Second Nationality

Only by nomination. Since the January 2021 amendments to the Executive Regulation of the Citizenship and Passports Law, the UAE Government portal lists investors, doctors, specialists, inventors, scientists, intellectuals, artists and individuals with creative talents, with their spouses and children, as categories that may be nominated for Emirati nationality. There is no application window: citizenship is acquired only through the Rulers' and Crown Princes' Courts, the Offices of the Executive Councils and the Cabinet, on nominations from federal entities. Candidates take an oath of allegiance, undertake to abide by UAE law and must inform the government if they acquire or lose any other citizenship; citizenship can be withdrawn for breach. We advise on positioning, not on guarantees that nobody can give.

Source: UAE Government portal (u.ae) — Emirati nationality (accessed 24 October 2026)

No. The 2021 amendment expressly allows a naturalised citizen to retain his original nationality; that is the position published by the UAE Government. The conditions attach instead to conduct: an oath of allegiance, compliance with UAE law and a duty to notify the relevant government entity if you acquire or lose any other citizenship, with withdrawal of citizenship possible on breach. For an investor, the published eligibility condition is owning property in the UAE; for a doctor or specialist it is a high-demand discipline, acknowledged contributions and at least ten years' experience. Whether your current country permits a second nationality is a separate question of its own law, and we check it before any nomination strategy is pursued.

Source: UAE Government portal (u.ae) — Emirati nationality (accessed 24 October 2026)

No. The Golden Visa is a long-term residence visa, issued for ten years with automatic renewal, and the UAE Government portal describes it as enabling foreign talents to live, work or study in the UAE; it is a residence instrument, not a naturalisation track. Emirati nationality is reached only through nomination by the Rulers' and Crown Princes' Courts, Executive Council offices and the Cabinet, under the categories published in 2021. The two can nonetheless be sequenced: a Golden Visa investor who owns UAE property already meets the published investor condition for nomination. We treat residence and nationality as separate plans with separate evidence.

Sources: UAE Government portal (u.ae) — Golden visa; UAE Government portal (u.ae) — Emirati nationality (accessed 24 October 2026)

No. Malta's citizenship-by-investment framework was repealed after the Court of Justice of the European Union's judgment of 29 April 2025 in Case C-181/23. The Maltese Citizenship Act was amended on 24 July 2025 by Act XXI of 2025 to address the judgment, and Community Malta Agency, which administers citizenship, states that the remaining citizenship-by-merit route is neither a programme nor a scheme nor an alternative to the former investment framework, that decisions are discretionary and case by case, and that it permits no marketing of it. Anyone offering Malta citizenship by investment today is selling something that no longer exists. The lawful Maltese routes are residence under the MPRP and, later, naturalisation.

Sources: Community Malta Agency (Aġenzija Komunità Malta) — Malta Citizenship by Merit; Community Malta Agency (Aġenzija Komunità Malta) — Amendments to the Maltese Citizenship Act and subsidiary legislation (accessed 24 October 2026)

Yes, but only through ordinary naturalisation. The Malta Permanent Residence Programme, run by Residency Malta Agency, grants permanent residence to non-EU nationals against a €60,000 administrative fee, a €37,000 government contribution, a €2,000 NGO donation and a qualifying property held for five years, rented from €14,000 a year or bought from €375,000, with capital assets of at least €500,000; the Agency states the MPRP is distinct from the legislation governing citizenship. Community Malta Agency's published test for naturalisation on the basis of residence is residence throughout the 12 months before applying plus at least four of the preceding six years, good character and adequate Maltese or English, with the Minister retaining discretion. We plan the residence years with that test in view.

Sources: Residency Malta Agency — Malta Permanent Residence Programme (MPRP); Community Malta Agency (Aġenzija Komunità Malta) — Acquisition of Citizenship (accessed 24 October 2026)

Usually, but it depends on each country's law. Malta accepts dual or multiple citizenship and advises applicants to check that their existing country permits it, since voluntarily acquiring another citizenship can cause loss of the first. Dominica's unit lists the ability to hold multiple citizenships as a benefit of its programme, and the UAE allows nominated citizens to keep their original nationality. The risk sits with the country you already hold: some strip nationality automatically on acquisition of another, some require permission, some require a declaration. Before we recommend any second-nationality route, we confirm the position under your current nationality law so the new passport does not cost you the old one.

Sources: Community Malta Agency (Aġenzija Komunità Malta) — Acquisition of Citizenship; Commonwealth of Dominica Citizenship by Investment Unit — Dominica Economic Diversification Fund (accessed 24 October 2026)

A right based on a parent's or grandparent's nationality, not a purchase. Malta, for example, confirms Maltese citizenship to people born abroad whose father or, for later births, mother was a Maltese citizen by birth, registration or naturalisation, and notes that dual citizenship became the rule rather than the exception after its 2000 amendments. Vanuatu's Citizenship Act grants entitlement where at least one parent or grandparent is of Ni-Vanuatu ancestry or a naturalised citizen. Dominica recognises descent from Dominican parents or grandparents. Descent claims turn on civil records: birth, marriage and naturalisation certificates across generations. We map your family tree against the relevant statute and obtain the documents before an application is lodged.

Sources: Community Malta Agency (Aġenzija Komunità Malta) — Acquisition of Citizenship; Vanuatu Citizenship Office and Commission — Application Process For Vanuatu Citizenship (accessed 24 October 2026)

Not by itself. Tax liability follows residence and source, not the passport. Dominica's unit states that its citizens are liable to personal tax only if they reside in Dominica, and that there is no wealth, gift, inheritance, foreign-income or capital-gains tax there; St Kitts and Nevis confirms there is no requirement to reside in the country to maintain citizenship. A second nationality therefore adds mobility and optionality but does not of itself move your tax residence, and it does not remove reporting obligations you already have. We integrate nationality planning with tax residence analysis so the passport, the residence permit and the tax position are consistent and defensible.

Sources: Commonwealth of Dominica Citizenship by Investment Unit — Frequently Asked Questions; St Kitts and Nevis Citizenship by Investment Unit — St. Kitts and Nevis Citizenship by Investment FAQs (accessed 24 October 2026)