Looking to gain full citizenship in another country?
Well you can, and now you can pay for it via Bitcoins!
Wouldn't it be ideal to have several different passports so that you could escape to another country any time your local government does something you don't agree with?
Well, now you can add another country to your list, and you can purchase your way in using a cryptocurrency.
What am I talking about you may be wondering?
A tiny island in the South Pacific announced that it will be granting full citizenship in exchange for $200,000. What makes this situation unique is the low price for citizenship and the option to pay for it in Bitcoins.
The country announced they would accept USD or Bitcoin.
At the current price of Bitcoin ($4802), it would cost you roughly 41.6 Bitcoins in order to purchase full citizenship.
What country is doing this?
Vanuatu.
Haven't heard of it? Me neither.
It's a very small island neighboring Fiji in the South Pacific.
Vanuatu is a member of the Commonwealth, which is an intergovernmental organization of 52 member states, most of which are former British Colonies.
The purchase of citizenship would also allow for visa-free travel to 113 other nearby/neighboring countries.
Vanuatu is trying to put itself on the map in the minds of technology enthusiasts.
Vanuatu is very tax friendly.
In fact, that may be an understatement.
Vanuatu has very low tax rates in general and does not require capital gain or income taxes to be paid.
Sounds like my kind of place!
A big reasoning for their tax friendly nature has to do with their stated goals of becoming a leader in technology adoption.
Specifically they stated this:
"The Government of Vanuatu has explicitly expressed a desire to be at the forefront of adopting new technologies, officially encouraging the VIC to receive payments in Bitcoin."
This would mark the first time a country accepted Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency as payment in exchange for full citizenship.
Many other countries offer citizenship for a price, though usually that price must be paid in local currency and usually that price is higher than what is being discussed here.
Citizenship in St. Kitts and Nevis costs about $250,000 while citizenship in the EU will cost you about 650,000 euros ($766,967).
The cheapest option to gain citizenship is in Dominica, where a passport will cost you $100,000.
With these measures, Vanuatu is quickly putting itself in the hearts and minds of technology and cryptocurrency enthusiasts around the world!
Looking forward to hearing about more countries taking similar actions.
Stay informed my friends.
Sources:
http://fortune.com/2017/10/10/vanuatu-accepts-bitcoin-for-citizenship/
Image Sources:
http://www.businessinsider.com/vanuatu-accepts-bitcoin-for-citizenship-payment-2017-10
Follow me: @jrcornel
little to no taxes is my kinda thing.
You're not the only one who has a thing for little to no taxes. :D
just follow me, I must follow you!
upvote my post, must upvote your all post!
thanks
Hi ,
Thanks for the great content
great to know thanks sharing, happy to read great news about cryptos
Yea, hopefully the first of many! :)
It is good that a Government is accepting Bitcoin. Although the offer is good but i'd never leave my country, India for any other country. India in itself is a Continent and I would love to spend my days traveling around.
Really cool but why would you spend 200 k if you don't have problema with the law instead of investing it in BTC yourself?
PS. I can buy visas cheaper than this.
In Canada the minimum is 800000 Dollars but to get permanent residency.
nice article
:)
I also googled for this. Now many will settle in the southern hemisphere.
Great Step to this small country ;)
That is a great move from Vanuatu, it has some powerful neighbors in Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. Bitnation, Liberland, Estonia's e-citizenship etc. along the line is great progress for blockchain industry. May be in future, we will have steemit island (somebody actually proposed it), where xxx amount of steem will grant citizenship :)
No capital gains tax!!! Sign me up!!
@jrcornel - What could be more official recognition for bitcoin as a global currency than this ?? This little island country has surely taken a very progressive step. A small step like this may become a giant leap for mankind in cryptospace very soon
Great news. Thanks for sharing. Upvoted full.
Regards,
@vm2904
true @vm2904
If everyone had 20 different nationalities would it actually mean anything...
Just think about it...
200k$ for now is worth around 80 BTC. But if BTC shoots up to 20k next year then will they require the same amount (200k$?) xD. Either way, heads up to this country!
Looks like a startup country that has started an ICO :)
I am surprised they are not Paying people to become citizens! :)
Maybe you could reinvest a aprt of your saved taxes into green energy technologies to prevent tropical paradises like this from being submerged by global warming
SIGN ME UP!!! Whos with me?!
Sounds like a true paradise! By the way, if you are a U.S. citizen there is a hefty exit fee and they do not accept Bitcoin although they will be happy to confiscate it!!
Only if you fit in one of the following 3 categories.
I think the trick is to leave before you have $2 million.
