What Is Citizenship By Exception?

This article examines citizenship by exception (CBE), also known as citizenship by merit. 

We first look at what citizenship by exception is and how it differs from other, more common citizenship programmes. 

Next, we look at the eligibility criteria and types of individuals to whom citizenship by exception is typically granted. We also look at why countries choose to reward citizenship by exception, and which countries currently offer it. 

Citizenship By Exception Explained

So, what is citizenship by exception?

Citizenship by exception, also sometimes called citizenship by merit, is a process whereby an individual is granted citizenship of a country based on their exceptional talent, circumstances or services to that country. 

By its very definition, citizenship by exception is a rare honour bestowed by governments which allows the recipient to bypass the usual citizenship procedures such as naturalisation periods, physical presence requirements, language tests, etc. 

For this reason, citizenship by exception is a highly coveted, though extremely rare honour, bestowed only on the rare few. 

Citizenship by exception/merit should not be confused with talent visas. Talent visas are a special visa category which grants residency to those with exceptional skills in desirable fields, e.g. medical professionals, scientists, academics, artists, etc., who will enrich the country in some way, be that financially, culturally or both. 

The list of countries offering these types of visas includes the UK, US and Canada, allowing talented individuals the right to reside and work in those countries.

Talent visas do not grant direct citizenship though holders of a talent visa may opt to naturalise in the new country if they wish.

Citizenship by exception skips past all this, however, granting citizenship automatically. 

How Citizenship By Exception Is Different

Citizenship by exception differs from other methods of obtaining a second citizenship in its expediency. 

Aside from naturalisation, the two most popular methods of obtaining a second citizenship are citizenship by investment and citizenship by descent. 

In both cases, these are open programmes whereby the criteria for obtaining citizenship are made publicly available, whereas countries with active citizenship by exception programmes tend not to publish details of them. 

Instead, citizenship by exception is granted through invitation or nomination, rather than through an open application process.  

While there may be a financial element to citizenship by exception, for example, recognition of philanthropic donations or investment in national projects, citizenship by exception should not be considered transactional in nature. 

Rather, it is a path to citizenship that rewards exceptional talent and influence, something which high-net-worth individuals with strong ties to a specific country may be fortunate enough to benefit from. 

Similarly, as with citizenship by descent, ancestry may also be a deciding factor. Many celebrities with second citizenships were granted citizenship by exception on this basis. 

It’s a great way for a country to honour some of their most famous sons and daughters, while also gaining additional exposure and goodwill. 

In other cases, however, the recipient of citizenship by merit may not have any ancestral ties but may instead have cultural or economic ties. 

The awarding government may therefore decide to grant citizenship by exception based on an individual’s material or cultural contributions to that country. 

Key Benefits of Citizenship by Exception

The most immediate and obvious benefit of citizenship by exception is the citizenship itself and the additional global mobility that comes with it. 

In addition to the travel benefits of having a second passport, having a second citizenship grants the recipient full citizenship rights within that country, providing an extra layer of geopolitical and economic security.  

As citizenship by exception is, by its nature, quite rare, there’s a huge amount of exclusivity and prestige attached to it. 

More important than the bragging rights, however, is the sense of validation and accomplishment that comes from being recognised as an exceptional individual by a national government. 

Having an entire nation award you in this manner can be an emotionally overwhelming experience. Even the most hard-nosed investors can find themselves getting choked up, while loquacious celebrities become suddenly lost for words. 

Once the dust settles and the photographers leave the other benefits become more apparent, as citizenship by exception also opens the door to further investment within that country and the surrounding region. 

Other opportunities include healthcare and education benefits, particularly since citizenship by exception is often also granted to family members, including partners and children. 

Citizenship By Exception: Who Qualifies?

While there are no specific criteria for citizenship by exception, the rule of thumb is that the recipient must have made a significant contribution to, and/or be considered a strong advocate for, a particular country. 

The recipient must be held in high esteem by that country and considered to be someone of good standing. 

How this is defined will obviously vary from country to country, though it is unlikely for an individual to receive citizenship by exception if their views and interests are not in alignment with those of the awarding nation. 

