able to do business with other business owners, suppliers, vendors, and more.

Flowing from this, you’ll have greater access to the business world and also be able to build valuable relationships with customers and partners alike. And it’s these relationships that allow you to grow your business and increase your revenue.

Tax Benefits

Finally, but no less relevant for businesspeople, are the tax benefits you might be able to enjoy when you obtain a second citizenship. When it comes to tax, it’s important to remember that the benefits you’ll get depend on the specific country because some countries offer far lower tax rates compared to others.

For example, Spain, like many other countries globally, works with a progressive tax system where you pay more tax the more income you earn. Here, the tax rates you’ll pay range from 19% to upwards of 37%, depending on your income. In contrast, the Bahamas is a tax haven, and you’ll pay no personal or corporate income tax.

Ultimately, by taking advantage of these tax benefits, you’ll be able to make your personal and business tax more efficient. In some cases, you might even be able to deduct the expenses relating to your citizenship application as a business expense, which can lower your tax obligations even further.

It’s important to remember, however, that to take advantage of these benefits you should do your research carefully. This is simply because some countries, while having lower tax rates, require you to pay tax on all the money you earn, both locally and internationally. This could make you liable to pay tax in two countries and increase your tax burden.

The Cost of Dual Citizenship

The final aspect we should consider is how much it costs to obtain dual citizenship. Remember, we mentioned earlier that you can obtain citizenship in another country through ancestry, marriage, or sponsorship. In these cases, you’ll need to go through the application process and there are fees involved. These fees differ based on the specific country.

When you want to obtain citizenship by investment, you’ll use one of the many golden visa programs offered by countries around the world. These programs require that you make an investment and, in addition, also involve certain fees that you’ll need to pay.

To illustrate the costs related to these programs, here are a few examples:

• Portugal. The Portugal golden visa program allows you to obtain residence in Portugal for a period of five years by making a minimum contribution of €200,000. This amount increases to €1.5 million, depending on the specific option you use, and includes the ability to invest in real estate. With this residence visa, you’ll be able to live, work, and study in Portugal, and you’ll have access to visa-free travel to Europe’s Schengen area. Once you’ve been a resident of Portugal for at least five years, you’ll be able to apply for citizenship.
• Greece. Greece’s golden visa program is a residence by investment program that allows you to obtain permanent residence in Greece for a period of five years. To obtain your residence permit, you’ll need to invest, either in real estate, capital, or other investment vehicles like shares or bonds. Because the program only requires a real estate investment of €250,000, it’s considered to be one of the most affordable programs in Europe. Once you’ve been a resident of Greece for seven years, you may apply for Greek citizenship.
• Panama. Panama’s golden visa program is a residence by investment program that allows you to obtain residence in Panama by investing a minimum of $100,000. If you want to invest in real estate, this minimum investment increases to $300,000 if you’re a qualified investor and $200,000 if you’re from one of Panama’s “friendly nations”. In return for your investment, you’ll get the right to live, work, and study in Panama.

In Closing

Dual citizenship can be a valuable asset to have, especially for business people and entrepreneurs. It allows them to travel freely between countries, and gives them access to more investment and business opportunities, and they could enjoy better tax benefits. Hopefully, this post helped illustrate the benefits of dual citizenship in more detail.

To learn more about dual citizenship and citizenship by investment programs or to find out more about our range of services, get in touch with Smart Citizenship to discuss your unique needs and requirements.