Citizenship

A residence card is not a passport

Many families believe they are buying citizenship when what they receive is a residence permit. The two differ in rights, in timescale and in cost. Below is the route to a passport in each country, and where each route tends to break.

Investment leads straight to a passport

Invest as the rules require and citizenship follows — no need to live there. Only a handful of countries still do this, and the number falls every year.

Türkiye

Typically three to six months from completing the purchase

Buy property from USD 400,000 with a three-year no-sale undertaking, and the file runs straight to citizenship — no residence needed.

Core conditions

Property valued at USD 400,000 or more in a report by an SPK-licensed valuer
A three-year resale restriction annotated on the title deed (tapu)
Or an alternative: USD 500,000 in fixed capital, a bank deposit, government bonds held three years, or creating 50 jobs
Granted by presidential decision; spouse and children under 18 are included

Worth weighing

The number that counts is the SPK valuation, not the contract price — plenty of files fail because a USD 420,000 purchase valued at USD 380,000. A Turkish passport gives no visa-free entry to the EU and no European residence rights. With the lira depreciating steadily, treat this as buying a citizenship, not as a place to park capital.

Dual nationality

Türkiye permits dual citizenship — naturalising does not require giving up your existing nationality. On the Vietnamese side: the 2025 amendment to the Nationality Law (Law 79/2025/QH15, in force 1 July 2025) keeps the single-nationality principle of Article 4 and only widens the exceptions to it. What matters for you: a Vietnamese citizen who naturalises abroad does not thereby lose Vietnamese nationality — that happens only on a granted application to renounce it. In return, while inside Vietnam the authorities deal with you as a Vietnamese national and nothing else.

View the programme →Official source

Live there long enough, then naturalise

This is the large majority. Money buys a residence card; citizenship comes years later through genuine residence, and several countries add a language exam.

United States

Five years as a green card holder — three if married to a US citizen

Get the green card first, hold it five years while actually living there, then file Form N-400.

Core conditions

Hold a green card and maintain continuous residence in the US for five years before filing
Be physically present in the US for at least 30 months — 913 days — within those five years
Live in the state or USCIS district handling your case for at least three months before filing
Read, write and speak English, and pass the civics test

Worth weighing

The 913-day mark is where Vietnamese families most often come unstuck. A green card is not a travel document: any absence over six months invites questions about continuous residence, and an absence over twelve months usually resets the clock altogether. The civics test has also got harder — N-400s filed from 20 October 2025 sit the 2025 test, 20 questions drawn from a bank of 128, with 12 correct answers needed to pass.

Dual nationality

The US does not require you to give up your former nationality. The oath contains renunciatory language, but the State Department is explicit that US law does not force anyone to choose between nationalities. On the Vietnamese side: the 2025 amendment to the Nationality Law (Law 79/2025/QH15, in force 1 July 2025) keeps the single-nationality principle of Article 4 and only widens the exceptions to it. What matters for you: a Vietnamese citizen who naturalises abroad does not thereby lose Vietnamese nationality — that happens only on a granted application to renounce it. In return, while inside Vietnam the authorities deal with you as a Vietnamese national and nothing else.

View the programme →Official source

Canada

1,095 days — three years — of physical presence within the past five

Become a permanent resident first, bank 1,095 days in Canada across five years, then apply.

Core conditions

Hold valid permanent residence, free of conditions or removal orders
Be physically present in Canada for 1,095 days in the five years before signing the application
File taxes for three of those five years, where required to do so
Applicants aged 18–54 must reach CLB 4 in English or French and pass the citizenship test

Worth weighing

Time in Canada before permanent residence — as a student or worker — counts only as half a day, capped at 365 days. Investors who keep a business running in Vietnam rarely accumulate 1,095 days, and the PR card itself lapses without 730 days in Canada every five years. Canada asks you to actually live there.