Or if you have about 400 BTC...
Thats alot of Bitcoin still. :P
I mean, even if you only have $1 million USD or equivalent in assets, you can pretty much live anywhere you want and be comfortable. Might as well get out before it reaches $2mil.
true
Hi @jrcornel, Great post. I have promoted it in my dayly crypto recap´s.
https://steemit.com/cryptocurrency/@minimalpris/20171011t170012784z-post
Vanuatu is the best
Hello. Recently I have read and heard about Vanuatu Passport because I'm living and working here in Fiji very close to Vanuatu. I even know many from that country but never though I would read this announcement here and right now that I was thinking about even moving there. Nice news.
This is already one of my goals so is getting closer.
Sort of reminds me of the WORLD cruise ship, except they require a minimum of, or did when I saw the video, $5,000,000.00 in your bank account.
Cruise around the world in style, seeing a new port whenever. I don't know if they are still operating as I have not seen anything recently on it, but if I wanted to go in style and had the financial means, I'd give it some thought. Personally, I doubt I'd ever want to live on a tiny island that is subject to weather such as hurricanes and worse, like tsunamis. It's a steep price to pay to live on an island where everything must be shipped in. I guess only the rich would be interested in this. If everything has to be shipped in, the cost of living goes up. One would need to be super wealthy to even make it a serious consideration. Also, one would need to really enjoy the tropical heat. I could not stand that sort of heat. Give me air conditioning or cooler climates any day. I tend to run on the warm side of life. Great article though, always good to learn about new places and interesting things.
Cruise ship sounds good to me! Hopefully take cryptos in the near future.
As I'm still learning to be technology literate, I'm hoping the learning curve isn't too big. I know a little about cryptocurrency and foresee it taking over as the world's leading currency, but I still enjoy cash in hand. Nothing like having a wallet full of dollars or whatnot to buy that special someone something they want. The feel of the currency in hand is like no other. I think that when they see how things are going they'll start taking it.
Cheers
Much love, light and respect
X
almost no charges is my kinda thing.
Small states are the best!
They are usually unable to be self-sufficient and as such they are usually forced to become:
If used with privacy in mind, Bitcoin can be used anonymously. Does this mean the citizenship can be acquired anonymously and kept private?
In that it is known only by the new citizen and a citizenship blockchain.
Great post, I was looking everywhere for places with low capital gains tax. There wasn't as much information on google as i thought there would be. And just as I get tired from googling and go into steemit, boom...I find this. Thanks ;)
Can everyone eligible for this , kindly reply fast ???
Russia needs to learn from Vanuatu!!
WOW! Great news to me. It is nice to know that some countries are favorably disposed to bitcoin. Hopefully, in due course, other countries will follow suit.
This post made my day. Thanks @jrcornel. I am following you to be in the loop for great posts from you in future. This post is worth resteeming too.
Fantastic story - I know the island well. I was married in Fiji on Valentine's Day about twenty years ago. I am now divorced but I have a lot of fond memories of the Fijians - beautiful kind people that quite belie their fierce history.
Good post , but I think they have property taxes ( need confirmation ) agree that there is no capital gain .
Nice post @jrcornel
Upvote.
just follow me, I must follow you!
upvote my post, must upvote your all post!
best regards
tamimiqbal
this is interesting
The world is dividing into countries which support Bitcoin and countries which ban it.
That is some big news , now I will see others offering the same thing . The price is pretty high but the ones in need would do anything as I see it
wery nice post @marek33
.
Good post
What a Rmarkable post @jrcornel !
Great opportunity for those who have 41 Bitcoins.
Hi @jcornel, You always amaze me and many thousand others with your interesting, informative and value-packed posts. This point alone intrigued me to know more about this country:
Also, this is another point that enticed me to dig deep in the aforementioned country:
I have added it to my new year resolution.
Keep posing man. You're awesome so stay the way you are.
Steem On!
Another news that demonstrates the advance of the cryptononedas in the real world.
Excellent news dear friend @jrcornel. many thanks spor share the.
I wish you a beautiful day
BTC is our third party support system in this corrupt world!
@jrcornel, very informative breaking news you shared. very amazing country accepted Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency as payment in exchange for citizenship. thanks.
UPVOTE
Good post. Thanks.
I can't wait to witness the technological evolution cryptocurrency is certain to bring about.
We need more bitcoin!
Wow that is so cool. That would be awesome it looks like paradise. What a great way to use my bitcoins :) I probably wouldn’t want to leave. Thanks for sharing.
Hillarious! But practical? Nah