President Nayib Bukele announces free El Salvador citizenship to a select group of global talent in science, engineering, medicine, the arts, and philosophy. This initiative builds on the country’s adoption of Bitcoin and recent citizenship-by-investment program, aiming to drive innovation and economic growth.
The government of El Salvador has announced a new program offering free passports and full citizenship to 5,000 highly skilled individuals from around the world. The announcement comes just months after El Salvador introduced its “Freedom Passport” program, which allows foreigners to secure residency and citizenship with a $1 million investment.
Now, President Nayib Bukele has shared details of a new initiative. In a tweet, Bukele said the 5,000 passports being offered will be granted to scientists, engineers, doctors, artists, and philosophers from abroad.
“This represents less than 0.1% of our population, so granting them full citizen status, including voting rights, poses no issue,” Bukele wrote. “Despite the small number, their contributions will have a huge impact on our society and the future of our country.”
To further incentivize the program, Bukele said El Salvador will offer 0% taxes and tariffs to facilitate the relocation of participants and their families. This will include the transportation of commercial items like equipment, software, and intellectual property.
We’re offering 5,000 free passports (equivalent to $5 billion in our passport program) to highly skilled scientists, engineers, doctors, artists, and philosophers from abroad.
This represents less than 0.1% of our population, so granting them full citizen status, including…
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) April 6, 2024
Offering El Salvador Citizenship to Attract Top Global Talent
Bukele’s announcement builds on El Salvador’s 2021 move to officially incorporate Bitcoin as a legal tender; the first country in the world to do so. This decision allowed the use of Bitcoin to run parallel to the U.S. dollar, which has served as the official currency since 2001.
Attracting top global talent through these initiatives could help drive investment, innovation, and economic growth in El Salvador. The president promised more details soon, but the announcement has already generated significant buzz and speculation.
Bukele is the most popular president in Latin America with a 90% approval rating. He recently won a second term in office in a landslide victory, largely due to his crackdown on gang crime.
