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    Dual Citizenship

    Discover Arton's Guide to Dual Citizenship.

What is Dual Citizenship?    |    What Are the Benefits of Dual Citizenship?    |    How Do I Acquire Dual Citizenship?    |    Which Countries Allow or Recognize Dual Citizenship?    |    Do Countries Allow Triple Citizenship?

 


 

What is Dual Citizenship?

Dual citizenship, or multiple citizenship, is when a single person is legally recognized as a citizen of two or more countries at the same time.Not all countries allow their citizens to hold dual citizenship. It is important to double check whether your country permits dual citizenship before seeking to acquire one.

 

What Are the Benefits of Dual Citizenship?

There are many benefits to being a dual citizen, from quality of living to global mobility.

Security

A second passport from a stable country can be life-saving in the event of any kind of political, economic or social unrest in one’s home country.

Global Mobility

Many passports are quite restrictive in their visa-free mobility, forcing citizens to obtain visas whenever they need to travel abroad. A second passport can offer individuals from these countries increased global mobility.
See our Passport Index for the visa-free score of every passport in the world.

Business

New business opportunities open up to dual citizens as they can now do business in the host country as well as travel abroad more freely.

Tax Optimization

Dual citizenship may prove advantageous for tax optimization purposes. For example, some countries only tax income earned from that country and do not subject capital gains to taxes either. This allows investors to manage their wealth more efficiently and effectively.

Quality of Life

Second citizenships can offer access to world-class health care, education and an improved lifestyle.

 

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How Do I Acquire Dual Citizenship?

There are several ways of acquiring a second citizenship and the corresponding passport. These are birth, naturalization, marriage and investment.

Birth

Some countries allow non-resident individuals to obtain citizenship if their parents were born in that country. For example, Hungary allows persons not living in the country to obtain Hungarian citizenship provided they can show in the application that their parents are citizens.

Naturalization

Naturalization is the process by which a resident of a country can acquire citizenship, usually by residing in that country for a certain number of years as a permanent resident. For example, permanent residents of Canada must reside in Canada for four out of six years in order to be eligible to apply for citizenship. Persons with temporary status, such as students and foreign workers, must first gain permanent resident status in order to start counting their years as residents toward the citizenship requirement.

It is important to double check the requirements of your country of residence if you hope to acquire a second citizenship through naturalization.

Marriage

Some countries grant fast-track permanent resident status to individuals who have married a citizen of that country, thereby speeding up the time to citizenship. For example, Canada allows spousal sponsorship, which results in automatic permanent resident status for the foreign spouse.

Investment

More and more countries are offering citizenship by investment programs or residency by investment programs to high net worth investors. Citizenship by investment is the process of acquiring a second citizenship by investing in the economy of the host country. Residency by investment programs offer permanent residency after the investment, which again speeds up the time to citizenship.

Which Countries Allow or Recognize Dual Citizenship?

Many countries allow dual citizenship outright, while others allow it only in special circumstances. The following is Arton Capital’s comprehensive list of countries and their dual citizenship policies.

Country Dual Citizenship Conditions/Exceptions
Afghanistan No A former citizen of Afghanistan, who fled the country due to political instability or war and has acquired new citizenship, may still hold “unofficial” Afghan citizenship
Albania Yes
Algeria Yes
American Samoa Yes American Samoa follows U.S. guidelines for dual citizenship.
Andorra No Spain recognizes dual nationality with Andorra.
Angola Yes
Antigua & Barbuda Yes
Argentina Yes
Armenia Yes
Australia Yes
Austria No Dual citizenship is allowed for individuals who gain two nationalities at birth. Dual citizenship is also allowed if it is in the interest of Austria.
Azerbaijan No
Bahamas No Dual citizenship allowed until 18 years of age.
Bahrain No
Bangladesh No Bangladeshi citizens and their children who have foreign citizenship must apply for a Dual Nationality Certificate.
Barbados Yes
Belarus No
Belgium Yes
Belize Yes
Benin Yes
Bhutan No
Bolivia Yes
Bosnia & Herzegovina Yes Provided there is a bilateral agreement between the two states.
Botswana No Dual citizenship allowed until 21 years of age.
Brazil Yes
Brunei Darussalam No Dual citizenship allowed until 18 years of age.
Bulgaria Yes
Burkina Faso Yes
Burundi Yes
Cambodia Yes
Cameroon No Dual citizenship allowed until 21 years of age.
Canada Yes
Cape Verde Yes
Central African Republic Yes
Chad N/A
Chile Yes
China No
Colombia Yes
Comoros Yes
Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa) No Dual citizenship allowed until 21 years of age.
Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) Yes
Costa Rica Yes
Ivory Coast Yes
Croatia Yes
Cuba No
Cyprus Yes
Czech Republic Yes
Denmark Yes
Djibouti Yes
Dominica Yes
Dominican Republic Yes
East Timor Yes
Ecuador Yes
Egypt Yes
El Salvador Yes
Equatorial Guinea Yes
Eritrea No
Estonia No
Eswatini No
Ethiopia No
Fiji Yes
Finland Yes
France Yes
Gabon N/A
The Gambia Yes
Georgia No Allowed only when citizenship is granted to a foreigner by the President.
Germany Yes Must apply for a retention permit in order to keep German nationality before applying for second citizenship.
Ghana Yes
Greece Yes
Grenada Yes
Guatemala Yes Dual citizenship allowed as long as the other country allows it too.
Guinea N/A
Guinea-Bissau Yes Dual citizenship allowed if emigration occurred for economic reasons.
Guyana No
Haiti Yes
Honduras Yes Dual citizenship allowed if a treaty exists with that country.
Hong Kong Yes
Hungary Yes
Iceland Yes Dual citizenship allowed if the other country also allows it.
India No
Indonesia No
Iran No
Iraq Yes
Ireland Yes
Israel Yes
Italy Yes
Jamaica Yes
Japan No Dual citizenship allowed until 22 years of age.
Jordan Yes
Kazakhstan No
Kenya Yes
Kiribati No
North Korea No
North Macedonia Yes
South Korea Yes
Kosovo Yes
Kuwait No
Kyrgyzstan Yes
Laos No
Latvia Yes
Lebanon Yes

Country Dual Citizenship Conditions/Exceptions
Lesotho No Dual citizenship allowed until 21 years of age.
Liberia No Dual citizenship allowed until age of maturity.
Lybia No
Liechtenstein No
Lithuania Yes Dual citizenship allowed only in certain circumstances.
Luxembourg Yes
Macau Yes
Madagascar No
Malawi No Dual citizenship allowed until 22 years of age.
Malaysia No
Maldives No
Mali Yes
Malta Yes
Marshall Islands No
Mauritania No
Mauritius Yes
Mexico Yes
Micronesia No Dual citizenship allowed until 18 years of age.
Moldova Yes
Monaco No
Mongolia No
Montenegro No Dual citizenship allowed only if a bilateral treaty exists with the other country.
Morocco Yes
Mozambique No
Myanmar, Burma No
Namibia Yes Dual citizenship allowed only for Namibian citizens by birth.
Nauru Yes
Nepal No
Netherlands No Dual citizenship allowed if you were born in another country and thus acquired nationality, or lived there as a minor, or if you automatically acquired your spouse’s nationality.
New Zealand Yes
Nicaragua Yes
Niger Yes
Nigeria Yes Dual citizenship allowed for citizens of Nigeria by birth.
Norway No Dual citizenship allowed if original nationality cannot be renounced.
Oman No
Pakistan Yes Only with the 18 countries with which it has an agreement.
Palau No Dual citizenship allowed until 21 years of age.
Palestinian Territories N/A
Panama Yes
Papua New Guinea Yes
Paraguay Yes Multiple citizenship allowed for citizens by birth or descent where international treaties exist.
Peru Yes
Philippines No
Poland Yes
Portugal Yes
Qatar No
Romania Yes
Russian Federation Yes
Rwanda No
Saint Kitts & Nevis Yes
Saint Lucia Yes
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Yes
Samoa Yes
San Marino No
Sao Tome and Principe No
Saudi Arabia No
Scotland Yes
Senegal N/A
Serbia Yes
Seychelles Yes
Sierra Leone Yes
Singapore No
Slovakia No
Slovenia Yes Dual citizenship allowed for citizens by birth or descent.
Solomon Islands No Dual citizenship allowed until 18 years of age.
Somalia Yes
South Africa Yes Dual citizenship allowed only if permission is granted to keep South African citizenship beforehand.
South Sudan Yes
Spain Yes Dual citizenship allowed if desire to keep Spanish nationality is declared within 3 years of acquiring the foreign nationality.
Sri Lanka Yes Must submit an Application for Retention in order to be allowed dual citizenship.
Sudan Yes
Suriname No
Sweden Yes
Switzerland Yes Dual citizenship allowed provided the other country does not require forfeiture of original nationality.
Syria Yes
Taiwan Yes
Tajikistan Yes Dual citizens will only be considered citizens of Tajikistan.
Tanzania No Dual citizenship allowed until 18 years of age.
Thailand Yes
Tibet Yes
Togo No
Tonga Yes
Trinidad & Tobago Yes Dual citizenship allowed only for citizens of Trinidad & Tobago by birth or descent.
Tunisia Yes
Türkiye Yes
Turkmenistan No
Tuvalu N/A
Uganda Yes
Ukraine No
United Arab Emirates Yes
United Kingdom Yes
United States Yes
Uruguay Yes
Uzbekistan No
Vanuatu No
Vatican City Yes
Venezuela Yes
Vietnam Yes
British Virgin Islands Yes
Yemen Yes Dual citizenship allowed only if prior permission granted.
Zambia Yes
Zimbabwe Yes Dual citizenship allowed only for citizens by birth.


 


*Arton Capital compiled the above list using extensive open-source research. Not all countries are listed. Please don’t hesitate to contact us should you feel any part of our list is out of date.

 

Do Countries Allow Triple Citizenship?

Some countries do allow their citizens to hold multiple citizenships. Check your country’s government website or embassy to find out whether multiple citizenship is allowed. Arton Capital’s comprehensive list above will tell you whether at least dual citizenship is recognized

 

What Can Arton Do for You?

Arton Capital empowers individuals and families to become Global Citizens. We are a financial advisory firm specializing in investor programs for residence and citizenship, and consider ourselves the all-important link between dreams and reality. We offer a bespoke service experience supported and sustained by long-term relationships.Arton plays a critical role in empowering governments, consultants, legal and financial professionals, and investors to meet their goals efficiently, effectively and responsibly.