The Salvadoran government has collaborated with USDT issuer Tether to announce the launch of the "Adopting El Salvador Freedom Visa Programme" on the 7th. This programme pledges to offer 1,000 citizenships annually to affluent investors committing to invest $1 million in Bitcoin or USDT in El Salvador.
How to Proceed?
According to the official website introduction, this visa programme is not only an investment but also a commitment to building the country's future. Those interested in applying need to deposit US$999 in Bitcoin or USDT (non-refundable) to initiate the evaluation process. Upon approval of the application, after completing a full investment of US$1 million in BTC or USDT, they will obtain the visa, subsequently gaining Salvadoran citizenship.
The High Naturalisation Threshold
The cost of obtaining citizenship through this programme in El Salvador seems to be much higher than in neighboring Caribbean countries. In neighbouring countries to El Salvador, a similar citizenship investment programme starts at only US$100,000.
Alistair Milne, the founder of the cryptocurrency hedge fund Altana Digital Currency, believes that El Salvador's plan 'lacks competitiveness in the global market,' as investors can, for instance, acquire European Union citizenship at a lower cost.
Besides, according to data from the investment immigration consulting firm Henley & Partners, Malta's investment immigration conditions only require an investment of US$810,000 to obtain citizenship in the country. This citizenship allows entry into 23 European Schengen Zone countries through visa-free access.
However, considering that El Salvador is the first country globally to recognise Bitcoin as legal tender and actively implement policies supporting Bitcoin, such as exempting qualified tech companies from income tax and capital gains tax for the next 15 years, cryptocurrency investors may be willing to obtain citizenship in El Salvador.