from Hacker News

Serbia grants citizenship to Steve Wozniak

by acadapter on 12/6/23, 12:58 PM with 109 comments

by keiferski on 12/6/23, 1:31 PM
I obviously don't know why Wozniak personally wants Serbian citizenship, but it is worth noting that Serbia is a good second passport for anyone that already has a US/EU/CA/UK citizenship. This is because Serbians have visa-free access to China, Russia, and a few other places that Western citizens tend to have more difficulties with.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_requirements_for_Serbian_...
by jgilias on 12/6/23, 1:27 PM
Why though? Did they just figure they’d grant one, and he just went ahead and accepted? Or is there a reason he needs one that wasn’t explained? I know that people sometimes shop around for a passport from whatever EU country for reasons, but Serbia isn’t one. (With all due respect to Serbia)
by NKosmatos on 12/6/23, 1:39 PM
Isn't Woz of Polish origin? http://www.woz.org/letters/about-your-last-name/
It's customary for us here in EU to grant citizenship/titles/university degrees to various important people who have contributed to a specific field. Some countries do it out of recognition others for country/political gains, but it doesn't hurt to have a collection of passports :-)
by nixass on 12/6/23, 1:52 PM
Wozniak getting Serbian citizenship is the least weird and cringe thing in current election campaign cycle. Vucic and his cronies are in full swing,
by jacquesm on 12/6/23, 1:19 PM
Is there any context to this?
by andsoitis on 12/6/23, 1:23 PM
What a weird thing to say:
"It is the greatest honor for us that I believe that the Government of Serbia will grant the creator of the global IT industry a Serbian passport. I congratulate Wozniak and his wife, who will become citizens of Serbia today or tomorrow," said Vučić.
"We can boast that the computer genius is a citizen of Serbia," he said. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić met in Belgrade with computer engineer and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak.
by seydor on 12/6/23, 5:26 PM
It seems that he is serious about the region and in particularly promoting serbia from now on: https://www.tanjug.rs/english/politics/63147/wozniak-i-want-...
Apparently some friend introduced made arrangements for him to get the citizenship
by des1nderlase on 12/6/23, 8:17 PM
I'm wondering why would Woz care tht much about this publicity, even through a Serbian friend connection (tennis player Tipsarević). Serbian tech scene is getting stronger every year, getting some big tech presence, but still I doubt Woz would really care about it.
by KolmogorovComp on 12/6/23, 1:31 PM
Tangential question: Could a country force its citizenship to any person on the planet like that?
‘From now on, Mr X is now one of our citizen, with all the taxes/restrictions it entails’
by frogpelt on 12/6/23, 1:23 PM
It says he is the "creator of the global IT industry" and that GPS is the acronym for Global Navigation Satellite System.
Is this just a bad translation?
by neutered_knot on 12/6/23, 1:25 PM
I wonder if this is the "one weird hack" to expand the tax base of a country. Just grant citizenship, then start sending tax bills.
"Dear Mr. Musk, here is your Argentinian Citizenship! We welcome you with open arms! P.S. please note that as of 2020 we have in place a tax on high-wealth individuals. The appropriate agency will be in touch. Renouncing citizenship takes about a year"
by virogenesis on 12/6/23, 1:45 PM
It's just a presidential campaign for the coming up elections.
by medo-bear on 12/6/23, 1:35 PM
Cool! Belgrade is one of the best cities in the world
by mc32 on 12/6/23, 1:21 PM
I like how they translate/transliterate his name into Serbian: Stiv Voznijak.
Wish more languages would do that and not try to keep the original spelling just because.
by nixass on 12/6/23, 1:56 PM
In other news Elon Musk is also Serbian
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdbHLzA4JLg
by zmxz on 12/6/23, 1:18 PM
Exciting news! Glad to find out Serbia was the pioneer and helped create Apple!