Which country or countries would you say offer the best 2nd citizenship for Americans, and why?
Please consider the following criteria:
1) Visa-free travel to many countries
2) Relatively easy to get
3) Low or no taxes
4) Any others?
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22-01-2007, 02:03 PM #1
Best 2nd Citizenship / Passport for Americans
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23-01-2007, 04:54 PM #2
The US passport already has 130+ countries granting visa-free travel. I don't see why you would need another passport unless you're afraid of travelling as an American.
Most western countries require residency for a number of years on a permanent residency status before grant of citizenship is approved. For countries like the United Kingom, you need to reside in the country for five years a permanent resident before you can apply for citizenship which makes it really difficult. Getting permanent residency is another issue because you may need to spend time in the country and gain credentials and qualification before you can get a sufficient score on the skilled immigration scheme. Unless you have some talent/skill to offer the country that they lack in their workforce, you're out of luck. It may take up to ten years to get a citizenship if you're not highly skilled and educated.
Australia and Canada also have similar requirements but once you become a permanent resident, it is really easy to get citizenship in little time. Australia only requires two years residency total and one year as a mandatory as a permanent resident - it is possible to be a citizen after two years. As for Canada, you need three years residency and at least one year as a permanent resident. Again, getting permanent residency is another issue here. You would have to go through the skilled immigration scheme and see what you're worth to the country.
St Kitts and Nevis also have a citizenship by investment scheme but many countries are beginning to limit their visa-free entry to these passports because of this program - this would but utterly useless.
Unless you have millions of US dollars to invest, your only bet towards acquiring a second citizenship is either marrying a foreign spouse or going through the skilled immigration system. As for taxation, the US is the only western country I know of that taxes their citizens overseas. You will not have this sort of problem with many other citizenships.
Hope this helps
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23-01-2007, 06:00 PM #3
Very few countries tax based on citizenship so that really isn't an issue.
For visa-free access I believe the best standard passport is a Singaporean one, and it isn't too hard to get if you live there for a few years. The other one which I would look at would be New Zealand - excellent access, but not as "high profile" as, say, Australia or Canada.
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23-01-2007, 06:58 PM #4
Singaporean is actually one of the hardest passports to obtain. Only foreign female spouses can get a full citizenship after two years being married to a Singaporean male. In order for males to be naturalised, they need to reside in the country for a minimum of ten years and they will have to complete military service if they're between the ages of 18 - 36. This is a lot more difficult compared to many other countries. The passport is actually pretty useful as it is one of three passports entitled to visa-free access to mainland China.
As for Australia, New Zealand and Canada, these are relately more easy to get once you're approved for permanent residency - think of it as getting a green card in the US. These passports actually have less visa free access compared to the US passport but are eligible for common wealth working holiday visas. The Canadian passport is also the only passport in the world that allows the holder to stay in South Korea for up to 180 days - all other western nationalities (except Australia - 90 days) are only entitled to 30 days.
I currently hold a Canadian passport. Out of all the countries I have been to, I only needed to apply for a visa to enter mainland China. Some say that Canadian citizenship is one of the most prized in the world but it does have its benefits. There are many Americans with dual Canadian citizenship. I suppose this would be your best option.Last edited by Aritaurus; 23-01-2007 at 07:05 PM.
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23-01-2007, 09:18 PM #5
I have Canadian Passport, and also HK citizenship. Indeed, Canadian Passport one of the most expensive passport in the world, but it is very useful to go anywhere in the world. Well want to travel South Pole if it is possible to use Canadian Passport tho..
I don't understand why you want to apply 2nd critizenship if you have American Passport. Some of my friends from Canada, holding Canadian Passport, want to marry American to get the American citizens tho..
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23-01-2007, 09:30 PM #6
u can probably invest in a biz in singapore and get a passport. i heard the ongoing rate for a while back was 250k usd.
i don't think a first generation citizen (i.e. immigrated person) needs to serve military service, but the 2nd generation would have the necessity.
as long as you are there for a few years, and paying tax, making a decent amount of money, u wld not have much difficulties getting a citizenship.
and well, singaporean passport is really one of the easiest to use in the world. america, europe, china, vietnam... we are also one of the easiest people (outside americans) to go into israel i guess. 8-P
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24-01-2007, 04:55 AM #7
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24-01-2007, 08:12 AM #8
yes. 2nd generation PRs. not the first generation ones
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