Citizenship, Passport or Residency?

We have a very large number of inquiries from people that are looking for a new residency and citizenship. While many people certainly have an interest, the problem of course is either lack of proper information or even the plethora of misinformation that might be out there in the public domain. In order to clarify some of these issues and to explain terms that some might be using without really understanding the definition, we have compiled the following section of answers to commonly asked questions. What Is The Difference Between Residency And Citizenship? Every country has some sort of process in place to allow foreigners who having an interest in either living or working inside the country (or both), to make an application for residency status. Usually the residency status is granted for a specified amount of time, and must be renewed periodically (yearly, every five years, ten years or whatever the case may be). What differs of course from country to country are the types of residency permits or status (if more than one) and the various requirements in order to qualify as well (not to mention waiting time). However, residency is a permission to live or work inside a particular country, but it is NOT citizenship. As a result, residency does not mean you are entitled to a passport, as a passport is an identification document issued to citizens, identifying them as such. However, in most countries, residency of course is usually going to be the first step on the road to citizenship, should you choose (applying for citizenship on your part is voluntary once you get to that point). After someone has completed the time line and requirements of residency, the person can apply for naturalized citizenship. Again, what will differ from country to country is going to be the amount of time you might have to wait before you are eligible to apply for citizenship (in some countries it could 7 years or even much more in terms of time line) and of course any other kinds of requirements as well (or lack thereof for countries that might be a bit easier in this regard). Once someone becomes a citizen, then of course they are entitled to obtain a passport, which again is a travel document issued to citizens for identification purposes. Usually once a person becomes a naturalized citizen, aside from of course obtaining a passport, they should also obtain a variety od documents certifying that they indeed have gone through the legal and proper channels to become a citizen. Those documents will vary from country to country, as some might actually issue a naturalization certificate, whereas other countries issue other or similar kinds of documents. In the Dominican Republic for example (whereby our office assists clients with this process), the client obtains certifications from the administrative branch of the national police certifying they have become naturalized citizens, a new Dominican Birth Certificate (that has ALL of the exact same information that was on the previous birth certificate from the country of birth), plus of course other additional documents and a Cedula Identity Card as well. You might ask why a Dominican birth certificate that indicates birth in another country? The answer is that the bureaucracy in the Dominican Republic flows off the birth certificate, so either you have a birth certificate if you were born in the country, or you ALSO have one once you become a naturalized citizen (as you will need it to apply for your passport and renew your passport later on). If a person does NOT have these documents that were mentioned, then chances are they obtained a passport in some other fraudulent manner. What About The Instant or Economic Passport Programs? There are only a few countries that offer what is known as an instant or economic citizenship program, those are St. Kitts and Dominica. In such a case, the applicant is essentially either giving a cash payment to the government, and or required to purchase real estate inside that country to qualify. And really it may not be as instant as you might think because it could be the case that you have to wait perhaps a few months up until one year regardless to finish up the bureaucratic process, all depending upon the avenue you choose (cash payment, real estate purchase, etc.). The benefit behind such a program of course is the much quicker waiting time than might exist in other countries to gain another citizenship and passport. The down side is these programs often cost up to US$100,000 or more for an individual application (especially more if a spouse or other family member is applying as well), and some might have a requirement that you buy into a government approved real estate project (try and guess who the local beneficiaries are in such a thing) that might entail a shoe box condo for US$300,000. One of the highly touted benefits for the above mentioned, is that these places listed above are all Commonwealth Member Countries and as such offer visa free travel to other Commonwealth Member Countries (such as Canada, Australia and the UK). However, do keep in mind that the issue of visa free travel is a political accommodation and not a right carved into stone. Things can and so often do change. This is true especially today, with extremely high levels of unemployment in Europe, do not be surprised to see restrictions or changes to this if there is an influx of people traveling supposedly as tourists (with visa free travel capabilities) with the true intent of staying illegally to find work. And conversely, the opposite is also currently taking place today as Spaniards, the Portuguese, the French, and many US citizens also are looking for work and or other opportunities abroad. The result of this too has recently been more restrictive or more difficult residency application processes in the still growing so-called developing or third world nations where such people are headed. In other words, with unemployment rates hitting 25 percent or more in countries such as Spain (and the true unemployment rate in the US is not too far behind that figure) - people from these countries are actually looking for work in Latin America, South America, Asia, etc. The result has been governments have taken notice and while they still wish to welcome solvent new citizens who want to retire to invest in a business, they certainly are not keen on the idea of foreigners entering the country with the intent to take work away from local citizens. And if not that, what we are also seeing in countries such as Mexico and Panama, is a backlash against the large number of Americans trying to tap into the public social security health care system in these respective countries (which are free for foreigners obtaining a retirement visa). It may be surprising for you to learn that additional countries have been added to the list of visa free travel in recent years for holders of a passport from the Dominican Republic. In other words, the case of a passport from a so-called developing or third world country becoming more valuable as a passport for visa free travel (while we have suggested before that the passport from the so-called wealthy industrialized nation may not be so attractive down the road, as citizens continue to escape the high unemployment and look for work abroad - with a possible eventual backlash being a tourist visa application required for citizens coming from these former wealthy EU or North American countries wishing to enter the growing developing or Third World nations, which are really not so Third World anymore). Regardless, in either case, it is all about economics, which drive the politics or political decision making process, in terms of residency requirements and visa free travel as well. Those citizens coming from countries with declining economies may find a more difficult time in the future, in terms of the visa free travel or residency issue and those citizens coming from up and coming economies may find the reverse (an easier time getting a visa or finding visa free travel to be the new norm - as they now have the money). And there is no better example of this than Russian Passport holders who have been recently granted VISA FREE travel to the United States (in 2011), by the US government. Why? Because during the past decade, Russian citizens with the economic means have been investing in, and buying up real estate in Ecuador, Venezuela, Panama, The Dominican Republic, Thailand, etcetera, etcetera. Now that the US economy is in the soup, and the US real estate market in a free fall, all of a sudden Russians with cash (many of these investors are buying real estate for CASH and have no interest in applying for a mortgage) are highly sought after, or we should say their money is sought after. Again, money drives the political decisions, and offering citizens from another country visa free entrance is certainly a political decision or policy (with some kind of economic issue at play behind it). Which Country Is Best For Relocation (and a Second Passport)? This is a difficult question to answer because each person has his or her own priorities. Sort of like asking which is better - Caribbean Country A or Caribbean Country B? Both have warm weather, palm trees and nice beaches - so what else is the determining factor? In our opinion, there are other factors that you probably should consider. And with that stated, some of the questions you may want to ask yourself are the following: Is this a country I would really want to live in full time in the future? Is the place a small pip-squeak island in the sun or is it big enough that you will not get Island Fever? Do they have a diversified local economy or does everything have to be imported (and cost more as a result)? Is the country self sufficient in food production? In other words, is the only thing the country has going for it bananas, or do they have cattle ranches, poultry, other agricultural crops, manufacturing, services industry, exports, tourism and other sources of economic activity? Is the country growing economically and have good prospects for the future, or it is in decline? Can I connect to international flights easily if I want to travel? What are the schools and medical care facilities like? In short, there are a number of factors to think about when making a decision to call a new country your new second home (which of course will include the residency and naturalized citizen requirements as well) that will involve a list of things that may or may not be important to you personally. Choosing a country with all the various factors considered first will help you make a worthwhile choice. To ask questions about anything mentioned here or to apply for a 2nd Passport please write us at BankerTrust@gmail.com