Dual nationality

Canada permits dual citizenship — there is no separate application and no dual-citizenship certificate. On the Vietnamese side: the 2025 amendment to the Nationality Law (Law 79/2025/QH15, in force 1 July 2025) keeps the single-nationality principle of Article 4 and only widens the exceptions to it. What matters for you: a Vietnamese citizen who naturalises abroad does not thereby lose Vietnamese nationality — that happens only on a granted application to renounce it. In return, while inside Vietnam the authorities deal with you as a Vietnamese national and nothing else.

View the programme →Official source

Australia

Four years of lawful residence, the last twelve months of it as a permanent resident

Enter on a valid visa, complete four years of lawful residence with the final twelve months as a permanent resident, then apply by conferral.

Core conditions

Live in Australia on a valid visa for the four years immediately before applying
Hold permanent residence or a subclass 444 visa for the final twelve months
Spend no more than twelve months total outside Australia across the four years, and no more than 90 days in the final year
Pass the citizenship test and meet the good-character requirement

Worth weighing

The 90-day limit in the final twelve months is the usual stumbling block — a couple of long trips home to Vietnam and the application date has to move. The harder part comes earlier: Australia closed the Business Innovation and Investment Programme in July 2024, so for Vietnamese applicants the route to permanent residence now runs mainly through skills, employer sponsorship or family.

Dual nationality

Australia has allowed dual citizenship since 4 April 2002, when the automatic-loss provision of the 1948 Act was repealed. On the Vietnamese side: the 2025 amendment to the Nationality Law (Law 79/2025/QH15, in force 1 July 2025) keeps the single-nationality principle of Article 4 and only widens the exceptions to it. What matters for you: a Vietnamese citizen who naturalises abroad does not thereby lose Vietnamese nationality — that happens only on a granted application to renounce it. In return, while inside Vietnam the authorities deal with you as a Vietnamese national and nothing else.

View the programme →Official source

Portugal

Ten years of legal residence for Vietnamese nationals — seven for EU and CPLP citizens

Residence permit first, citizenship later — and since 19 May 2026 a Vietnamese applicant needs ten years of legal residence.

Core conditions

Ten years of legal residence, counted by the permit actually issued — time spent waiting on AIMA no longer counts
Evidence, by test or certificate, of Portuguese language plus knowledge of Portuguese culture, history and national symbols
Meet the new civics requirement on Portugal's democratic institutions
Sign a declaration of adherence to democratic rule-of-law principles, show sufficient means of subsistence, and hold a clean criminal record

Worth weighing

This is the biggest European change of the year, and it moves against the client. The old rule was five years for everyone; Organic Law 1/2026 raised it to ten for Vietnamese nationals, effective 19 May 2026. Two details matter: naturalisation files already lodged with the IRN before that date are still judged under the old law, and the way the clock is counted has changed — it used to run from the date you applied for the residence permit, now it runs from the date AIMA actually issued it, and AIMA's backlog can put one to two years between those. The Portuguese Golden Visa is still a good residence card; the road to the passport has simply doubled in length.

Dual nationality

Portugal permits dual citizenship and does not ask you to renounce your existing nationality. On the Vietnamese side: the 2025 amendment to the Nationality Law (Law 79/2025/QH15, in force 1 July 2025) keeps the single-nationality principle of Article 4 and only widens the exceptions to it. What matters for you: a Vietnamese citizen who naturalises abroad does not thereby lose Vietnamese nationality — that happens only on a granted application to renounce it. In return, while inside Vietnam the authorities deal with you as a Vietnamese national and nothing else.

View the programme →Official source

Greece

Seven years of lawful residence actually spent in Greece

Seven years of lawful — and actual — residence in Greece, pass the ΠΕΓΠ certificate, then apply for naturalisation.

