In this video
- Why protect what you have built
- How citizenship by investment works
- Who looks for a second citizenship
- Sizing it against your net worth
- When a passport can be restricted
- Citizenship through your family tree
- Programs that move quickly
The short answer
The main dual citizenship benefits are practical: a second country where you have the right to live, a second travel document if your first one is delayed, lost or not accepted where you need to go, and more choice about where your family settles and where a business is based. What it does not do is remove a single legal obligation to the country you already belong to, tax included.
Key takeaways
- A second citizenship is an option held in reserve: the right to live in another country and a second travel document, used only if you need them.
- Check descent first: some countries, Ireland among them, recognise citizens through a grandparent born there, before any investment route is compared.
- US citizens stay taxable on worldwide income wherever they live, and US law ties passport denial to seriously delinquent tax debt and to child support arrears above USD 2,500.
What a second citizenship gives you
Rafael Cintron, who founded Wealthy Expat and says he holds several citizenships obtained through investment, frames the case in the video around your freedom, your wealth and your family. In practice, a second citizenship adds three things a single nationality cannot.
First, the right to live in another country, without a visa that can expire or be refused. Second, a passport from your second country, which you can use if your first one is delayed, limited or not accepted where you need to go. Third, choice for your children and your business: where they study, where a company is set up, where the family could move if conditions at home change.
Most of the value is in holding the option: it takes time to arrange and cannot be put in place on the day you need it.
Start with the citizenship you may already be entitled to
Before comparing programs, look at your family tree. In the video Rafael tells Americans to claim any citizenship they are legally entitled to through their ancestry, and that is the right order: a claim by descent rests on records and a government procedure, not on an investment.
Ireland is a well documented example. Through the Foreign Births Register (opens in a new tab), you can apply if one of your grandparents was born on the island of Ireland and both you and your parent were born outside Ireland. You become an Irish citizen when you are entered on the register, not when you apply, and the Department of Foreign Affairs puts processing at about 12 months.
Rules on citizenship by descent differ by country and generation, and often turn on dates of birth, marriage and earlier registrations. Gather the birth and marriage certificates of your parents and grandparents first: they decide whether this route is open to you.
How citizenship by investment works
The other route in the video is a contribution or investment at an amount the government sets, followed by background checks. Each citizenship by investment program publishes its own amount, its own family rules and its own checks.
El Salvador, which Rafael highlights in the video, asks for a USD 1,000,000 contribution that covers the main applicant, one spouse and all children under 18, with the non-refundable USD 999 application fee inside that total. The programme site says approvals typically take up to 6 weeks and that eligible candidates receive a passport within three months; these are not guaranteed dates. Payment can be made in USD or in the specified cryptocurrencies (BTC/USDT), and the lawful source of the funds must be documented either way.
Vanuatu’s Development Support Program starts at USD 130,000 for a single applicant, and due diligence, government and professional fees add materially to that contribution. Wealthy Expat’s own estimate is 1 to 2 months from submission, not an official processing time. The Vanuatu citizenship program sets out the family amounts.
Size the decision against your balance sheet
Rafael’s view in the video is that for someone with a net worth of USD 10 million, committing USD 200,000 to 400,000 to a second country is a reasonable share, under 10% of the total. That is his rule of thumb, not a formula.
Ask for the total, not the headline amount: the amount for your spouse and children, due diligence and government fees, professional fees, and any requirement to hold an investment for a period. Turkey’s real estate, deposit, bond, fund and pension routes, for example, require the investment to be held for three years.
Whether you can keep your current nationality when you acquire another depends on your current country’s law, so confirm that first.
What a second citizenship does not change
A second nationality adds rights; it does not cancel obligations to the first. The IRS states that US citizens abroad (opens in a new tab) are subject to tax on worldwide income from all sources, under generally the same filing rules as at home. Rafael says in the video that he gave up his US citizenship; renunciation is a separate legal decision with its own consequences, and another citizenship does not by itself end US tax obligations.
The video also raises US passport restrictions, and they exist in law. Under 26 U.S.C. 7345, once the IRS certifies a seriously delinquent tax debt, the State Department generally will not issue a passport and may revoke or limit one already issued; the IRS sets that debt at USD 66,000 for 2026 (opens in a new tab), with a notice of lien filed and the administrative remedies exhausted or lapsed, or a levy issued. Under 42 U.S.C. 652(k) (opens in a new tab), a person certified as owing more than USD 2,500 in child support must be refused a passport and may have an existing one revoked. A US citizen must still use a US passport to leave and enter the United States (8 U.S.C. 1185(b) (opens in a new tab)), so another passport is no answer to a US passport denial.
The lawful answer to both is to pay or arrange the debt; tax debts paid on time under an approved installment agreement, for example, are not certified. A second citizenship is planning for a changing world, not a way around a court order or a tax bill.
Expect thorough checks, and keep everything reported
Rafael stresses in the video that applicants go through due diligence and background checks. El Salvador’s terms cover criminal and police records, control lists and the lawful origin of the funds; in Vanuatu, the Financial Intelligence Unit, the police (with Interpol checks) and the Immigration Services carry out due diligence. Prepare a clear account of where your wealth comes from before you apply.
Keep your planning fully compliant: report income and assets wherever you are required to, and meet each bank’s know-your-customer checks with accurate information. This article is general information, not tax or legal advice; take advice in each country involved before you act.
To see which routes fit your family and budget, the strategy assessment brings those questions together.
Frequently asked questions
What are the benefits of dual citizenship?
The right to live in a second country, a second travel document if your first one is delayed or lost, and more choice about where your children study and where a business is based. It adds rights and options; it does not remove any obligation, tax included, to the country you already belong to.
How is dual citizenship acquired?
The main routes are descent, naturalisation after years of residence and citizenship by investment. Check descent first: Ireland, for example, registers people with a grandparent born on the island of Ireland. Investment programs set their own amounts and checks, such as El Salvador’s USD 1,000,000 covering the main applicant, a spouse and children under 18, or Vanuatu’s USD 130,000 for a single applicant, with fees on top.
Can the US revoke a passport for unpaid taxes or child support?
Yes, within limits set in law. For a certified seriously delinquent tax debt, USD 66,000 in 2026 by the IRS’s figure, the State Department generally will not issue a passport and may revoke or limit one already issued (26 U.S.C. 7345). For child support arrears above USD 2,500 it must refuse a passport and may revoke an existing one (42 U.S.C. 652(k)). Tax debts paid on time under an approved installment agreement are not certified.
Sources and methodology
- Revocation or denial of passport in cases of certain unpaid taxes (opens in a new tab)Internal Revenue Service
- 42 U.S.C. 652, Duties of Secretary (subsection (k), denial of passports for nonpayment of child support), United States Code, 2023 edition (opens in a new tab)U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo)
- Registering a foreign birth (Foreign Births Register) (opens in a new tab)Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland
