When we talk about second citizenship, we first discuss the "standard" ways to obtain it. These are either naturalization—citizenship through permanent residence—or descent. This means having relatives who are citizens or have the appropriate nationality. This also applies to marriage—married couples often enjoy significant advantages in obtaining citizenship. Or they can obtain citizenship immediately, as is the case in many Latin American countries, without any hassle.
And practically every country in the world offers the opportunity to obtain citizenship "for services to the country." No residency required, no language learning required, no requirements whatsoever—all you need is those mythical "merits."
What is this? Is it really possible to use it?
Such opportunities do exist—and there are people who take advantage of them. On the other hand, obtaining citizenship "by merit" requires merit itself.
An important point: unlike immigration cases with "generally recognized" merits (e.g., Global Talent in the UK, EB1 in the US, etc.), citizenship committees often rely on past contributions to the country's development. This means they aren't just about promises to do something for the good, but rather about very specific and significant actions.
Another difficulty is that there are no strict criteria for evaluating your actions to pass the qualifications. If the committee decides you're worthy, you'll be approved. If the committee finds your actions insufficient, you won't be able to influence that decision.
What exactly constitutes a "contribution" is also a vague question. At certain times, some countries accepted large investments, thus disguising the fact that citizenship was being obtained through money. For example, the Macedonian government was long suspected of such practices. Similar rumors circulated about other countries of the former Yugoslavia.
What about national associations and cultural organizations?
Also, in some countries (such as the United States, Hungary, and others), working for the benefit of the state is considered a merit. Participation in national cultural organizations is also considered a merit . For example, "Pole's Cards" were previously awarded for three years of participation in Polish cultural events abroad. These cards allow one to move to Poland and become a Polish citizen within a year. This is practically instantaneous, by local standards.
Membership in Slovak, Croatian, Serbian, German, and Bulgarian national associations abroad is still considered an indirect sign of belonging to a particular ethnic group. And this doesn't necessarily require actual membership in that ethnic group. However, this won't always be grounds for relocation; rather, it's more likely to serve as a supporting argument.
But what if you're a well-known scientist, musician, blogger (yes, we're familiar with cases of bloggers being granted citizenship), or simply a local columnist who's spent years promoting the country's culture?
Yes, in this case, you can really gather all your achievements, explain how they relate to this particular country , properly fill out the application and... and sometimes you can even get a positive response and a second citizenship.
But keep in mind that to do this you will need to either:
- have connections with one of the country's leaders
- invest serious money in the development of the state
- so that the commission members can tell you about you and your activities really knew
You'll have to be unique in some way or another, but even that won't save you from possible rejection. However, the cost of failure is small, and there are many countries in the world. Perhaps this will make sense for you.
Therefore, if you are an athlete, scientist, writer, or businessman, you can try your luck. In all other cases, we would recommend you pursue traditional routes to obtaining second citizenship.
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