Nationality doesn’t matter for personal income tax purposes, except for US citizens. It’s the country where you’re residing which matters for personal income tax purposes, and your nationality doesn’t matter. So why would one try to obtain a second passport? Why would one try to obtain a second nationality or to become a citizen of another country?
Obtaining a second passport can prove to be extremely useful for various reasons.
For example, certain people hold an undesirable passport which restricts them to travel hassle-free. Typically, each time they want to leave their country, they need to apply for an entry visa of the country of destination, which costs both time and money. A second passport can then enable the holder to gain visa-free entry into a large number of countries.
Next, a second passport can prove useful for people who want to access financial services abroad, but are restricted in doing so because they’re holding the ‘wrong’ passport. For example, it’s common now that US citizens wanting to set-up an offshore company or wanting to open a bank account are refused (thanks to the FATCA legislation).
In the third place, a second passport could possibly save your life when the country which issued your first passport is politically instable or at war with other countries.
Finally, a second passport can also prove useful for tax planning purposes. For example, US citizens are taxed on their worldwide income in the USA, even if they live outside the USA. Increasingly more US citizens renounce US citizenship once they obtained a second passport, with this second passport being the key for them to reduce their tax burden!
Obtaining a second passport can be accomplished in various ways. In some countries, it’s possible to acquire citizenship through ancestry. Another way to acquire citizenship is through naturalisation: some countries grant the possibility to apply for citizenship once you’ve been a resident for a certain period. Another method to acquire citizenship is to ‘buy’ a second passport through a citizenship-by-investment programme.
You can read more detailed information by clicking on the links below. Each of the following countries offers opportunities to acquire a second passport.
Do not hesitate to contact us if you would like us to match your personal situation with an appropriate country and second passport programme.