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$1 million in Bitcoin to buy citizenship? El Salvador's free visa program criticized as "expensive and unattractive"

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$1 million in Bitcoin to buy citizenship? El Salvador

Cointelegraph reported that stablecoin issuer Tether, in collaboration with El Salvador, has launched the "El Salvador Bitcoin Freedom Visa Program," offering residency visas and citizenship to the first 1,000 individuals willing to pay 1 million US dollars in Bitcoin. However, the threshold seems to be nearly ten times higher than that of other neighboring Caribbean countries, leading to criticism that the program lacks any appeal.

$1 Million Freedom Visa Program

The Central American country that treats Bitcoin as legal tender, El Salvador, has officially announced the launch of an investment citizenship program. It offers residency visas and citizenship to 1,000 individuals willing to invest $1 million in Bitcoin or $USDT in the country. This initiative is said to be aimed at promoting and boosting the economic development and revival of the nation.

Additionally, the program requires an initial application fee of $999 to be paid in Bitcoin or $USDT. After an approval process of approximately 6 weeks, applicants can obtain the freedom visa and become citizens of the country.

Such investment citizenship programs have long been a fundraising channel for some countries to attract foreign investors, requiring donations, real estate investments, or business investments. In other words, if El Salvador successfully recruits all quotas, it could raise up to $1 billion in funding.

Official website of the Freedom Visa Program

El Salvador's Deputy Foreign Minister, Adriana Mira, emphasized:

This collaboration symbolizes an important milestone in our commitment to economic development and innovation. The "El Salvador Freedom Visa Program" provides individuals with an extraordinary opportunity to actively participate in shaping the prosperous future of our country.

Tether's CEO, Paolo Ardoino, also endorsed the concept, stating that the program represents their support for the pursuit of financial freedom and innovation by cities and communities.

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However, when comparing the threshold with the fees of 11 other countries offering similar programs, El Salvador's freedom visa fee appears to be particularly high:

  • Malta: $810,000, requires the purchase of local real estate and charitable donations, granting access to the visa-free zone of 23 EU countries.
  • Turkey: $400,000, requires the purchase of local real estate or bonds, allowing an individual application for the entire family to obtain citizenship, visa-free or visa-on-arrival benefits.
  • Egypt: $250,000, requires donations to the local government or investments in real estate and businesses, enabling the application for a non-immigrant visa to the United States.

Even neighboring Caribbean countries to El Salvador, such as Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Saint Lucia, respectively require only a minimum investment of $100,000 to $250,000 to obtain local citizenship, making El Salvador's threshold nearly ten times higher than theirs.

Alistair Milne, the founder of the cryptocurrency hedge fund Altana Digital Money, also criticized the program on Twitter, stating that it lacks attractiveness and competitiveness in the global market, even suggesting that EU citizenship can be obtained for less money.

Nevertheless, due to President Nayib Bukele's strong support for Bitcoin, investors optimistic about the development of cryptographic technology may still be interested in this initiative. According to reports, the law issued by President Bukele in April this year not only strengthens the daily circulation of Bitcoin but also plans to gradually eliminate all taxes on new technologies such as software coding, application and AI development, computing and communication hardware manufacturing over the next 15 years, including income, property, capital gains, and import duties, which is expected to attract many companies to invest.

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