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According to Forbes, around 9 million US citizens are living abroad, with growing numbers each year. In addition to this, recently, Americans have been more interested in citizenship by investment programs. No doubt that the main reason for the recent interest in such programs is the effect of the pandemic. People do not think that they’re completely safe in the US, also partly because of the uncertainty. In fact, American applications for these programs increased by 700% in the first quarter of 2020, compared with the last quarter of 2019.
After COVID-19, US citizens have realized that it is better to have an alternative place to live and benefit from its rights. For example, there has been strong interest among Americans in moving from the USA to Portugal recently.
The reason is that they fear the US passport will continue to lose its value. In fact, they might be right about that because the number of countries where the US passport is valid is decreasing day by day.
The mobility score of the US passport has decreased sharply after 2019. The score has been almost stable between the years 2015-2019. In 2019, however, it faced a sudden decline from 171 to 81, after the pandemic struck the country.
Some citizens are also anxious about the political environment in the US, which may affect the value of the US passport in a bad way. People have faced travel bans during the pandemic. Therefore, couples from different nationalities have had to remain separated. In the meantime, interest in the US EB-5 Immigration Investor Program has also decreased. The main reasons for this are the increase in the costs, the length of the approval process, and seemingly the government’s changing immigration legislation. So, the country has lost the interests of both its citizens and potential foreign residents.
Considering the environment in the US, citizens found the solution in citizenship programs in more economically and politically stable countries. Smaller countries seem to have handled the process well enough. Portugal is one of the best examples of these countries. It has handled the pandemic very well, with strict precautions from the very beginning. Its healthcare system ranks very high, and it is a politically stable country, being the 3rd safest country in the world. As a result of this, it has been an attraction for foreign investors, including many US citizens.
Residency by investment and citizenship by investment programs vary depending on their offers and requirements. One of the well-known of these programs is the Golden Visa Program. Countries that provide Golden Visas are, namely Portugal, Greece, and Spain. High net worth investors invest in or buy a property in one of these countries. After a certain period of time, they may obtain residency in the country. Especially Portuguese program is popular as the Portugal citizenship by investment program because it leads to citizenship without a full-time residency requirement.
Furthermore, they have a right to include their family and visa-free travel to Schengen countries. Depending on the country’s stay requirement, they may eventually obtain permanent residency and citizenship of the country and EU citizen status. If they obtain dual citizenship, they have the right to travel, work, or study in the EU countries as well.
