El Salvador unveils ‘Bitcoin Freedom Visa’ for $1 million

The government of El Salvador has launched a program offering residency and a path to citizenship for an investment of $1 million in the country, payable in Bitcoin or USDT.

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Experience Freedom, Security and a #Bitcoin lifestyle by adopting El Salvador as your home through the Freedom Visa Program.

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— Tether (@Tether_to) December 7, 2023

The initiative, in partnership with Tether, called the ‘El Salvador Freedom Visa’, envisages participation of no more than 1,000 people.

If all places are filled, the government would earn $1 billion and continue developing the program. Countries with similar visa conditions, such as Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica and Saint Lucia, earn millions of dollars annually.

However, El Salvador’s proposal is tens of times more expensive than in other jurisdictions. In neighbouring Caribbean states Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica and Saint Lucia, the minimum investment starts at $100,000.

For example, Malta offers citizenship for an investment of €750,000 (~$810,000), which gives access to the 23-country Schengen area of the European Union, according to the investment migration consulting firm Henley & Partners.

The founder of the cryptocurrency hedge fund Altana Digital Currency, Alistair Milne, wrote on X that El Salvador’s offer is ‘non-competitive on the global market’, and noted the possibility of acquiring citizenship in an EU country for less money.

El Salvador offering Visas and citizenship to anyone investing $1million (in USDt or Bitcoin) in the country

Frankly uncompetitive in the global market (can get EU citizenship for less) so disappointing https://t.co/ALydiMAJRj

— Alistair Milne (@alistairmilne) December 7, 2023

In autumn 2021, the country recognised the first cryptocurrency as legal tender. At the same time, authorities began stocking the asset in the state treasury. As of writing, it holds 2,381 BTC worth $102.7 million, according to Buy Bitcoin Worldwide.

Vice President Félix Ulloa called the the most important element in the crisis response. According to him, legalising Bitcoin has attracted new investors and helped spur a tourist boom.

In December 2023, Nayib Bukele said that, in light of the latest price movements, national investments in digital gold had begun to bear fruit.