Similarly, since prestige plays a major part in citizenship by exception, governments are unlikely to award citizenship to individuals deemed controversial or who may otherwise damage their reputation. 

Rather, they wish to award those who help bring international recognition, raising their profile on the global stage. 

For this reason, citizenship by exception is usually granted to exceptional individuals within the following fields:

• Sports
• Arts and Culture
• Business and Economics
• Science and Innovation
• Advocacy
• Philanthropy

Once an individual has been nominated for citizenship by exception, it is customary to also grant that citizenship to their partners and dependents. 

Sports

Athletic achievement is a proven path to citizenship by exception, as nations are keen to award it to athletes who can bring home the gold. 

For this reason, the Australian government opted to speed up citizenship applications for three foreign athletes (an American, a Russian and a South African) so they could compete for Australia in the 2024 Olympics. 

Another recent high-profile example is that of Khamzat Chimaev. The Russian-born mixed martial artist moved to Sweden when he was 18. Despite living in Sweden for many years and competing there, he never received Swedish citizenship and so retained his Russian citizenship. 

In 2023, however, he moved to the UAE and was granted citizenship by exception there in 2025. He subsequently repaid the favour by winning the nation its first UFC title. 

Arts and Culture

As countries are always looking for ways to raise their profile, it is common for citizenship by exception to be awarded to those who have risen to prominence in culture and the arts. 

Examples include artists, writers, musicians, composers, filmmakers, actors, etc. 

This is particularly true of artists who promote or raise awareness of the country, or who have economic or ancestral ties there. 

Business and Economics

Citizenship by exception is often granted to those in the business community, particularly entrepreneurs and investors who have made a profound impact on the country in question. 

For example, in our article on wealth migration we looked at the recent example of Canadian celebrity investor and businessman Kevin O’Leary. 

O’Leary has long been an advocate of the UAE, both personally and as an investor and, in 2023, announced he had been granted citizenship by exception by the UAE. 

The same year, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak was granted Serbian citizenship by exception. 

Neighbouring Montenegro granted Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin citizenship in 2022. This was awarded in recognition of his achievements with the hope that he would work to develop the nation’s blockchain sector. 

Tech billionaire Peter Thiel, meanwhile, had his New Zealand citizenship fast-tracked back in 2017, and, more recently, Uber CEO Travis Cordell Kalanick was granted Saudi citizenship in October 2025.

Science and Innovation

Of course, business cannot exist without innovation and the scientific research which drives it. 

In the battle for brainpower, nations are more than eager to grant citizenship by exception to those who excel in the fields of science, technology, research and academia. 

Saudi Arabia, for example, grants citizenship based on scientific merit as part of its Vision 2030 initiative, while Malta’s legislation includes a clause which can award citizenship based on “contributions made by scientists, researchers, athletes, sports persons, artists, cultural performers, entrepreneurs, philanthropists and technologists.”

What’s interesting here is how the text essentially bookends this list of contributions with scientists and researchers at the beginning, and technologists at the end – a clear indication of their preferences in this area.  

Advocacy

Citizenship by exception is often rewarded to individuals who serve as advocates or cultural ambassadors. 

This is especially common with celebrities who help to bring specific countries into the spotlight, raising their international profile. 

Generally, it is rewarded due to a combination of cultural and diplomatic reasons, though often another key deciding factor is humanitarian work. 

Philanthropy

Acts of philanthropy, humanitarian work, public service and other deeds deemed to be of notable impact are often rewarded with citizenship by merit, particularly when the recipients are already persons of note. 

This is something we discussed previously in our article on celebrity citizenships, which mentioned Angelina Jolie, who was granted citizenship of Cambodia by royal decree in 2005, and Tom Hanks and his wife, who were made honorary citizens of Greece in 2020. 

In both cases, citizenship by exception was awarded to high-profile individuals from a cultural background (famous Hollywood actors) in recognition of their humanitarian work. 

Why Is Citizenship By Exception Granted?

So why do governments grant citizenship by exception? 

As you can see from the above fields, the two main reasons are expertise and prestige. 

