A few days ago, we received the following from one of our readers...
"Is it worthwhile for a healthy, 69 year old retired, married, US citizen, business owner who has current significant wealth with five adult children and eight grandchildren to consider a second citizenship?"
It's a good question and one that reminds me of the "standard" reasons to consider, which were covered in an article called 6 Reasons to Get A Second Passport.
They are:
- To avoid having a passport that could get you into trouble overseas.
- To bypass possible travel restrictions / to be able to visit more places without a visa.
- Emergency insurance policy in case of discrimination against your current passport / a backup in case your current one goes missing.
- You'll need a second passport if you eventually want to renounce your existing one.
- Access the international financial system that bars certain nationalities from participating.
- Access international financial opportunities that bar certain nationalities from participating.
However, whether to pursue an alternate citizenship is a personal decision as well - separate from the logical considerations.
We asked the reader, "What finally pushed you to do it and choose the Dominican Republic?"
He replied: "Because I don't like where things are headed, and the Dominican Republic through Banker Trust offers a program where I could have citizenship in 6 years. Other countries take much longer and I don't know how long I'm going to be around. I do know I want the freedom to control my own life."
For him, a very personal decision that transcended the standard reasons. Could he have stayed in the US? Probably. Would he have suffered some sort of consequences for it? Maybe. It's difficult to predict the future.
But it was important to him to act in what he considered a prudent manner and take the step. It certainly wasn't easy, but it was worth it for him. You need to ask yourself the same question: Is it worth it for you? For your family? In consideration of your age, family situation and personal preferences? If the answer is yes, then it makes sense to look into it further. If not, it's still worth exploring other options that could compensate to some degree. There's no such thing as "bulletproof" in today's world, but some action taken is better than none at all.
