The country of El Salvador has announced that it is giving skilled foreign workers who are willing to relocate to the country free passports, citizenship and settlement funds.
This was announced by the country’s president Nayib Bukele. “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,” said President Bukele.
He pointed out that this will represent less than 0.1 per cent of the population of El Salvador and as such, he so no threat in granting the skilled foreigners full citizen status, including voting rights.
“Despite the small number, their contributions will have a huge impact on our society and the future of our country,” he said.
“Plus, we will facilitate their relocation by ensuring 0 per cent taxes and tariffs on moving families and assets. This includes commercial value items like equipment, software, and intellectual property.”
The move comes barely a year after the country’s legislative assembly was reported by Reuters to have approved a migration law that was meant to expedite citizenship to foreigners who support social and economic development programs by donating Bitcoin.
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El Salvador is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean.
Its capital and largest city is San Salvador. The country’s population in 2023 was estimated to be around 6.5 million people.
According to a report that appeared on the CNN, in 2021, “El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as a legal tender alongside the US dollar. But the International Monetary Fund has repeatedly recommended that the country ditch the cryptocurrency, citing risks including high volatility.”
Until recently, the country had one of the world’s highest murder rates. In 2022 though the government launched a massive fight against criminal gangs and gang-related violence.
It declared state of emergency and arrested more than tens of thousands of suspected gang members in a move that brought gang-related incidents down rapidly.