This is the World’s Most Valuable Citizenship: 4 Underrated Reasons Why

James Nuveen
Medellín

If you could only have one citizenship, which would it be?

When I’m faced with this question, my counterparts typically expect a flashy response: Citizenship in a tax-friendly Caribbean island nation, a geopolitical powerhouse in the European Union, or an economic giant in Southeast Asia.

But my answer is far less sexy: Irish.

Here are four overlooked reasons the Irish have the most underrated citizenship on Earth:

4. Supra-Regional Benefits

The average citizenship gives you the right to live in one country.

A decent passport gives you the right to travel to many countries.

But Irish citizenship gives you the right to visit almost every country on Earth and live, work, and study in 34 of them thanks to an array of supranational settlement blocs:

• All 27 EU countries
• All 3 EEA countries (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein)
• Switzerland (via EFTA ties)
• UK, Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man (via the Common Travel Area)

In each of those countries, an Irish citizen doesn’t need a visa, an investment, or income statements – just a valid passport – to access those rights. 

Ireland is one of only a handful of countries worldwide that belongs to two supranational settlement blocs simultaneously.

There is no other single citizenship that grants settlement rights to as many distinct jurisdictions as Irish citizenship.

3. High-Mobility, Low-Drama Passport

Irish citizens enjoy visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 191 countries. That’s tied for 3rd place (as of 2025) in terms of global mobility.

But unlike other high-ranking passports, like those of the US, UAE, or France, Irish passport-holders tend to attract far less suspicion at borders.

Ireland does not start wars, does not apply citizenship-based taxation policies, won't revoke citizenship for political reasons, or make international headlines for the wrong reasons (all ways in which a particular citizenship could ruin your life, not improve it).

In other words, Ireland punches above its weight, without putting a target on your back. When you travel with an Irish passport, you're welcomed, not flagged.

I could name a few nationalities who have a negative generalized perception of the Americans, Emiratis, and French. But who harbors resentment against the Irish?

2. Tax-Friendly (If You Plan Correctly)

Ireland offers a series of tax incentives to residents and citizens alike:

• For non-doms, foreign income is only taxed if brought into Ireland (relevant only to the residency period before naturalisation).
• No wealth tax
• No inheritance tax on foreign property (if structured properly)

Of course, even if you obtain Irish citizenship, you may live wherever you wish in the world – such as low-tax or territorial tax countries like Cyprus, UAE, or Panama – without fear of the Irish tax authorities knocking your door down. Unlike the US, Ireland does not tax its citizens abroad. 

Just be careful with moving to any potential EU-“blacklisted tax havens” after you claim citizenship and want to stop paying taxes in Ireland:

• American Samoa
• Anguilla
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Belize
• British Virgin Islands
• Brunei
• Eswatini
• Fiji
• Guam
• Palau
• Panama
• Russia
• Samoa
• Seychelles
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Türkiye
• US Virgin Islands
• Vanuatu
• Vietnam

In other words, Irish citizenship is compatible with tax optimization strategies. This makes Ireland one of the best "Plan A" citizenships for high-net-worth individuals.

1. Global Services and Protection

Ireland has one of the largest embassy and consulate networks per capita in the world, with nearly one hundred diplomatic missions worldwide to serve its five million citizens.

Irish citizens are rarely more than a few hundred miles away from government assistance in a crisis.

Unlike some countries that ignore citizens in distress, Ireland has a strong track record of diplomatic advocacy and citizen protection, including for those who have naturalized as Irish citizens. Ireland does not leave their own behind.

How to Get the World’s Most Powerful Citizenship

So now to the question you are probably asking yourself: How does one acquire Irish citizenship? 

Irish Citizenship by Descent

An estimated 80 million people in the US (36 million in the US alone), UK (14 million), Australia (7 million), Canada (5 million), Argentina (1 million), and other non-EU countries qualify but may never apply: If you have at least one Irish citizen grandparent or parent, you likely qualify. 

Unlike many citizenship by descent programs, applicants are not required to pass knowledge tests, become residents first, sign up for military service, or even learn the English or Irish languages.

You likely won’t find a more inexpensive, faster path to such a powerful second citizenship.

Citizenship by descent/ancestry policies in the European Economic Area

Irish Citizenship by Naturalization

Thorugh just five years of residency (or three years of residency if married to an Irish citizen) required before naturalizing as an Irish citizen, Ireland offers a faster track to citizenship via naturalization and residency than many of its EU neighbors. 

Both Ireland’s Stamp 1 (work visa) and Stamp 4 residency programs can lead to citizenship eligibility for the qualified individual.

Weaving Things Together

Irish citizenship is a platform citizenship. One that expands your options rather than limits them. (I recently wrote a piece about how a second citizenship may actually be your biggest liability.)

The world's most valuable citizenship isn't always the flashiest. Instead, it’s one that gives you mobility, optionality, opportunity, and privacy.

That’s Ireland.