Ten myths about the second passport, and what is actually true

Few decisions attract as much half-knowledge as a second passport. You hear the same ten myths again and again, and each one has a clear answer in the law and in what the authorities themselves publish. For the bigger picture, see the complete overview of the second passport.

Myth 1: you cannot buy a passport legally

"Buying a passport" sounds like back rooms and forgers' workshops. That is exactly what it is not. With citizenship by investment, you are not buying a document: you are meeting the conditions of a law under which a sovereign state naturalises investors. What you get at the end is a genuine naturalisation and a regularly issued passport.

The legal bases are public for anyone to read:

• Antigua and Barbuda bases its programme on the Citizenship by Investment Act of 2013 and runs its own Citizenship by Investment Unit for it.
• Dominica naturalises under section 8 of its Citizenship Act and the Citizenship by Investment Regulations, likewise through a government Citizenship by Investment Unit.
• Grenada and São Tomé and Príncipe run their programmes through government bodies with their own websites, fee schedules and vetting procedures.

Every application goes through a background check, known as due diligence. It is not an obstacle but the quality seal of the process: the state checks whom it naturalises. What makes a programme grounded in law, and how to spot a dubious offer at once, is shown in buying a passport legally. Every programme side by side is in the comparison.

The truth: a passport from an investment programme set up by law is as legal as any other naturalisation.

Myth 2: a second passport costs you your German one

For a long time, this was no myth at all. Until mid-2024, a German who applied for and acquired a foreign nationality generally lost German citizenship unless they held a retention permit (Beibehaltungsgenehmigung). Anyone who argues that way today is quoting old law.

Since 27 June 2024, acquiring a foreign nationality by application no longer leads to the loss of German citizenship. That is how the Federal Foreign Office puts it. The retention permit has been abolished. You no longer need any permit in Germany: you simply remain German.

Two points are worth knowing. First, the reform does not apply retroactively: anyone who acquired a foreign nationality without a permit before 27 June 2024 remains under the old law. Second, you need to check whether the other state accepts multiple citizenship. Dominica, Grenada and Sierra Leone expressly do.

Everything about the rules since 2024 is in dual citizenship for Germans.

Myth 3: a second passport saves you German tax

The most stubborn myth of all, and the most expensive one to believe. German tax law does not look at your passport. Under section 1(1) of the Income Tax Act (Einkommensteuergesetz, EStG), individuals who have a residence or their habitual abode in Germany are fully liable to income tax there. Nationality is not mentioned at all.

For you, that means:

• You live in Germany: then you pay tax here, however many passports you hold.
• You move abroad: then residence, physical presence and double tax treaties decide, not your passport. What really counts when you deregister is explained by Wohnsitz Ausland in its article (in German) on deregistering your residence when you move abroad.
• The big exception is the United States. According to the Internal Revenue Service, US citizens are subject to US tax on their worldwide income, even when they live abroad. What that means for dual citizens every year is explained in the guide to US taxes for dual citizens.

A second passport is still a strong building block of your planning: it makes a change of residence easier, because in a second state you no longer have to deal with visas and residence permits. The whole picture is in passports and tax, and the overview page is Tax.

Myth 4: you have to live there to get citizenship

For naturalisation through residence, that is true: it requires years of real life in the country, often with a language test. For citizenship by investment, many programmes say the opposite.

Antigua and Barbuda is the special case with one small obligation: if you do not spend at least five days in the country within the first five calendar years, you put your citizenship at risk. A long weekend on the beach takes care of it.

The smartest approach is not to see the two routes as either-or. Naturalisation through residence costs nothing and is often the best route in the end, but it takes years and real presence. Citizenship by investment buys you exactly that time. Why you should pursue both is explained in CBI and naturalisation.

Myth 5: a second passport is only for millionaires

The images of yachts and villas fit some investor programmes, not the second passport as such. Several routes lead to a second citizenship: descent, birth in the country, marriage, naturalisation through residence and investment. With descent and naturalisation, you mainly pay official fees, certificates and translations.

