The world is in constant change. Part of the change is the opening of the doors of opportunity. Having a second passport means that you are securing your own safety and privacy. In addition, you are also protecting your finances and helps to grow your finances free from high taxes. These are just few of the many reasons why a lot of people these days opt to have a second passport.
Having dual citizenship will automatically allow you to have two passports. Holding another passport from a different country can open opportunities for business, education, healthcare and visa-free travel. It allows you to enjoy the benefits of that country just like its own citizens.
How to get a second passport?
Dual citizenship may be acquired through naturalization, marriage, investment and birth.
Naturalization
Naturalization is a type of citizenship where the applicant resided in a country for many years. It can also be acquired through right of descent if the person’s parents or grandparents were born from another country.
In South Korea, it is hard to obtain citizenship. In order for the foreigners to become citizens of South Korea, they have to go through a naturalization process.
One way to acquire citizenship is through general naturalization. This is when the applicant never gets a Korean nationality or has no Korean family members. In order to qualify, one must live consecutively in South Korea for more than five years. A Korean address, Alien Registration Card are just few of the many requirements for application. Also, you have to prove that you are capable of maintaining to live in the country.
This is true to many countries. There is a standard of five years residency for one to qualify in the naturalization process. Also, in South Korea, Korean descents can apply for simple naturalization since they were born in a different country. It follows the basic requirements of the general naturalization. However, it is a requirement for the applicant to stay in South Korea for three (3) consecutive years.
Marriage
For some countries like the US, the non-American partner will be eligible for US citizenship. As a spouse of a US citizen, there’s no waiting for five years to apply for citizenship through naturalization. You can apply for citizenship three years in to the marriage to obtain the green card assuming that you are live-in partners,
In Australia, one may apply for Prospective Marriage Visa. Upon arrival, the couple must get married within nine (9) months. The marriage must be conducted and registered according to the Australian law for the non-Australian spouse to be eligible for permanent resident partner visa.
To be a Canadian citizen when you have a Canadian spouse, you have to meet the requirements of permanent residency. The Canadian spouse, however, may sponsor the non-Canadian partner for permanent residency. This happens if the spouse doesn’t live in Canada or not yet a permanent resident.
If you marry an Irish citizen, the foreign spouse may claim Irish citizenship by being married for at least three years. The spouse should also have continuous residence for at least one year in Ireland before application. Lastly, has been living in Ireland for at least two of the four years before the one year of continuous residence.
In South Korea, if the non-Korean spouse wishes to apply for citizenship, the applicant must maintain his/her marital status for more than two years.
Investment
Before, it is possible to attain dual citizenship through ancestry but now, there is a faster way of getting citizenship. Investing a substantial amount in a country can make it easier for one to acquire citizenship. By creating jobs for that country, the applicant’s process for citizenship is much faster.
The United States of America offers similar program that grants immediate residence to investors. Countries like Panama, Uruguay, the Dominican Republic, Chile are also observing the same law.
For the entrepreneurs, part of having the perks of easier travel to different countries, is that there are potential tax benefits. Although, benefits depend on the country the investor came from and the country being applied.
There is also such thing as economic citizenship. It is when the applicant purchased the country’s citizenship. Carribean countries like Dominica and Saint Kitss and Nevis charges over $200,000 for citizenship—based on the number of family members that will be applying and some other factors.
If you’re an investor who is eyeing the South Korean citizenship for business reasons, you may apply for a D-8 Investor Visa. An investment of KRW 300 million (approximately USD 282,000) in his/her business in South Korea will automatically give the applicant eligibility for application.
Vanuatu, a small country in the Pacific, offers economic citizenship by investment program. Vanuatu is the only country that offers citizenship through investment program in the Asia-Pacific Hemisphere.
According to the Golden Visas website, a single aspiring applicant may invest $160,000 to a development fund in the country. A couple may donate $185,000+ fees. For a family of four plus, it is a requirement for them to invest an amount of $220,000.
Birth
Citizenship by birth, jus solis, is the right one obtained by being born in a country regardless of the parent’s nationality. Through birth, one can acquire the citizenship of the country he or she was born in to.
For instances where a child is born to immigrants of another descent in a country like of the United States of America, the state would automatically grant the child the citizenship of that country. So, if you’re a Filipino born in the United States of America, the citizenship you have is American.
In the Philippines, for example, if a child is born in a different country to Filipino parent/s, the child may apply for Recognition as a Filipino citizen without losing the applicants current citizenship. However, if you’re an American born in a different soil, you are granted an American citizenship.
For countries like Ireland, Italy, Spain, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Luxembourg, or Greece, being a descent from a foreign citizen, may it be the parent/s or grandparent/s, one can acquire the said country’s citizenship. They use blood ancestry as basis for this.
There is real hassle in applying for visa before a trip. There is a tedious process that can be really frustrating, time-consuming and most especially the process costs a lot.
Visa-free travel
Having dual citizenship means having two kinds of passports. It is possible to travel carrying both passports. In most cases, the person who has double passports may choose which passport he/she can use in entering a foreign country. In deciding which passport to use, one should first consider if there is a visa requirement in entering the country.
We can assume that the reason why entrepreneurs opt to get second citizenship is because it allows international travel faster.
A lot of countries allow a person entry without visa if the person is a holder of a US passport. However, there are countries that requires visa for entrance that other countries are allowed to enter without. For travelers who will present a US passport, countries like Brazil, Chile, and Argentina all collect a visa fee. According to a website called Vox, passport holders from Finland, Sweden and the UK can visit 173 countries, one more than the US.
Of course, the number of countries one can freely enter depends on the citizenship you applied for. While Cypriot passport holders has access to approximately 157 countries, passport holders of Portugal are visa-free, or visa-on-arrival, access to about 172 countries.
Social and Political Security
Having dual citizenship will prevent your home government from placing you under house arrest by revoking or canceling your passport for any reasons.
An example of this is the Syrian government. They government previously refused to renew the passports of the Syrians abroad whom they suspected of being associated with the opposition. This restricted the citizens from travelling back to Syria due to the hold back caused by the government.
In times of political unrest in your home country, you can secure your safety by flying to the country you applied for second citizenship.
Having dual citizenship increases your security. It prevents your home government from sticking its nose from your financial assets. Also, having dual citizenship does not only allow you to avoid political instability but economic as well.
If your home country is under any financial, social or political disturbance, you have the option to relocate your assets to another country. Should the home country have potential conflict, civil unrest or travel sanctions, you can leave to live and work in a more secure surrounding.
Dual citizenship can extend to generations after. The benefits will not be only enjoyed by the applicant, but it can also extend to his or her children and the children of their children.
Conclusion
Having dual citizenship has its perks. In these times, having dual citizenship can be a great investment as it acts as one’s safeguard from possible attacks in your home country. It is costly, yes, but the benefits you can and will obtain is incomparable to the amount you invested.