Having a back up plan for a situation that may have you needing to skip out of the country isn't such a bad idea. The easiest way to do this, that I've found, is by either buying your second citizenship in the country you're interested in by investing in property or a business, and filling out the proper paperwork in order for you to gain citizenship.
The next best way to obtain a 2nd passport, like in my case, is by being lucky enough to have parents or grandparents who were born in another country, LEGALLY immigrated over to America and became U.S. citizens.
Most people would be surprised to realize that as Americans we're allowed to hold dual citizenship, sometimes even 3 citizenships AT THE SAME TIME! Talk about being SMOKE! As long as your secondary countries allow it as well, then you can be as liquid as some of the richest and smartest people around.
I'm lucky! My family is originally from Chile, in South America. A few years ago, while surfing the web, I came across a website that talked about having dual citizenship in case of emergencies. One of the TOP countries on the list to have a 2nd citizenship in just happened to be CHILE! Go figure!!
I then researched how I go about obtaining this. My mother and grandmother already had their citizenship established, obviously by being born there, as well as having their American citizenship by becoming naturalized here. Believe it or not, it was as easy as getting a copy of my mother's birth certificate, getting my original birth certificate, and going to the nearest Chilean Consulate in my town. Filled out a couple documents, a $5 fee to verify a couple things and an hour later, I was done!
A few weeks passed and I received an email from the consulate saying they were mailing documentation on my new RUT# (Chilean social security #) and to stop by the consulate again when I had the opportunity to fill out the paperwork for my Chilean passport. That was it!!
I now have dual citizenship even though I have only been to Chile 3 times in my ENTIRE life! My mother's side of the family all still live there. In the case that I ever needed to leave America (which I hope would never happen) I can now go start my life in another country, LEGALLY. Of course, if I didn't have family already living there, welcoming me with open arms, the chances of me ever doing that would be very slim, but I like having options either way.
The point of this whole story is...GET A 2nd Citizenship, IF POSSIBLE! With the way things have been going on in the world lately, is it really that bad of an idea to have an escape plan?
Check out the different laws in the country of origin that you're interested in. You never know when disappearing would come in handy.
A fairly good and recent example would be Venezuela. I'm sure there are a FEW people there who wish they had the opportunity to leave right about now.
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PLEASE upvote , comment and follow
Good info and good advice; thanks for the heads up!
Thanks! MUCH appreciated! MOST OF ALL, I appreciate you reading my post. Normally, I try not to go too long on blog posts, but this subject demanded a little length.
Followed you.
So, would having a second citizenship mean you have to pay taxes into Chilean SSecurity, for example?
What about income taxes?
Some people would say just holding a passport is good enough; and then going to a second country, usually allows passage to any country in the world from the US.
I would want to consider at some point; is it better to have 2 passports, or pay taxes to 2 countries?
I'ts better to just have the passport as back up. I'ts a last resort type of deal. If america was ever bad enough to leave in the first place, renouncing citizenship in the U.S. would be ur next step. So, worrying about 2 sets of taxes wouldn't really be on the plate.
You're correct. The way it works, for me at least, is...i leave america on my U.S. passport and when i arrive in Chile i check in as a chilean citizen using my Chilean passport. At that point i can then travel freely to many different countries not as a U.S. citizen, but as a chilean.
Everyone who has the possibility to get dual citizenship should do so. It might not be needed right away, but it's an almost free insurance, especially if you somewhat frequently travel to the country you request a dual citizenship from. However, most of us can't get these, so we will just have to stick with our original one :)
You're right, most can't get these. You either have to have money to buy your way in or have family, like me. But there are a lot of people who have family who were born in other countries who don't know about this advantage.
Plus, witg all the new money being made in cryptos there are plenty of new millionaires who can afford it now. Just something to think about getting if ur in the position.
Hehe, Steem would have to increase a whole lot in value if I were to be able to get a passport from any investment programs in countries that have these ;)
True, but who said anything about steem? The money has been made on all the other tokens and ICOS... New money, man....new money.
Good point! I pretty much only trade Steem, so I tend to forget about all the other cryptos when I make arguments :)
This has been on the back of my head for a while , Except my parents home country is Mexico , but they way things are looking in the U.S. i am starting to see there is not much difference . I am currently working on the same process for dual citizenship .
Yea, no offense, but Mexico would probably be a pass for most. There are SOME places in Mexico that people expatriate to, but for the most part you're right.
However, the other option is BUYING your way into the country u prefer. St. Kitts, Dominican Republic, etc...all have programs for people to access citizenship.
Dual is safer than single ...
Yup! I'm just glad it was such an easy process for me. There are a lot of people in my situation who just don't know it yet.
Thanx for the comment! Keep steemin....
Great post and great content. Thanks
I appreciate the read! Thanks for your time.
No problem and thanks for replying back.
Always!
That's great to hear my friend.
Interesting blog. I'm based in UK but could get an Irish Passport. But with the proximity of Ireland to UK not sure that would be worth it for me.
Yes I've heard that Chile is a good place to go as long as you can support yourself they're happy to let you in...
Yea, it sounds like you're not accomplishing much by getting citizenship in a country that's been dominated by the country you're currently living in. LoL.