Golden Visas allow foreigners to invest in real estate, local stock markets, or social causes in exchange for a residence permit allowing - but not requiring - them to live in countries like Portugal, Spain, Greece, Malta, and more. For as little as 100,000 euros, they can obtain the ability to live in Europe whenever they need to.

After a few years, investors can even get citizenship in Europe, and with it the ability for them and all future generations to live, work, and study in any European country. Dual citizenship in a European country is a backup plan for today’s turbulent times, and a gift to future generations to have dozens of countries they can live in, rather than just one.

There’s only one problem: Golden Visas are under attack. Europeans are blaming investors for driving up local property prices, and Portugal, Ireland, and possibly Spain are closing their Golden Visa programs for good. Just as Americans are realizing why so many other foreign investors loved Golden Visas for their flexibility as a “Plan B”, the best programs are closing.

Americans concerned about the direction of their country are increasingly realizing that having dual citizenship as a backup plan is a valuable way to protect their families from the next black swan event, yet find themselves with fewer options in Europe.

The best option for these families may well be not a Golden Visa, but citizenship by investment.

Citizenship by investment grants the investor and their family - including children, dependent parents, and even in-laws - permanent citizenship in a matter of months, rather than Golden Visas which grant residence with the promise of citizenship five to ten years later.

In exchange for a real estate investment or donation of as little as $100,000, citizenship be processed in as little as 90 days after paperwork is submitted. All applicants are subject to rigorous background checks - criminals and tax cheats aren’t welcome - and once approved can apply for a second passport to travel on.

Nearly a dozen countries around the world offer direct citizenship by investment:

• St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, and St. Lucia (all Caribbean islands and members of the British Commonwealth)
• Malta (part of the European Union)
• Turkey
• Vanuatu
• And more

Obtaining citizenship by investment is a straightforward path to having dual citizenship and the ability not only to live in the other country, but to travel with a passport from that country.

Many Americans have obtained citizenship in Caribbean nations like St. Kitts and Nevis, which allows them to travel visa-free to 157 countries according to Nomad Capitalist’s “Nomad Passport Index”. That’s lower than a US passport’s 186 countries, but St. Kitts is a small, peaceful nation with no personal or corporate income tax.

Living on a Caribbean beach tax-free isn’t the worst trade-off, and the best part of citizenship by investment programs is that they fully support dual citizenship, so Americans, Canadians, Australians and any number of other westerners can retain their current citizenship while adding a “Plan B” or a retirement destination.

Citizens of a Caribbean country also have the right to live in five other Caribbean countries, offering diversification to Americans or Canadians who only have the legal right to live in their own country. If one country becomes unappealing or has a problem, you can always move to another.

Malta takes that freedom to a new level. As a member of the European Union, Maltese citizens can live, work, and study anywhere in that bloc, meaning you can obtain Maltese citizenship for your family and then relocate to Ireland, Spain, or Germany. You or your children could study there or even take up work; it’s similar to moving from California to Texas or from Ontario to Alberta.

Malta’s citizenship program takes longer than its peers at about just over one year, and costs as much as $1 million, but the ability to live in nearly thirty European countries is the ultimate backup plan for anyone who has fantasized about living in Europe. Maltese citizens can travel to 185 countries including the United States without a visa, making it an equal quality passport for any western citizen who thinks they may need to “get out of Dodge” one day.

Dual citizens enjoy freedom and flexibility to live, travel, and make money around the world, and if you don’t plan on living overseas but want the options dual citizenship provides, citizenship by investment is certainly the easiest way to get it in a matter of months.