HOW TO GET A SECOND PASSPORT...AND WHY YOU NEED ONE

Transcription

1 HOW TO GET A SECOND PASSPORT...AND WHY YOU NEED ONE Why should I get a second passport? Second citizenship and passport through ancestry, residence, marriage, or back doors Popular residence-based passports for retirees Second citizenship and passport through donation or investment Commonwealth of Dominica Federation of St. Kitts & Nevis Grey market and black market passports Due diligence in second passports

2 WHY SHOULD I GET A SECOND PASSPORT? Allows you to travel internationally if your primary passport is lost, stolen or confiscated Gives you the right to reside in other countries Protects your identity if you need to keep your nationality a secret Expanded travel to forbidden countries For U.S. citizens, a prerequisite for expatriation

3 SECOND PASSPORT THROUGH ANCESTRY, RESIDENCE, MARRIAGE, OR BACK DOORS Ancestry: parents born in that country (many countries) or grandparents (e.g., Ireland and Italy) Residence: extended continuous legal residence of one to 10 years or more. Marriage / adoption: A citizen s non-citizen spouse or child may obtain residence and eventual citizenship Back doors: Some countries give preference for immigration and subsequent naturalization to residents of colonies or citizens of former colonies.

4 POPULAR RESIDENCE BASED PASSPORTS FOR RETIREES Belgium. 3 years permanent residence (PR) Belize: 5 years PR (no qualified retirees) Canada. 3 years PR Chile: 5 years PR Costa Rica. 5-7 years PR Mexico. 5 years PR Panama. 5 years PR (no pensionados) Singapore. 2 years PR Uruguay. 3-5 years PR

5 SECOND CITIZENSHIP AND PASSPORT THROUGH DONATION OR INVESTMENT Commonwealth of Dominica Federation of St. Kitts & Nevis Some countries award citizenship and passport to individuals that make an outstanding contribution (e.g., Austria, Slovakia) Discontinued economic citizenship programs (Belize, Grenada) New economic citizenship programs on the horizon Beware: passport without citizenship (Panama, Uruguay)

6 ECONOMIC CITIZENSHIP IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF DOMINICA Independent Caribbean jurisdiction Travel to approximately 100 countries visa free or with minimal visa formalities Required contribution: $100,000 (single) or $175,000 (applicant and spouse) Additional costs: $30,000 + Must travel to Dominica for interview Can live in most Caricom jurisdictions visa-free No further obligations unless you live in Dominica

7 ECONOMIC CITIZENSHIP IN THE FEDERATION OF ST. KITTS & NEVIS Independent Caribbean jurisdiction Visa-free access to more than 130 countries, including the EU and Canada Option 1: qualifying real estate $400,000 + Option 2: contribution of $250,000+ Additional costs: $20,000+ No interview necessary Can live in most Caricom jurisdictions visa-free No further obligations unless you live in Federation

8 GREY MARKET PASSPORTS A passport where not all the criteria ordinarily necessary for its issuance are enforced Passport is genuine and officially issued, but in an unofficial and unauthorized manner A certificate of naturalization may or may not accompany the passport. Examples: Belize, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Greece, Guyana, Lithuania, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Portugal, Romania

9 BLACK MARKET PASSPORTS A passport counterfeited or manufactured from lost or stolen blanks Passport is not genuine, nor is it officially issued A certificate of naturalization almost never accompanies the passport National intelligence agencies, organized crime families, and terrorist groups all trade in black market passports Examples: Belgium, Canada, Suriname, and the UK

10 RISKS OF GREY MARKET AND BLACK MARKET PASSPORTS Interpol-daily updates of blacklisted passport numbers Subject to cancellation anytime Generally not possible to renew Acquisition and use may trigger civil and criminal sanctions Avoid grey market and black market passports!

11 DUE DILIGENCE IN SECOND PASSPORTS Too cheap. Anything under $100,000 is suspect. Too easy. Requires substantial due diligence. Too fast. Requires at least 2-3 months. Too anonymous. No legitimate passport is anonymous. Too limited. Must come with naturalization. Too good to be true. Example: diplomatic passports Too late. Example: Grenada and Belize.

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