After moving all around the USA I feel it’s time to jump the pond and try something new. I have done some research into demographics like English speaking, gay friendly, etc. The list I have come up with of possible options are: South Africa, England, Wales, New Zealand, Scotland, Ireland & Australia in no particular order. Re: difficulty gaining citizenship as a US citizen, should I remove any from said list? Thanks in advance for input ~
I’m assuming you can’t get citizenship by descent, so if the goal is second citizenship in an English speaking country these are your options:
Canada: 3-5+ yrs Naturalization Australia: 5+ yrs Naturalization New Zealand: 5+ yrs Naturalization Malta: 4+ yrs Naturalization; 5+ yrs by Marriage (you don’t need to be in the country); 5+yrs Investment 1,450,000 Ireland: 5+ yrs Naturalization; 3+ years Marriage UK: 5+ years Naturalization Belize: 5+ yrs Naturalization South Africa: 5+ years Naturalization; unclear by Marriage
Out of the options above, Canada, New Zealand are the easiest via Naturalization Belize and Australia are second for Naturalization. Malta is the easiest by Marriage. Ireland is the easiest by Descent. South Africa is the least feasible.
Everywhere is different, however, most countries require you to establish Permanent Residency before applying for citizenship. You can even have several Permanent Residence’s (PR) at once if you wanted to shop around. Each country has specific terms for keeping your PR.
Why citizenship though? What’s your goal? Live and work in other countries? Country to escape to if things go bad? Would you be happy with just PR without a path to citizenship?
Whatever you decide, the next step would be looking into your visa options.