The Hedge You Can’t Trade: Citizenship As A Safe-Haven Asset

More of our clients now describe a second citizenship the way central banks describe gold, as something they hold for security and diversification rather than returns.

That thinking is changing how families approach Golden Visas and Citizenship by Investment. A Golden Visa gives a family the right to live in a second country and, in some programs, the possibility to apply for citizenship later. Citizenship by Investment gives them a second nationality from the outset. Neither is bought for a quick return. Families secure them because they sit outside the decisions of any one government and give the household more than one place to live, work and study.

It’s the same reasoning that drives some of the most cautious investors in the world. Central banks have been buying gold at a remarkable pace. They added more than 860 tonnes to their reserves in 2025, following three consecutive years of purchases above 1,000 tonnes. That is close to double the average annual pace of the decade before.

The reason matters more than the price, and central banks aren’t trading gold for a quick return. They hold it because it sits outside any single financial system, carries no counterparty risk and doesn’t depend on the decisions of any one government. It’s a long-term holding that diversifies everything else on the balance sheet.

Just as telling is how they’ve gone about it. Central banks haven’t made one large bet at a single moment. They’ve built their positions steadily, year after year, as part of a deliberate long-term strategy. Wealthy families increasingly approach their own security planning in the same way.

The Same Logic Applies To Families

Wealthy families have spent years diversifying their portfolios across currencies, markets and asset classes. Many are now applying the same thinking to the family itself.

A portfolio can hold assets in a dozen markets, but a family with one passport has one set of rights to travel, live, work and study. A second citizenship adds a second set. It gives the family a second place to call home, a second passport for travel and a second nationality to pass on to their children.

Unlike a financial asset, a citizenship doesn’t trade on a market and doesn’t move with prices. Once secured, it’s a lifelong holding that can pass to future generations under each country’s citizenship laws.

What A Second Citizenship Adds To A Family’s Plan

The value of a second citizenship lies less in the passport itself than in what it opens up. For many of our clients, the most useful citizenship is the one that adds access their current passport doesn’t already provide, rather than duplicating it.

In practice, that value shows up in several ways:

• Mobility – a second passport can open visa-free travel to markets where the family’s existing passport requires a visa, making business and leisure travel simpler.
• Education – children and grandchildren gain a second nationality that can widen their options for schooling and university abroad.
• Residence – the family gains the lifelong right to live in the country of citizenship, giving them a second home they can use whenever they choose.
• Continuity – dependent family members can be included in one application, so the whole household holds the same rights from day one.

Residency and citizenship do different jobs, and many of our clients hold both. A Golden Visa gives a family a base in Europe, New Zealand, or Latin America and, in some programs, the possibility to apply for citizenship later. A citizenship by investment program gives them a second nationality from the outset. Together, they build a family plan with more than one foundation.

A Plan Built Well Before It’s Needed

Clients who’ve built diversified portfolios are now diversifying the family itself. A second citizenship is the one asset in their plan that no market movement can touch, and they see it as permanent security for the next generation.

For many of our clients, that’s exactly how the decision comes about. Rather than responding to a single event, most families treat citizenship as a long-term holding that sits alongside property, equities and precious metals in their wider wealth plan. The families who get the most from it are the ones who secure it calmly and on their own timeline.

La Vida’s own survey of US investors in October 2026 reflects the same thinking, with 83.6% naming a Plan B back-up option as a main goal, up from 76.4% the year before. Just 40% plan to relocate, so most are holding a second residency or citizenship as security rather than as a way out. It’s a pattern we see regularly among investors speaking with our team, whatever their nationality.

The Citizenship Programs Clients Choose

La Vida’s clients looking for a permanent second citizenship often choose one of the Caribbean or Turkish programs:

• Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis and St Lucia – citizenship through a government fund contribution or approved real estate, with contributions starting from US$200,000, and the option to include a spouse, children and, in several programs, parents.
• Turkey Citizenship by Investment – citizenship through a real estate investment of US$400,000, held for three years, with the whole family included in one application.

Families who also want a base in Europe, New Zealand or Latin America often pair a citizenship with the Portugal Golden Visa, Greece Golden Visa, Malta Permanent Residence Program, Hungary Guest Investor Program, New Zealand Active Investor Plus Visa or Panama Qualified Investor Program.

Building A Second Citizenship Into Your Plan

A second citizenship does for a family what gold does for a central bank’s reserves. It diversifies, it endures and it doesn’t depend on any one system. La Vida’s advisers help clients compare the Caribbean and Turkish programs and plan how each one fits into their wider approach to protecting the family.

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