High-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) spend their money on investments, businesses, houses, cars, and jets. However, in recent years, they have also been allocating resources to obtain second passports by investment.
If you have the means to do the same, why should you do it? The following are some reasons you may want to consider investing to become a citizen of one, two, or more other countries.
1. Ensure security for you and your family.
The future is uncertain. A cursory inspection of what has been happening worldwide, the upsets and upheavals, particularly the changes that no one could have predicted or even thought possible, will help you realize just how capricious fate is and how fickle your circumstances can be.
While you can do nothing to stem the overwhelming tides of uncertainty, you can do something to anchor yourself, so you won’t easily drift with the swells.
Obtaining a second, third or more passports aside from the ones you and your family currently hold is one of the best ways to accomplish this. By becoming a citizen of another country, you build yourself a fallback – i.e., a backup plan – in case the laws and conditions in your current country of citizenship change so drastically that living there becomes untenable.
If that happens, your status as a citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis, for instance, means you can just book an airplane ticket and fly there directly. You won’t have to submit tons of paperwork and apply for asylum because, as citizens of that country, you and your family have all the right to live, work and make a life there as you wish.
2. Invest for diversification and income.
Caribbean citizenship by investment programs typically require investing a minimum amount in real estate. For instance:
- Antigua and Barbuda requires property purchase worth $325,000 and up.
- Dominica has a citizenship-by-investment option requiring a real estate investment of at least $200,000.
- Grenada has aminimum property investment requirement of $270,000.
- St. Kitts and Nevis has a real estate investment threshold of $400,000.
- St. Lucia requires a real estate investment of at least $300,000.
These minimum investment requirements are more than reasonable. Therefore, instead of buying another vacation home in the United States or Canada, why don’t you spend that same amount on purchasing Caribbean real estate – a beautiful villa in an excellent seaside or beach-view location?
That money is enough to buy investment property you can rent out when you don’t need it. And the icing on top? Your investment qualifies you for Caribbean citizenship.
Aside from earning passive income, investing in Caribbean real estate will help diversify your assets. The money you invest is money you have taken out of your current country’s circulation. It’s wealth you’re keeping safe elsewhere but in a place where you’re not a foreigner but a citizen with all the rights that status entails.
3. Preserve your wealth.
Citizenship in another country can be a sound strategy for wealth preservation. Of course, your country of citizenship does need to have:
- A thriving financial services sector: advanced banking systems and processes, preferably one with local branches or representatives of international banks
- Offshore banking: with services that include foreign currency accounts, offshore trust accounts, and other offshore banking products and transactions
- Streamlined company setup: a few steps required to set up a corporation
- Favorable tax laws: no personal income taxes, capital gains taxes, estate taxes, inheritance taxes, and other taxes, as well as tax treaties with economies where you generate most of your income
- Strict privacy laws: abidance by strict banking confidentiality and data privacy protection standards
Offshore banking has always been a strategy HNWIs use for estate planning. It’s particularly useful in minimizing estate and inheritance taxes, ensuring they can leave as much of their wealth to their heirs instead of paying a significant chunk of it as taxes.
Yes, you can open an account in an offshore tax haven without first becoming a citizen of that country. However, if you’re keeping your wealth somewhere overseas, isn’t it better to become a citizen of that country, too? It assures you of unlimited and unrestricted entry, ensuring you will always have physical access to the wealth you keep there.
Additionally, as a citizen, you may enjoy more financial and banking sector privileges and avoid banking restrictions that may apply to foreign persons.
4. Travel visa-free to more countries.
Passports have power, and some passports are stronger than others. Citizens of some countries can travel visa-free (or obtain a visa quickly upon their arrival) to most destinations worldwide. These people have strong passports. They can book a flight and travel to most places globally without expecting to get turned back or undergoing an interview and assessment to be granted a visa.
However, there are also weak passports. If you have such a passport, you can visit only a limited number of countries visa-free. For most destinations, you will need to file paperwork and get interviewed to be granted a visa.
If you live in a country with a weak passport, where you must apply for a visa most of the time when you need to visit a different country, consider applying for citizenship in one of the following Caribbean countries:
- St. Kitts and Nevis: visa-free to 107 countries and visa-on-arrival to 39 countries
- Antigua and Barbuda: visa-free to 104 countries and visa-on-arrival to 39 countries
- St. Lucia: visa-free to 99 countries and visa-on-arrival to 40 countries
- Grenada: visa-free to 99 countries and visa-on-arrival to 38 countries
- Dominica: visa-free to 94 countries and visa-on-arrival to 39 countries
Why would you want to travel visa-free to as many countries as possible?
If you love traveling overseas, it’s more convenient if your passport enables you to travel without a visa to as many beautiful destinations as possible. Additionally, suppose you must leave your country in a hurry for security reasons. In that case, the ability to travel visa-free to many countries will provide you with many options and avenues to pursue.
5. Turn a favorite destination into your second home.
If you love the Caribbean and spend almost all winter vacations on its sunny, tropical isles, why don’t you buy a property there and become a citizen of a Caribbean country, too?
The former will ensure a more comfortable stay, while the latter means you can come and go as you please and not be limited by existing restrictions on the number of days and how many times you can visit.
Second Passport: So Worth It
Acquiring a dual or multiple citizenship by investment brings several advantages. It secures you and your family, gives you another avenue for investment, helps you preserve your wealth, permits you to travel visa-free to more countries, and allows unrestricted entry to your favorite destination.
Is it worth it to obtain a second, third or more citizenship? For the reasons cited above, it sure is.