Permanent Residency (PR) and Citizenship are two terms that are often considered synonymous with each other. But in reality, the literal and conceptual meaning of the two is pretty different.
While applying for a second passport or moving with your family to another country, it is crucial to acknowledge the difference between Permanent Residency and Citizenship, as it will help you decide whether you want to opt for PR or citizenship.
Permanent Residency Vs. Citizenship
What is Permanent Residency (PR)?
A Permanent Resident is one who legally stays within the country and enjoys almost all the benefits as other citizens. In PR, the government issues a legal permit that allows the candidate to live in the respective country indefinitely.
The Permanent Resident ideally behaves like a citizen and has to pay taxes to the country. In some countries like Australia, permanent residents can vote in the elections. However, the permanent resident will always be referred to as an immigrant, not a citizen.
The U.S Green Card, which is often confused as American citizenship, is actually, Permanent Residency permit to the country. Green card holders must be careful regarding the time they spend out of the country. If the Green Card holder stays for over a year outside the US, his PR automatically goes to cancellation the status.
What is Citizenship?
Citizenship or naturalization is a system that owns the applicant as a full citizen of the country but is harder to gain than the Permanent Residency. In citizenship, the candidate is provided citizenship rights to the country, implying that he will become a native resident and not an immigrant in that respective place.
The citizenship holder enjoys all the rights and exemptions of any other native person. He has the right to vote, work, and even move in and out of the country without restrictions. Moreover, the citizenship benefits do not remain limited to the holder only. Instead, citizenship covers the candidate’s entire family, detailing a broader range of citizenship benefits.
To apply for citizenship, one has to either invest a hefty amount in a country or be related to a professional field to become eligible for a country’s citizenship.
Permanent Residency Vs. Citizenship: Which is Better?
In general comparison, citizenship acquires more benefits than Permanent Residency. Getting citizenship might be costlier and more hassle, but it is pretty worth it, as one can enter a country at any time and without any restrictions.
In Permanent Residency, one can though live in that place indefinitely; he can never apply for a passport. This implies that if you wish to attain a second passport, then PR is the wrong route to it. However, getting a passport is not difficult when you are a citizenship holder.
Moreover, global mobility is something that one cannot achieve via the Permanent Residency. As a permanent resident, you must always comply with the country’s travel restrictions; otherwise, your permit will be canceled. But when it comes to citizenship, no such rule applies, as one enjoys the same traveling rights as any other native.
If you plan to move to another country, then according to the present mobility needs, citizenship is the best choice among the two. By having a second passport, you will not face any traveling or working restrictions in that particular country. However, it must be considered that the criteria for acquiring citizenship are stricter and more expensive than Permanent Residency (PR). For citizenship, at least a $100,000 investment is required.