Even for the investment programmes, the entry threshold is lower than many people think:

• Sierra Leone: from 80,000 USD per person in the Enterprise programme, for exactly two applicants such as business partners, plus the submission fee and due diligence. For single applicants there is the Solo Entrepreneur programme at 95,000 USD.
• São Tomé and Príncipe: a donation of 90,000 USD to the National Transformation Fund for a single applicant, 95,000 USD for a family of two to four people.

That is a serious sum, but not a millionaire's budget. You pay it once and receive a lifelong right in a second state in return. All total costs including government fees are on the Costs page.

And if you would rather not invest at all, check first whether your parents, grandparents or earlier ancestors have opened a door that has long been standing open.

Myth 6: a second passport takes years

For naturalisation through residence, yes. For citizenship by investment, no. The authorities publish their own timelines:

What really determines the timing is usually not the authorities but the paperwork. Submit birth certificates, marriage certificates and supporting evidence complete, translated and certified, and you gain weeks. How the steps follow one another is shown under Process.

Myth 7: you can simply buy an EU passport in Malta

For years, Malta was seen as the way to an EU passport in exchange for investment. On 29 April 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in case C-181/23 that Malta's 2020 investor programme breaches EU law. Citizenship of the Union, the Court held, cannot be the result of a commercial transaction.

That takes the classic purchase of an EU passport off the table. For you as a German, this is less dramatic than it sounds: you already hold EU citizenship. A second EU passport would give you hardly any additional rights, whereas a second nationality outside the EU gives you a second, independent footing. If you still have an EU passport in mind, the way there is through descent or naturalisation.

Myth 8: a Caribbean passport travels further than a German one

You often hear this line from providers, and for a German it falls short. If you already hold a German passport, a second one buys you hardly any additional visa-free access. A passport from the Caribbean or from Africa rarely opens a border that your German one does not already open.

The value of a second passport lies elsewhere: it is a right, not a permission. A visa, a residence permit, a golden visa: all of them can be refused, not renewed or revoked. A nationality gives you the right to enter, to stay and to come back. Why that is worth more than any permission is set out in the eight reasons for a second passport.

And the German passport is no law of nature either. Under section 7(1) no. 4 of the Passport Act (Passgesetz, PassG), it is refused where certain facts justify the assumption that someone intends to evade their tax obligations. Section 8 PassG allows a passport that has already been issued to be withdrawn on the same grounds. With only one passport, your freedom of movement hangs on a single state. With two, you stand on two feet.

Myth 9: your family is left out

Many people believe a second passport is a matter for the main applicant alone. In fact, most programmes are expressly built for families:

• Grenada accepts spouses, children, parents, grandparents and siblings as dependants, with no cap on their number as long as they fall into these groups.
• Dominica accepts spouses, children under 18, children aged 18 to 30 in higher education who are fully supported, and parents and grandparents over 65 who are substantially supported.
• Sierra Leone includes the family in the Fast Track and Heritage programmes: spouses, children under 18, parents and grandparents cost 10,000 USD each, children aged 18 and over 20,000 USD each.

For your children, this is often the biggest gain: they grow up with a second right that they can later use themselves and pass on. Which programme includes which family members is compared on the Family page.

Myth 10: two passports mean trouble at the border

Since 2024, two passports have been expressly permitted for Germans, with no grey area. Trouble only comes if you travel carelessly. Three simple rules are enough:

1. Stick to one passport per country. Leave with the document you entered on, so that your entry and exit records match.
2. Answer every form truthfully. The US ESTA application asks explicitly about other nationalities. You declare them, without exception.
3. Use your second passport for what it is. It is the lawful way to keep travelling if your first passport is lost, stolen or held abroad. It does not override an exit ban, a court order or the withdrawal of a passport.

How to travel with two passports day to day, which one to show at which border and what airlines want to see is explained in travelling with more than one passport.

What is actually true: the ten myths at a glance

In the end, one sentence survives every myth: a second passport is not a trick but a safeguard. It gives you and your family a second home in law, for the day you need it, and for all the days on which you simply sleep more soundly. If you want to go further, the Sierra Leone programme gives you a concrete starting point with fixed prices and a clear timeline.

Frequently asked questions