ТSuch programs operate in the Caribbean, Malta, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and other countries.

The mechanism of these programs is straightforward: if a potential citizenship candidate meets all the country's requirements (including no criminal record and clean source of funds), then upon making the required investment stipulated by law, citizenship and passports of the country are granted to the investor and their family. Usually, citizenship by investment programs do not require investors to reside in the country or even visit it.

You can obtain citizenship of almost any country in the world by legally residing there for a specified period under the law. Initially, you obtain a residence permit (permanent or temporary) based on various grounds such as education, work, investment, etc. After several years of continuous residence, which can range from 2 to 5 years or more depending on the country, you can apply for permanent residency and eventually citizenship. By this time, you are likely to have integrated successfully into the country, learned the language, and paid sufficient taxes to become a full-fledged citizen.

Naturalization is a wonderful organic way to obtain citizenship, but it is the longest and not free, as it may initially seem. If we consider European countries, almost all of them impose high income taxes on citizens, including on global income.

It's not difficult to calculate the cost of French citizenship: you can obtain this country's passport after 5 years of permanent residency status and tax payments. France applies a progressive household income tax rate, so if you and your spouse earn over 160,000 euros annually, your income is taxed at 45%. Over 5 years, this accumulates to 360,000 euros in taxes — that's the price of citizenship for a family of two people with a combined global income of just 160,000 euros per year.

Some countries grant citizenship to anyone born within their territory. Thus, a child becomes a citizen by birth, and parents can obtain passports later through reunification with the child. For instance, in Brazil, parents can obtain citizenship in a year or two, while in the USA, they must wait until their American child reaches adulthood. Here is a list of countries that grant citizenship by birth:

- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Barbados
- Belize
- Bolivia
- Dominica
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Nicaragua
- USA
- Canada
- Cuba
- Brazil
- Chile
- Uruguay
- Costa Rica
- Panama
- Peru
- Paraguay
- Mexico
- St. Kitts and Nevis
- St. Lucia

Marriage to a foreigner is another basis for obtaining second citizenship. The time it takes to obtain a passport depends on the country of the spouse's citizenship, and some countries require physical residency within their territory.

Legislation regarding citizenship by marriage varies significantly from country to country, but recently, all "civilized" countries have noticeably tightened rules and checks. Sham marriages will not pass.

The president of any country has the authority to grant citizenship to anyone they deem appropriate. Usually such persons are significant investors in the country or demonstrate significant achievements for the benefit of the country.

Some countries grant citizenship to descendants of their citizens in the second, third, and later generations. It is important to documentarily prove kinship through direct lineage.

Countries that grant citizenship by descent include:
- Armenia
- Bulgaria
- Hungary
- Germany (and allows dual citizenship recently!)
- Israel
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Mexico
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Ukraine
- Finland

Usually, this method of obtaining citizenship does not require investments aside from expenses on lawyers and archivists, but it takes a lot of time.

Citizenship by descent programs offer ample opportunities for fraudsters: be cautious with those who offer you citizenship by descent if you have never had any relatives in Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Serbia, or Mexico. Fraudsters can easily forge certificates and documents, leaving you to face criminal charges later on.