El Salvador to Offer 5,000 Free Passports to ‘Highly Skilled Immigrants’

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced Saturday that his administration will offer 5,000 free passports to “highly skilled” foreign scientists, engineers, doctors, artists, and philosophers who decide to settle in the Central American nation. 

Bukele used a Saturday social media post to announce that the prospective 5,000 passports are equivalent to $5 billion of El Salvador’s foreign investment passport program. The program, known as “Adopting El Salvador,” is an initiative that the Salvadoran government launched in late December that offers passports and a fast track to citizenship through naturalization to 1,000 foreigners who invest $1 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) or Tether (USDT) — cryptocurrencies — in the country.

Bukele explained that the prospective 5,000 recipients of the passports will represent “less than 0.1 percent” of El Salvador’s population, so “granting them full citizen status, including voting rights” will pose no issue for the country.

“Despite the small number, their contributions will have a huge impact on our society and the future of our country,” Bukele said.

The Salvadoran president stated that El Salvador would facilitate the recipients’ relocation while granting benefits, such as no taxes or tariffs on moving families or assets such as equipment, software, and intellectual property.

Bukele concluded, saying to “stay tuned” for more details on the upcoming initiative.

Bukele, who will take office on June 1 for a five-year term after being reelected in an unprecedented — and controversial — landslide election in February, previously stated that his new term will be focused on improving El Salvador’s economy. His fierce crackdown on gang violence during his first term has led to the “virtual disappearance” of El Salvador’s most dangerous gangs, such as MS-13 and 18th Street.

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Under Bukele, El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, making it the country’s second official currency after having ditched the Salvadoran colón in favor of the United States dollar in 2001 amidst rampant inflation at the time through a process more commonly referred to as “dollarization.” 

While neither Bukele nor the Salvadoran government has publicly revealed the total amount of Bitcoin the country holds, Bukele announced in March that some $400 million worth of El Salvador’s Bitcoin holdings had been stored in a “cold wallet” and safely secured in a physical vault inside the country. The “cold storage,” a device completely disconnected from the internet, prevents any possible hacking attacks or intrusions that would lead to a loss of assets.

Bukele also announced in March that El Salvador had initiated the approval process of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to develop and use nuclear energy. El Salvador reportedly increased its energy exports by 86 percent during 2023, which allowed the Central American country to receive $74.6 million in additional revenue by exporting power to the region, allowing it to become the first supplier of electricity in the Central American market.

According to information from the Central Bank of El Salvador, the Central American country’s economy grew 3.5 percent during 2023, up from 2.8 percent in 2022. The Salvadoran Central Bank is foreseeing a growth between three and 3.5 percent during 2024. The Central Bank’s President, Douglas Rodríguez, asserted in March that the “main brake” of El Salvador’s local economy was the rampant gang violence and crime that the Salvadoran government’s gang crackdown dramatically reduced.