Dual Citizenship: Is It For You?

Two recent disparate news stories highlighted the issue of "dual citizenship" - the legal right to be a citizen of more than one country, invested with official passports from each nation.

Dual nationality, (or dual citizenship, the terms are interchangeable), simply means that a person legally is a citizen of two countries at the same time, qualified as such under each nation's law.

This status may result automatically, as when a child born in a foreign country to a U.S. citizen becomes both a U.S. citizen and a citizen of the country where he or she is born. Or it may result from an operation of law, as when a U.S. citizen acquires foreign citizenship by marriage to a spouse from another nation, or a foreign person naturalized as a U.S. citizen retains the citizenship of their country of birth.

200,000 Missing Fathers
Last week The New York Times reported on the sad plight in France of so-called enfants de Boches, roughly, "children of the Huns", born during World War II to French women and German soldiers. Some of these offspring, now aging, are hunting for long lost German fathers they never knew and are speaking openly of the persecution they suffered from their French neighbors. It is estimated that 200,000 children were born of these wartime affairs.

Although this may not be very helpful a half century later, as a gesture of good will, the German government has offered to grant to French children of German soldiers dual citizenship, promising that applications would be handled "generously."

Election Sore Losers
Far away in the Republic of Panama, the recent conservative electoral triumph in national and local elections saw the Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD ) lose not only the presidency (to Ricardo Martinelli), but also control of the National Assembly and their traditional stronghold, the office of the mayor of Panama City.

Sore losers, the PRD made an issue of the dual citizenship prohibition in Panama's constitution against the mayor-elect of Panama City, Bosco Vallarino, (left) a member of President Martinelli's conservative Alliance Party. For a time he was blocked from taking office by a PRD lawsuit alleging since Vallarino holds citizenship in both Panama and the United States that made him ineligible to serve as mayor.

This became a moot question when the new conservative majority in the National Assembly restored Vallarino's full Panamanian citizen rights.

Martinelli Too!
As with U.S. complaints about whether President Obama really was born in the U.S., some disgruntled PRD losers complained about the citizenship status of Panama's new president.

Martinelli (right) also has dual citizenship, because he acquired Italian citizenship under Italian law from both of his parents, Italians who immigrated to Panama where he was born. Since he did not acquire Italian citizenship by naturalization, this differed from Mayor Vallarino, who was born in Panama but naturalized as a U.S. citizen when he lived in the U.S. years ago.

Rarely Enforced
Even though Panama's constitution forbids dual citizenship, this provision rarely has been enforced, in the sense that a foreigner who is naturalized as a new citizen of Panama is not required to surrender his foreign passport or renounce the existing citizenship. But local politics made this a big issue for a few days.

So in one instance, Germany offers dual citizenship willingly as goodwill gesture; in the other a nation's basic law forbids dual citizenship.

Dual Citizenship O.K. for Americans
The U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed Americans' right to hold dual nationality. The U.S. government recognizes dual nationality but doesn't encourage it because it thinks problems and conflicts might result.

People who became naturalized U.S. citizens until recently had to swear to renounce "fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty." But the updated oath was changed and the government made no attempt to enforce renunciation.

While it's impossible to know exactly how many Americans have acquired another passport, experts put the number of U.S. citizens who either hold, or are entitled to hold, a second passport at over 40 million. On the basis of ancestry, several countries, notably Ireland, Italy, Poland and Israel positively encourage Americans to sign up.

Why You May Need It
Depending on where you actually reside, even for Americans, a second passport can be of great value. In various ways, governments increasingly use issuance of a passport as a means of coercion and control.

In the U.S., a citizen can be denied a passport simply for being in debt to the Internal Revenue Service, because of problems with other federal government agencies, or because they are behind in excess of $2,500 in back payments for court-ordered child support.

Since 1986, the U.S. State Department has been informing the IRS of all persons who renew their U.S. passports using a foreign address. Since passport renewals require an applicant's Social Security number, this is also used by the IRS to check if applicants have filed income tax returns. An IRS official speaking in Zurich said a special effort was being made by the agency to track all U.S. citizens who renewed U.S. passports while living in Switzerland, for reasons we can surely guess.

International Tax Grabs
There is a growing tendency in major countries to follow the unfortunate lead of the United States in taxing non-resident citizens. Dual citizenship is, therefore, increasingly important as a personal and powerful tool for international estate and tax planning. As a national of two different countries, you may be able to enjoy lower taxes and greater privacy in your banking and investment activities.

In the final analysis, it is the nation that is seeking to impose its control over a dual national that determines what law governs. Dual nationals owe allegiance and obedience to the laws of both countries. Either country has a right to enforce its laws, especially when the person is physically within that country.

Safety Factor
And it is no exaggeration to observe that not having to identify yourself as a U.S. citizen these days can be a real, even life saving advantage, in many circumstances.

Contact Banker Trust on a 2nd passport from the Dominican Republic. Email: BankerTrust@gmail.com

Comparison of Citizenship Programs

Here we made an attempt to analyze the key factors to consider when choosing between four currently existing legitimate economic citizenship programs, in Dominica and St.Kitts & Nevis, and Austria, and the Dominican Republic. Results of this brief research are presented for your attention below.