With expertise, the government looks to lure individuals with specialist skills deemed of high economic or cultural value. 

And when it comes to prestige, the government wishes to raise global awareness of its country by leveraging the fame and goodwill of industry leaders and celebrities. 

It’s rarely just one or the other, however. 

By granting citizenship to athletes, they import expertise but also gain prestige when those athletes perform well. 

It’s much the same with those with artistic expertise, as they help raise the country’s cultural profile.  

Similarly, while business leaders who are granted citizenship by exception enjoy more freedom to invest in their new home country, their presence helps raise that country’s profile, luring others to follow and invest there too. 

Scientists and technologists, meanwhile, can have an immediate impact on the economy by adding specialist skills, though their very presence also helps to showcase a government’s commitment to scientific innovation.

This is particularly true of governments that are keen to show the world that they are diversifying their economy, triggering further investment and a steady migration of highly skilled workers. 

Countries With Citizenship By Exception

Let’s establish, first of all, that this is by no means an exhaustive list, especially since countries rarely publish details of their citizenship by exception programmes. 

In many cases, countries are reluctant to even admit to having such a programme, while others simply don’t offer it for one reason or another, e.g. they don’t allow second citizenship. 

We do believe, however, that citizenship by exception is about to have its moment. 

As the citizenship by investment market shifts more towards emerging markets, developed nations, locked in a battle to attract talent, will begin, instead, to expand both their citizenship by exception and talent visa offerings. 

This will become particularly crucial for Western nations suffering from a combination of brain drain and reverse migration as talented individuals seek better prospects elsewhere. 

North America

United States

The US has an extraordinary ability (EB-1A) visa, which is granted to exceptional individuals, including athletes, artists, scientists and entrepreneurs. This can then lead to fast-tracked naturalisation. 

The US doesn’t have a dedicated citizenship by exception programme since, traditionally, it had no reason to. After all, why would the world’s largest economy need to raise awareness?

America has long been a beacon for talented individuals looking to improve their lives, though this is now changing as global talent has begun looking elsewhere.

More alarming still, a rising number of Americans are opting to leave the US permanently in search of a better quality of life overseas.

All of this means that, in an increasingly multi-polar world, the US may find itself facing much stiffer competition when it comes to attracting foreign talent. 

Canada 

It’s a similar situation in Canada, where high living costs and dwindling opportunities means it is no longer the draw it once was to global talent. 

Like the US (and several other Western countries) Canada is also facing a reverse migration crisis, with an increasing number of naturalised citizens either repatriating or moving elsewhere. 

Canada currently offers national interest and innovation programmes which can lead to residency and, later, citizenship through naturalisation.  

As with the US, however, reform and innovation of its immigration policy is required if it is to continue to attract the talent that it once took for granted. 

Europe 

In the race to reward global talent, Europe is much farther ahead than North America. 

Here are five countries currently offering citizenship by exception, including four EU member states. 

France 

France offers what is known as discretionary naturalisation for exceptionally talented individuals deemed to be of service to the nation. 

Portugal 

Similarly, Portugal also offers nationality by naturalisation to those who have demonstrated exceptional service to Portuguese society. 

Austria

Austria’s legislation includes a provision which offers citizenship by exception to individuals who have made noteworthy contributions in the fields of science, business and culture.

Malta 

Malta’s legislation also makes reference to citizenship by exception as a means to attract both talent and investment. 

Greece

Greece made headlines back in 2020 when it awarded citizenship by exception to Hollywood actor Tom Hanks and his wife for their humanitarian work in the country. (Read more about celebrities with second citizenships.)

Serbia

Still in Europe, though not in the EU, Serbia is well known for its citizenship by exception programme, thanks, in large part, to several high-profile recipients, which include British actor Ralph Fiennes, martial arts star Steven Seagal and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. 

Oceania 

Next, we come to Oceania, specifically Australia and New Zealand, which also offer citizenship on meritocratic grounds. 

Australia

Australia’s National Innovation Visa (NIV) targets key sectors such as health, education, science, agri-tech, fintech and green energy, and provides a path to permanent residency, which can then lead to citizenship. 