Core conditions

Seven years of 'lawful and settled' residence in Greece before the application is filed
Hold a residence title from the accepted list — the investor permit (Golden Visa) is on that list
Hold the ΠΕΓΠ certificate: Greek plus the papers on Greek geography, history, culture and state institutions; the filing fee is EUR 550
Meet the good-character requirement; the Ministry of Interior and the Naturalisation Committee decide case by case

Worth weighing

This is where clients are most often misled, so let us be blunt. Greek law asks for seven years of residence that is 'lawful AND settled' — two limbs, not one. The Golden Visa handles the first limb: it sits on the list of accepted residence titles. But it asks you to spend no days at all in Greece — buy the property, keep the investment, renew every five years. So seven years of holding the card while living in Vietnam does not satisfy the second limb, and the naturalisation file will not stand up. If an EU passport is the goal, plan on genuinely moving; if a low-cost European residence card is the goal, the Golden Visa remains sensible — they are two different objectives.

Dual nationality

Greece is generally understood not to require renunciation on naturalising, but we have not been able to confirm that against an official text — check before advising on it. On the Vietnamese side: the 2025 amendment to the Nationality Law (Law 79/2025/QH15, in force 1 July 2025) keeps the single-nationality principle of Article 4 and only widens the exceptions to it. What matters for you: a Vietnamese citizen who naturalises abroad does not thereby lose Vietnamese nationality — that happens only on a granted application to renounce it. In return, while inside Vietnam the authorities deal with you as a Vietnamese national and nothing else.

View the programme →Official source

Cyprus

Seven years of lawful residence within the past ten, plus twelve continuous months immediately before applying

The passport-for-investment programme closed in 2020; what remains is naturalisation counted in years of real residence.

Core conditions

Twelve months of continuous lawful residence immediately before applying, with absences totalling no more than 90 days
At least seven cumulative years of lawful residence in the ten years preceding that twelve-month period
Greek at B1 and a pass of 60% or more in the exam on Cypriot political and social life
Suitable accommodation, stable resources, and the intention to go on living in Cyprus

Worth weighing

Cyprus's citizenship-by-investment programme is over — there is no longer any way to buy a Cypriot passport. Permanent residence by investment at EUR 300,000 is still issued quickly, but it is only residence: hold that card while visiting Cyprus once every two years and none of those years count toward naturalisation, because the law demands continuous, genuine residence. There is a shorter route for people who work: highly qualified staff at companies registered with the Business Facilitation Unit can apply after four years with Greek at A2, or three years at B1.

Dual nationality

Cyprus is reported to permit dual citizenship with no renunciation required — a point to re-check before publication. On the Vietnamese side: the 2025 amendment to the Nationality Law (Law 79/2025/QH15, in force 1 July 2025) keeps the single-nationality principle of Article 4 and only widens the exceptions to it. What matters for you: a Vietnamese citizen who naturalises abroad does not thereby lose Vietnamese nationality — that happens only on a granted application to renounce it. In return, while inside Vietnam the authorities deal with you as a Vietnamese national and nothing else.

View the programme →Official source

Malta

Five years of residence inside a seven-year window: twelve months immediately before applying, plus four years across the preceding six

The direct-investment citizenship route was repealed in July 2025; only residence-based naturalisation remains.

Core conditions

Twelve months of residence in Malta immediately before the application
A further four years of aggregate residence across the six years preceding that twelve-month period
Adequate Maltese or English, and good character
The Minister assesses whether you are 'a suitable citizen of Malta' — entirely at discretion

Worth weighing

Anyone still offering 'Maltese citizenship by investment' is selling something that no longer exists. The Court of Justice of the EU ruled the scheme unlawful on 29 April 2025; Malta repealed it through Act No. XXI of 2025 and Legal Notice 159 of 2025, and any file not approved by the Minister before 29 April 2025 ceased to have effect. What replaced it is naturalisation by merit — no investment component, and marketing it is prohibited. Two further distinctions: the MPRP grants permanent residence only and leads nowhere near citizenship; and ordinary Maltese naturalisation is discretionary — the Minister need give no reasons and the decision cannot be appealed to any court.

