El Salvador Launches a Bitcoin Freedom Visa

The government of El Salvador has implemented a program, in collaboration with Tether, which offers a residence permit and path to citizenship for those who invest $1 million in the country using Bitcoin or USDT.

This program, called the El Salvador Freedom Visa, is limited to only 1,000 individuals. If all available spots are filled, the government will generate $1 billion in revenue and use it to further develop the program.

While other countries like Vanuatu also offer similar visa conditions, El Salvador’s program is significantly more expensive. In comparison, neighboring Caribbean nations such as Antigua, Barbuda, Dominica, and St. Lucia require a minimum investment of $100,000.

For example, Malta offers citizenship through investment for €750,000 euros (~$810,000), providing access to the 23-nation visa-free Schengen area in the EU, according to investment migration consultancy Henley & Partners.

However, Alistair Milne, the founder of cryptocurrency hedge fund Altana Digital Currency, criticized El Salvador’s program in a post on social media, stating that it is not competitive in the global market and that it is possible to obtain citizenship in an EU country for less money.