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Martin
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Level 1
Asked: 2019-12-22T16:26:33+00:00 In:

What are the best citizenship routes for the British to remain in the EU after the Brexit?

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When the UK leaves the EU in January 2020, the British need to have a visa to travel to the EU. This probably to have a significant impact on individuals and businesses.

What would be the best options for those UK citizens who have no ancestry and descent links with another European country?

Can virtual citizenship or e-Residency be of any help?

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    3 Answers

    1. PoliticsWatch
      Level 2

      Virtual citizenship or e-Residency (which is started by Estonia) are not going to get you a permanent residency.

      E-Residency is a kind of residency which can help you run a business remotely, by providing you facilities like company registration, banks account, tax handling etc. It costs around €100.

      However, you would still need a visa to travel to the EU. This option can be good for those who are living outside Europe and want to add some credentials to the business by showing that it is registered and operating in Europe. E-Residency can be good for startups or online business to provide more peace of mind and transparency to their clients.

      Remember, the UK is leaving the EU, not Europe.

      You may consider something like applying to Portugal residency. It is close to the UK and has nice weather. Still, you need to spend years there to get eligible for a Portuguese passport.

       

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    3. Andrew
      Level 1

      There are three ways to get citizenship of another EU country.

      • First Route: The cheapest and easiest way to get a passport or citizenship of another country is by descent & ancestry. You may be eligible for this route if your parents, grandparents or even great grandparents belonged to some of the European countries such as Italy and Poland.
      • Second route: Anyone can apply to get European citizenship through naturalization. But all require a few years before eligible to get a passport.
        • Portugal – It is the easiest option to get EU citizenship. However, it requires five years to get a passport. It also requires a minimum of 6 consecutive months stays during the first year. Then at least 16 months during each of the two years visa. Language can be an issue.
        • Belgium – It requires you to get a job or set up a company. Again language can be an issue.
        • Spain – Needs to stay there to fulfil the residency requirements and then apply for citizenship. 
      • Third Route: This is citizenship by investment option. This can be ideal for superrich people. Malta, Cyprus and Portugal are offering this option. But it requires a substantial investment in the local real estate or other industry. One can also buy Maltese nationality by donating €650,000 to the National Development and Social Fund (with €25,000 each for each dependent such as Child, spouse). It is like a donation NOT an investment so cannot be refunded.
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    4. Ahsan
      Level 2

      Interestingly, wealthy tories are applying for citizenship in other EU countries.

      The UK passport once considered the most powerful is going to face some serious issues.

      https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tory-donor-eu-citizenship-brexit-cyprus-passport-boris-johnson-a9255266.html

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