The “Golden Passport” or “golden visa” is the program for obtaining citizenship in exchange for investment in the South Pacific country of Vanuatu.
So, is it possible to acquire Vanuatu’s “golden passport” for the crypto?
Bitnewstoday.ru asked the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic Andrew Solomon NAPUAT.
“Of course, we do not accept the cryptocurrency directly. This contradicts our legislation, “he said. – The official currency for payment is in US dollars. A person, that wants to pay by the cryptocurrency, should consult with agents appointed by our regulator. If they agree, he can transfer the cryptocurrency to the purse of the agent, so he will already be responsible for transferring money to dollars and pay to the government of Vanuatu. “
The authorities of the island want $180,000 for citizenship. It’s 28 bitcoins.
“The honorable citizenship is given to people that were born outside of Vanuatu,” continued Andrew NAPUAT. – Usually, the whole procedure takes approximately 30 days. But there may be unforeseen delays. ”
The example of Vanuatu is indicative for two reasons. Firstly, the approach between the state authorities and the crypto business is slow but still goes. It seems that the small island state is the only one in the world that interacts with operators of virtual assets within the framework of state cooperation. But this is just a beginning.
Antigua and Barbuda, officially announced that the Government will accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for the citizenship by investment program.
According to CIP Antigua, the citizenship costs for one person is $132,500 equivalent of 20 Bitcoins, cheaper than Vanuatu (includes $100K contribution, $25K processing fee and $7.5K due diligence fee)
Currently Antigua and Vanuatu are the only two countries, accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for citizenship by investment program.
Source: bitnewstoday.com
Note: Bitcoin price at the time of writing is $6500