Dual nationality

Malta allows dual citizenship without restriction, under Chapter 188, article 7. On the Vietnamese side: the 2025 amendment to the Nationality Law (Law 79/2025/QH15, in force 1 July 2025) keeps the single-nationality principle of Article 4 and only widens the exceptions to it. What matters for you: a Vietnamese citizen who naturalises abroad does not thereby lose Vietnamese nationality — that happens only on a granted application to renounce it. In return, while inside Vietnam the authorities deal with you as a Vietnamese national and nothing else.

View the programme →Official source

Singapore

Two years of permanent residence at minimum; most successful applicants have held it four to six years

You must be a permanent resident first, hold it for at least two years, then apply — and ICA weighs the whole profile.

Core conditions

Be 21 or over and have held Singapore permanent residence for at least two years
ICA assesses family ties to Singaporeans, economic contribution, qualifications, age and length of residence
There is no published points table and no disclosed quantitative threshold
On approval you take the oath and must give up every foreign citizenship

Worth weighing

Two things to think hard about. First, Singapore does not let adults hold two citizenships — taking the Singapore passport means giving up Vietnamese nationality, and that is a one-way decision. Second, sons who hold Singapore PR or citizenship must register for National Service at 16 and a half and enlist from 18; giving up PR to avoid it carries lasting consequences for their own study and work applications and for the family's. The door to PR is narrow too: the Global Investor Programme starts at SGD 10 million.

Dual nationality

Singapore does not recognise dual citizenship for adults. A Singapore citizen who takes another nationality is required to renounce Singapore citizenship. On the Vietnamese side: the 2025 amendment to the Nationality Law (Law 79/2025/QH15, in force 1 July 2025) keeps the single-nationality principle of Article 4 and only widens the exceptions to it. What matters for you: a Vietnamese citizen who naturalises abroad does not thereby lose Vietnamese nationality — that happens only on a granted application to renounce it. In return, while inside Vietnam the authorities deal with you as a Vietnamese national and nothing else.

View the programme →Official source

No route to a passport

Residence yes, long-term residence yes — but not a passport. We say so upfront so nobody plans around something that does not exist.

United Arab Emirates (Dubai)

No timeline — no general route exists

There is no route for Vietnamese clients: Emirati nationality is granted only on nomination by a state body, and the Golden Visa remains a residence permit for good.

Core conditions

You must be nominated by a Ruler's Court, an Executive Council office or the Cabinet — there is no self-application channel
Only defined categories qualify: investors, doctors, scientists, inventors, intellectuals and creative talents
Investors in that category must additionally own property in the UAE
Years of residence are not sufficient — ten or twenty years there creates no entitlement to apply

Worth weighing

This is where the market misleads people most. The ten-year Golden Visa is a renewable residence permit, not the first rung of a citizenship ladder, and it depends on your keeping the asset or job it was granted for. Anyone offering an 'Emirati passport through investment' is selling something the law does not provide. If citizenship is the goal, the UAE is the wrong target.

Dual nationality

For those who are nominated, the UAE allows the original nationality to be kept — though that only matters if you fall inside the very narrow nominated group. On the Vietnamese side: the 2025 amendment to the Nationality Law (Law 79/2025/QH15, in force 1 July 2025) keeps the single-nationality principle of Article 4 and only widens the exceptions to it. What matters for you: a Vietnamese citizen who naturalises abroad does not thereby lose Vietnamese nationality — that happens only on a granted application to renounce it. In return, while inside Vietnam the authorities deal with you as a Vietnamese national and nothing else.

Official source

And on the Vietnamese side?

Before pursuing a foreign passport, a family needs to know whether it can keep Vietnamese nationality — it governs property ownership, inheritance and how easily everyone travels. The Vietnamese rules have moved recently, so we check them file by file rather than giving a blanket answer.

Which country suits your family?

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