Dominica

Qualifying Investment: US$ 75,000 for single option or US$ 100,000 for family option (spouses and two minor children +US$ 15,000 for every other minor child +US$ 25,000 for every dependent child between 18 and 25 years).

Procedural Costs (application, professional, legal, due diligence and other fees and expenses): Procedural fees per application of US$ 2250; due diligence fees starting with US$ 3,000; professional and legal fees associated with the promoter’s assistance starting with US$ 25,000.

Citizenship status: Full citizenship for life, non-revocable.

Residence: Not Required

Dual Citizenship; Permitted

Nevis and St. Kitts

Qualifying Investment: Investment of US$ 350,000 or donation of US$ 200,000 to US$ 400,000 depending on the quantity of family members.

Procedural Costs (application, professional, legal, due diligence and other fees and expenses): Registration fee of US$ 35,000 for the main applicant, US$ 15,000 for each spouse and dependent child under 18 and US$ 35,000 for unmarried dependent child of the applicant between 18 and 25 years; professional and legal fees associated with the promoter’s assistance range within US$ 15,000.

Citizenship status: Full citizenship for life, non-revocable.

Residence: Not Required.

Dual Citizenship: Permitted

Austria

Qualifying Investment: Investment of at least US$ 4 million to have a reasonable chance at qualifying.

Additional Costs (application, professional, legal, due diligence and other procedural fees and expenses): Legal fees start with US$ 30,000.

Citizenship status: Full citizenship for life, non-revocable.

Residence: Not required.

Dual Citizenship: Restricted. Renunciation of foreign citizenship is required.

Dominican Republic

Qualifying Investment: None

Additional Costs (application, professional, legal, due diligence and other procedural fees and expenses): The total procedural fee is US$ 25,000.

Citizenship status: Full citizenship for life, non-revocable.

Residence: Not required.

Duel Citizenship: Permitted

Contact us at Bankertrust@gmail to get your citizenship to the Dominican Republic.

Any expat couple who has watched their life’s treasures being wrapped and double wrapped for protection during a relocation would do well to stop for a moment and wonder: why is their relationship - which is also being transferred - not being equally safeguarded against breakage?

Most couples simply don’t consider that their relationship is also being shipped to a new country where the impact of a variety of pressures and shocks can take a heavy toll, often leading to a divorce court.

Anecdotal evidence (because there isn’t much else when it comes to moveable marriages) would indicate that many expat marriages simply don’t survive a relocation.

“Before they relocate, couples tend to focus on the externals of the move, such as where they will live, what schools their children will attend, or where they will buy groceries,” says Dixie Wilson, who works in the Employee Assistance Program for the Houston-based energy company ConocoPhillips.

“They entirely ignore the internal challenges, so many of which are the keys to the successful relocation of a relationship. They are in complete denial about the changes which lie ahead for their marriage,” says Wilson, who believes a renegotiation of the marriage agreement needs to be undertaken if a couple is going to understand each other’s needs during relocation.

Among other things, that means understanding the role each partner will play in the relocation in the first instance, and later, in building a new life together abroad. Often, from a working spouse’s perspective, the pressure on the non-working spouse in a new city or country can appear minimal because it is often attached to trivial matters.

“Right after a move, feelings of disorientation and isolation are usually brought to light by something such as a woman not being able to find a mop in a new city or even knowing what store would sell one, how to get there or how to ask for it,” according to London-based marriage therapist Phyllis Adler.

“The lack of control and power this represents is not easily conveyed. Talking about it can be tedious and boring to a working spouse who is busy trying to reorganise a multimillion-dollar division of a company,” says Adler. She adds that the situation can be much worse for a couple who have had no experience of moving and have not done any preparation.

“In that case, the couple may not even be aware of what they are feeling, beyond increased levels of confusion and discomfort. Relationships are not ‘manageable’ in the way companies are manageable, so a marriage can’t operate like a business.”

Using the language of business is sometimes not a bad way for couples to communicate about the relocation. An expat wife relocating to Latin America, for instance, told me that the only way she could communicate her own needs to her working partner was by using non-emotional, matter of fact, case-in-point scenarios.

“I did everything short of break out an overhead projector and flowchart!” she confessed.

And how has the idea of a move abroad been raised in the first place? Within the answer to that question lies a possible key to understanding how a moveable marriage can develop tense dynamics in its early days; if a woman feels coerced into a move, or says “yes” when she really means “no”.

So here a few quick tips to keep the marriage on track during a relocation:

Think like a team: A team sticks together through thick and thin. Sit down with your partner to ask one another about individual goals and to set common objectives for yourselves as a couple or perhaps, as a family. Listening to each other’s hopes and dreams can be a positive experience if you create a sense that you’re both working towards the same end and want to support the other in achieving his or her goals.

Regularly engage in “end of the day” conversations: these conversations help partners feel connected to each other, but pick a time that’s suitable for your family. So often, in the process of moving, couples aren’t aware that an “emotional disconnect” is building a wall that will grow higher with each passing day if neither partner attempts to scale it.

Finally, in order to restore and maintain harmony when a relationship moves, it helps to be knowledgeable about the emotional part of the relocation - all the ups and downs. Otherwise, the moving boxes may be emptied and the household goods put away, but a couple’s feelings for each other may be left out in the cold.