El Salvador President, Nayib Bukele says the Country is offering 5,000 “free passports” to highly skilled workers from abroad.
Bukele announced this in his latest attempt to boost the Country’s economy with foreign investment.
The President, in a statement posted to X, said Scientists, Engineers, Doctors, Artists, and Philosophers will be granted “full citizen status” including voting rights.
El Salvador will also help their relocation by eliminating taxes and tariffs on “moving families and assets” such as equipment, software, and intellectual property.
Bukele wrote that the group’s contributions would have a huge impact on the future of the Central American Country.
In 2021, El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as a legal tender alongside the US dollar, but the International Monetary Fund has repeatedly recommended that the Country ditch the cryptocurrency, citing risks including high volatility.
Last year, the legislative assembly approved a migration law meant to expedite citizenship to foreigners who support social and economic development programs by donating Bitcoin.
Bukele has also overseen a brutal and widely criticised crackdown on crime, which he claims has significantly improved security, but opponents say it has resulted in large-scale human rights abuses, including mass detentions and alleged torture in jails.
(CNN)
