You Should Have a 2nd Passport – Here are 6 Reasons Why (+3K Views)

Spreading your political risk beyond one jurisdiction by obtaining a second passport and citizenship in another country is a fundamental step towards minimizing the political risk of being subjected to the whims of any single government. Here are 6 reasons why that is the case.

The above are edited excerpts by Nick Giambruno (internationalman.com) from his original article* entitled The Top 6 Reasons Why Everyone Needs a Second Passport

[The following article is presented by  Lorimer Wilson, editor of www.munKNEE.com and the FREE Market Intelligence Report newsletter (sample here) and may have been edited ([ ]), abridged (…) and/or reformatted (some sub-titles and bold/italics emphases) for the sake of clarity and brevity to ensure a fast and easy read. This paragraph must be included in any article re-posting to avoid copyright infringement.]

Giambruno goes on to say in further edited excerpts:

The political diversification benefits that come with obtaining a second passport are universal and prudent for anyone in the world to obtain… especially those under a desperate (fiscally or otherwise) government.

Here are the top six reasons why everyone needs a second passport:

Reason #1: More Internationalization Options

Obtaining a second passport can:

• literally open the door to a world of internationalization options for your assets and income that are off limits to citizens of certain countries. This is especially true for Americans…[where] opening a foreign financial account as an American citizen ranges from being impossible to very difficult in most circumstances. Due to the ever-growing pile of regulations, foreign banks and brokerages are making the logical business decision that the costs of compliance do not outweigh the benefits of having Americans as clients…
• make purchasing real estate in foreign countries easier. For example, while it is an excellent place to consider for a bolt-hole, Switzerland is a notoriously difficult place for a foreigner to purchase real estate. However, certain foreigners (EU citizens) have fewer restrictions imposed on them [than] others.

Reason #2: More Visa-Free Travel

One characteristic of a good passport is how much visa-free travel it allows. Applying for a visa that has to be approved before your trip (as opposed to being able to obtain it at the border) is a real hassle. Having to jump through hoops in advance of a trip can be a frustrating, time-consuming, and costly process. Brazil, Chile and Argentina, [for example,] all collect a visa fee of about US$160 from travelers who present a U.S. passport.

According to a recent study, Finnish and Swedish passports offer visa-free travel to the most countries. Not surprisingly, a country like Afghanistan has one of the least useful passports.

Reason #3: Avoid Foreign Policy Blowback

If your home government, [like that of the U.S. for example,] has developed a bad habit of sticking its nose in the internal affairs of other nations, it could make you a target should you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time…[Some] passports [such as that of Switzerland, however,] have minimal foreign policy blowback risk…

Reason #4: Pre-empt Travel/People Controls

A second passport can also come in handy when:

• a government decides to start treating its own citizens as beef cows instead of milking cows (i.e., when they need more soldiers for war)
• passport restrictions and other types of people controls are implemented
• your home government decides to basically place you under house arrest by revoking or cancelling your passport for any reason it sees fit…Just look at how the U.S. cancelled Edward Snowden’s passport by fiat…
• you hold political views that the establishment of your home government does not like…[and] they decide to restrict your travel options…

Reason #5: You Don’t Have to Live Like a Refugee

Having a second passport ensures that:

• you will always have another place to potentially call home,
• another place where you will always have the legal right to live and work and that,
• once you get out of dodge, you won’t have to live like a refugee…

Reason #6: Renunciation

In all likelihood, you will need a second passport should you decide:

• to take the drastic step of renouncing your citizenship…[which would] allow you to reap huge tax and regulatory benefits if your home country were to burdens its citizens with suffocating and inescapable tax policies.

It should be noted that the U.S. has what amounts to an “exit tax” for citizens who renounce and meet certain conditions. This puts a premium on renouncing before you qualify to be stung with the “exit tax.” It is an especially attractive option for entrepreneurial and internationally-mobile young Americans who have a large portion of their potential earnings still in the future…

Not Easy, But Necessary

Unfortunately, there are no paths to obtaining a legitimate second passport that are at the same time fast, easy, and inexpensive. This does not diminish the necessity of doing so, however.

• Political risk is growing in most parts of the world (especially the west)…
• Countries in deteriorating fiscal health…will predictably turn to increasing measures to squeeze their citizenry for every penny they can get away with…

There is a lot of misinformation and bad advice out there regarding second passports, which, if followed, could likely end up causing you significant problems and limiting your options. Your goal should be the opposite: minimizing your problems and expanding your options…

[Editor’s Note: The author’s views and conclusions in the above article are unaltered and no personal comments have been included to maintain the integrity of the original post. Furthermore, the views, conclusions and any recommendations offered in this article are not to be construed as an endorsement of such by the editor.]

*http://www.internationalman.com/78-global-perspectives/1033-the-top-6-reasons-why-everyone-needs-a-second-passport (Copyright © 2013 Casey Research, LLC.)

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