Bitcoin Haven El Salvador Is Offering 5000 'Free Passports' Says Nayib Bukele: 'Will Facilitate Their Relocation By Ensuring 0% Taxes'

Nayib Bukele, the President of El Salvador, announced a plan to offer 5,000 free passports to highly skilled professionals from around the world, promising a significant impact on the country’s future.

What Happened: In a tweet on Friday, Bukele stated that El Salvador is offering 5,000 free passports, equivalent to $5 billion in their passport program, to highly skilled scientists, engineers, doctors, artists, and philosophers from abroad. He emphasized that this represents less than 0.1% of the country’s population, and granting them full citizen status, including voting rights, poses no issue. He also promised 0% taxes and tariffs on moving families and assets, including commercial value items like equipment, software, and intellectual property.

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We're offering 5,000 free passports (equivalent to $5 billion in our passport program) to highly skilled scientists, engineers, doctors, artists, and philosophers from abroad.

This represents less than 0.1% of our population, so granting them full citizen status, including…

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) April 6, 2024

Why It Matters: According to the Henley Passport Index, El Salvador’s passport ranks 38th in the rankings and offers visa-free access to 136 destinations. This includes a vast chunk of Western European and South American nations.

This move comes in the wake of El Salvador’s recent initiatives to attract foreign investment and talent. Previously, the country’s Congress passed a new migration law that allows expedited citizenship to foreigners who donate Bitcoin BTC/USD to the country’s social and economic development projects, according to a Benzinga report.

Furthermore, El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender, as reported in another Benzinga article. Bukele’s latest announcement is seen as a continuation of these efforts to position El Salvador as a global hub for innovation and talent.

Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin traded 0.22% lower at $$69,344.48, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Photo by Gobierno Danilo Medina on Flickr

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