South Africans can gain citizenship in another country in three ways
Are you a South African looking to acquire citizenship in another country? Here are three ways to do just that...
There has been a growing number of South Africans who are looking to move overseas and become permanent residents.
This is to use as an emergency plan B or to take advantage of a range of lifestyle, business, investment, and tax benefits.
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With increasing global mobility, it's becoming increasingly common for people to explore their options for gaining dual citizenship.
According to Business Tech, citizenship by investment programmes should give full citizenship to the applicants, providing the same benefits as a natural-born citizen of that country.
Dani van Vuuren, who's the business consultant at Sovereign Trust, has shared three ways in which someone can obtain residency and citizenship in another country.
1. Ancestry
If you have parents or grandparents (great-grandparents) born in a different country, you may already be eligible for citizenship by descent.
Alas, you will have to clearly prove your ancestral links and documentation. You will generally have to live in the country you want citizenship from for the full naturalisation period.
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2. Naturalisation
So how it works is... if you live and work in a country for a certain period of time, you can qualify to apply for permanent residency and, ultimately, citizenship of that country.
The rules of naturalisation vary from country to country. The person would have to promise to obey and uphold the country’s laws.
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3. Direct Citizenship Programmes
These are programmes that offer citizenship within three to six months in exchange for an investment/government donation, with no physical presence requirements.
They also would need to provide residency rights within a range of other countries in which the issuing country holds freedom of movement treaties.
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Main image attribution: Unsplash