Plus, as we’ve seen, the Aussies are more than happy to expedite citizenship when deemed in their national interest. We saw this quite recently when Australia fast-tracked citizenship for athletes so they could compete for Australia in the 2024 Olympics. 

New Zealand

New Zealand offers citizenship by exception by ministerial decision and is also no stranger to fast-tracking citizenship applications for exceptional persons, much like they did for tech billionaire Peter Thiel. 

The Gulf States

Another region known for citizenship by exception is the Middle East, where the Gulf States are leading the charge.

The motivation behind this is obvious, these are traditional petrostates keen to diversify both their economies and skills base, while simultaneously raising their international standing. 

Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has the region’s most prominent citizenship by exception programme, granted by royal decree to scientists, engineers and other talented individuals who can bolster the country’s much-publicised Vision 2030 initiative. 

Qatar

In terms of size, Qatar may be small, but economically it’s formidable. It famously hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup and seeks to attract further investment and talent by rewarding citizenship based on exceptional service and ability. 

United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates has long been an attractive location for entrepreneurs, investors and other talented individuals. 

In 2021, the UAE amended its naturalisation law, adding a clause to specifically recognise the talents of scientists, researchers and medical professionals.

An Exceptional Future

The future belongs to meritocracy. 

We have been saying this for a long time now, and it seems like governments around the world are finally starting to listen. (Better late than never, eh?) 

The reason is simple, in a knowledge-based economy, the old axiom that “knowledge is power” has never been more relevant. 

Countries must therefore find new ways to compete for the best and brightest, attracting investment, innovation and prestige.  

Europe and the Gulf States are leading the charge here, while North America, for the first time in modern history, has started falling way behind.  

We are living in an age of massive geopolitical realignment. Who the winners and losers of the future will be remains to be seen, which is why the wealthy and successful are hedging their bets by securing second citizenships. 

Enhancing your global mobility gives you the freedom and flexibility to face whatever comes. 

Take the first step in securing your future and contact Millionaire Migrant today. 

Citizenship by Exception FAQ

How does Citizenship by Exception (CBE) differ from other citizenship methods?

Citizenship by Exception differs from other citizenship methods in three key ways.

Firstly, unlike more common methods like citizenship by investment and citizenship by descent, there is no direct application process, and governments tend not to publish specific details of their programmes.

Instead, citizenship by exception is awarded on a discretionary basis, for example, the individual may be nominated by a committee or simply awarded citizenship by the head of state.  

Second, citizenship by exception is only awarded to individuals of exceptional merit (e.g. based on cultural, athletic, scientific, entrepreneurial, or humanitarian achievement).

Finally, citizenship by exception tends to be fast-tracked, as the recipient is granted immediate citizenship without needing to fulfil any of the requirements of other citizenship paths, e.g. physical presence, ancestral ties, etc.  

Are Citizenship by Exception and Citizenship by Merit the same thing?

Yes, both terms refer to citizenship which is granted under exceptional circumstances based on an individual’s unique achievements, and/or their value to the country in question.

How do you apply for Citizenship by Exception?

By its very definition, citizenship by exception is granted only to exceptional individuals such as athletes, artists and musicians, eminent scientists and academics, and entrepreneurs and investors.

While not considered essential in obtaining citizenship by exception, it’s worth pointing out that many recipients tend to also have cultural, ancestral and financial ties to the country in question. Also, they are often involved in humanitarian work inside the country or serve as cultural ambassadors overseas.

Which countries grant citizenship by exception?

The list of countries offering citizenship by exception includes Australia, New Zealand, France, Portugal, Austria, Malta, Greece, Serbia, Montenegro, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

This list is by no means exhaustive, especially since many countries with citizenship by exception programmes tend not to publicise them, preferring instead to let them fly under the radar.

We expect this to change, however, as more countries begin awarding citizenship by exception as a means to diversify their economies and boost their national prestige.

Meanwhile, a growing number of countries, including the US, Canada and Britain, offer talent visas; special residency programmes for talented individuals which can lead to citizenship through naturalisation.