The El Salvadoran Congress has approved a law to speed up the citizenship acquisition for those who make donations in Bitcoin (BTC).
El Salvador’s Congress, with backing from President Nayib Bukele’s New Ideas party, has passed a migration law that offers fast-tracked citizenship to foreigners who contribute to government social and economic programs through Bitcoin donations.
This unexpected decision, made in a late-night vote by the unicameral legislature on Dec. 21, is expected to come into enforcement in the coming days, per a Reuters report.
However, the law does not contain any minimum requirements for a donation. The reform stipulates that those who qualify will skip the standard need for the naturalization process of five years of continuous residence for anyone from a non-Hispanic country or two years if the person has a Salvadoran spouse.
At the same time, it was previously reported that anyone can get the El Salvador Freedom Visa if one invests $1 million in BTC or USDT for the country’s development.
The main goal of such an initiative is “to benefit the economy, culture, and people of El Salvador.” It is designed to create conditions in which people can independently contribute to forming a new economy for the country and a better future for the first cryptocurrency.
El Salvador made Bitcoin its national currency in 2021. Although its adoption has been slow and its use limited, since November 2022, El Salvadoran authorities have been purchasing 1 BTC a day in a bid to shore up the country’s treasury.
