Dual Citizenship: What's the Real Advantage of Holding Two Passports?

[jayM]

I would like to know if I have understood everything correctly. Let’s say I invest one million US dollars in St. Lucia and thereby obtain my second citizenship. Does that mean I will have two passports, namely the one I currently have, which is German, and then one from St. Lucia?

What is the advantage of having two passports, if any?

 

[aniglo22]

Thanks to the new German Citizenship Modernization Act (StARModG), getting a second citizenship is much easier now .

1. Travelling: You won't gain anything besides visa-free entry into Cuba and Rwanda (wow)
2. Privacy: You can use a 2nd passport to travel or open bank accounts (but doesn't really benefit as much as CRS is more residency-based )
3. Plan B: Backup if things go south in Germany.
4. Gift & inheritance tax : You could dodge gift and inherance tax , if you renounce your german one when your living outside Germany for less than 10 years .

It's just a waste of money Imo .

 

[daniels27]

I would like to know if I have understood everything correctly. Let’s say I invest one million US dollars in St. Lucia and thereby obtain my second citizenship. Does that mean I will have two passports, namely the one I currently have, which is German, and then one from St. Lucia?

What is the advantage of having two passports, if any?

If you were Turisk and you naturalise in Germany, it would make sense. You have to relatively good passports. That you can use.

St. Lucia passport is a sold one. It is getting harder and harder to use as everybody knows it is fake. Even when entering Schengen on a Greek passport, they often ask if you actually speak the language.

These buying passports really only make sense if your current one is becoming useless. If it was 1933, I would tell you it is a good option. But today, it seems rather unlikely, your German passport will bring many troubles.

Of course, you can get it and then open bank accounts in the US, Australia, Turkey, etc. and tell them your are only tax resident in St. Lucia.

 

[Martin Everson]

What is the advantage of having two passports, if any?

Ask a Russian, Ukrainian, Nigerian or Iranian this question.

 

[cyprusbanker]

Ask a Russian, Ukrainian, Nigerian or Iranian this question.

So only for this group of people it really matters?

 

[TimeAttack]

By the way, some countries like Turkey will actually interrogate you at the airport if they find that you have multiple passports. I found out at Wikileaks.

It is useful if you're from a country that has very limited financial service, like any sanctioned country. Or if you would like to more easily make a company somewhere in the case of investing. But each one has their own restrictions on dual citizenship.

 

[daniels27]

Yes, those passports are only for people from Russia, Pakistan, China, North Korea, Ukraine and maybe also Nigeria.

For the other people, normally the disadvantages are more than any possible advantage as we can see here

US bank closures after second passport citizenship by investment

Hello, I'm a US citizen and obtained a Dominica passport three months ago via citizenship by investment (for work purposes). About two weeks after I received the Dominica naturalization paperwork, the US border control revoked my Global Entry. And in the three months since, two banks / brokers...

www.offshorecorptalk.com

And just for the record, there is nothing wrong with going to live there and go through normal naturalisation. While the passport still looks the same, you will have lived there etc. I would still not recommend to use it in place of the German one anywhere else than in the country that gave it to you and its neighbours with free movement.

 

[jayM]

Are there better countries to obtain passport from for the reason

Or if you would like to more easily make a company somewhere in the case of investing. But each one has their own restrictions on dual citizenship.

 

[daniels27]

Are there better countries to obtain passport from for the reason

Yes. There are many countries where citizens have more or better opportunities for companies than foreigners. Companies may have to be owned majorly by citizens, same as real estate in certain countries. If you want to invest there, you should obtain a passport there.

 

[Martin Everson]

So only for this group of people it really matters?

No

 

[daniels27]

No

The bought ones? I think the disadvantages outweigh the advantages for any citizen of a solid country as other's have found out.

 

[Henn and Rich]

everyone has their own reasons for a 2nd passport, so it all depends on you if you think it will add benefit to your life or not. Prior to June 1 they were priced fairly well in the Caribbean, but now they have doubled in price to $200k+

Not sure where you got the $1m figure from, but it doesn't cost this much.

For some it's like buying a new car, just to have why not.

I would look away from Caribbean and look more towards Vanuatu which is still fairly good priced, and the KYC is still a joke... for now

 

[oldtimer2]

to respond to your very general question about "What is the advantage of having two passports, if any?", I am putting aside the discussion about bought passports... Like others have rightly said, it all depends on what your first passport is, and what you want to achieve. For example, some countries limit your right to purchase property depending on the bilateral agreement with your home country. (One example is Italy and Australia). But a second passport might be from a country with a different bilateral agreement and so does not suffer that restriction. Some countries have special benefits or reduced requirements for citizens of certain countries.. For example, Brits don't require medical insurance for Malta nomad visa. Heaps of Brits wish they had an EU passport since Brexit and many have looked for Irish ancestors etc etc. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[Martin Everson]

I would look away from Caribbean and look more towards Vanuatu which is still fairly good priced, and the KYC is still a joke... for now

Visa requirements for Vanuatuan citizens - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

You can only visit third world countries with a Vanuatu passport visa free....lol? What makes a Vanuatu passport any good?

 

[Martin Everson]

Heaps of Brits wish they had an EU passport since Brexit and many have looked for Irish ancestors etc etc.

Yup even so called English patriots like Tommy Robinson acquired an Irish passport to move around....very patriotic....lol.

Tommy Robinson could be stripped of his Irish passport after falsifying information

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has been evading justice in the UK by using his Irish passport to live freely in Europe.

www.thelondoneconomic.com

 

[diro]

Yup even so called English patriots like Tommy Robinson acquired an Irish passport to move around....very patriotic....lol.

he is good in what he is doing and very good to take the money out of peoples pockets. Why not an Irish passport then!

 

[void]

Visa requirements for Vanuatuan citizens - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

You can only visit third world countries with a Vanuatu passport visa free....lol? What makes a Vanuatu passport any good?

better than nothing if
- you're a Ukrainian guy stuck in Poland with expired passport which your homeland refuses to renew unless you're willing to go back "home" and fight
- you're not allowed to leave your country without tangible tie to another one because somebody is playing doctor, fighting viruses and testing the limits of human obedience

 

[Oakgrove]

Ask a Russian, Ukrainian, Nigerian or Iranian this question.

Or ask any Americans, for that matters. Their passport is toxic when it comes to opening bank accounts in other parts of the world, and not to mention the country's rapidly going down the drain LOL. For those Yanks whom I know are working on a 2nd citizenship (mind you, they would go for something European or Carribean) is pretty much a backup plan, allowing them to live and work elsewhere legally once they're tired of the US. Yes, I know taxes will always follow them (and for many who are retirees anyway, doesn't matter too much).

 

[jayM]

You know I have a German passport. I want to relocate into a few countries over the next years. I don't want the same passport used in every country I relocate to. So I thinked that it would be nice with another passport to avoid showing the same to all countries.

Idea was some countries not EU but outside EU in Europe.

 

[daniels27]

You know I have a German passport. I want to relocate into a few countries over the next years. I don't want the same passport used in every country I relocate to. So I thinked that it would be nice with another passport to avoid showing the same to all countries.

Idea was some countries not EU but outside EU in Europe.

Do you think they will welcome you with the totally bought passport?