US citizenship abroad: the hidden costs and why some expats walk away

For Americans living abroad, US citizenship can come with unexpected restrictions, from banking problems and mortgage issues to business ownership challenges and complex US tax reporting.

Richard Taylor, dual UK/US citizen and Chartered Financial Planner at Plan First Wealth, is joined by Dan Brotman, Global Mobility Specialist, and Marko Peck, investment migration advisor, for a conversation on cross border financial planning, expat tax advice, and what it really means to build more options into your life as an expat.

Marko shares why he renounced his US citizenship, what the process looked like, and how life changed afterwards. Dan and Marko also explain why citizenship and residency are not the same thing, and how this impacts traveling to the US, traveling globally, and long-term planning for internationally mobile individuals.

They also explore international wealth strategy through second passports, including citizenship by descent and citizenship by investment, as well as the growing importance of diversification for expat retirement planning and long-term financial growth.

If you are a British expat, an American abroad, or someone thinking about your next move internationally, this episode offers practical financial advice and insight into how to navigate an increasingly complex global landscape.

—

Expat Wealth is supported by Plan First Wealth. Plan First Wealth is a Registered Investment Advisor serving fellow expatriates and immigrants living across the US on matters such as retirement planning, investment management, tax planning and non-US asset management.

https://planfirstwealth.com/

 

Expat Wealth is affiliated with Plan First Wealth LLC, an SEC registered investment advisor. The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Plan First Wealth.  

 

Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Be sure to first consult with a qualified financial adviser and/or tax professional before implementing any strategy discussed herein. Plan First Wealth does not provide any tax and/or legal advice and strongly recommends that listeners seek their own advice in these areas.

 

ABOUT RICHARD:

Richard Taylor is a British expat, dual citizen (UK & US). Originally from Bolton, he now lives in Greenwich, CT, where Plan First Wealth has its head office.

As the firm’s leader, Richard launched Taylor & Taylor, now Plan First Wealth, and continues to fuel the firm’s growth. Richard is a Chartered Financial Planner (UK – CII) in addition to holding the IMC (CFA UK) and Series 65 (US – FINRA).

Connect with Richard on LinkedIn

TRANSCRIPT:

TRANSCRIPT:

Marko Peck:

[00:00:00 – 00:00:08] I renounced my American citizenship about 10 years ago. Thousands of people every year renounce their American citizenship and it’s almost always for the same reason. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:00:09 – 00:00:22] Living outside of America with an American passport is akin to having a disability between you. You are. You have seven passports and one US Renunciation. You really are the passport nerd. Love it. 

 

Dan Brotman:

[00:00:22 – 00:00:26] And we’re also not finished because I’m only 39 and who knows where I’ll be living in the future. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:00:28 – 00:02:05] Welcome to Expat Wealth, a Plan first wealth podcast dedicated to helping ambitious expatriates in America and Americans overseas thrive. I’m your host Richard Taylor, and Plan first wealth is the business I founded and run today and we work with successful expatriates, immigrants and internationally minded Americans to make the most of their opportunity and avoid the expat landmines. First, a quick disclaimer. While Plan First Wealth LLC is an SEC registered investment Advisor, the views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views and positions of Plan First Wealth. Information presented is for educational purposes only. Now, if you aren’t already receiving our emails, please go to our website, www.planfirstwealth.com and sign up there. It’s free and you’ll be notified every time we drop a new episode and so much more. Okay, let’s get back to this week’s show. Welcome back to Expat Wealth. Today I am back with Dan Brotman, global mobility specialist for the second part of our conversation on bas all things expat and immigrant. If you haven’t already, I’d urge you to go back and listen to part one, which is episode 84, where we get into Dan’s background as the holder of four passports, why you should consider moving abroad or just acquiring more options and how to go about it. And today for part two we have a twofer with Dan is his colleague Marco Peck, who has his own fascinating story to tell, including renouncing his U.S. citizenship. And we are going to resume our conversation, including a discussion on the shifting landscape for residents and citizenship options. Hi Dan, Dan and Marco, welcome back. 

 

Dan Brotman:

[00:02:05 – 00:02:06] It’s good to be here. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:02:06 – 00:02:07] Thank you. Great to be here. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:02:07 – 00:02:16] Very well, Dan, we know who you are and if you don’t, people go Back to episode 84 and hear Dan’s story. But Marco, will you please introduce yourself, Tell us a bit about you. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:02:16 – 00:02:35] Sure. I live in Zurich, Switzerland. These days I’m a professional in the investment, migration and immigration advisory industry. I grew up going back and forth between Finland and The United States. So I’m, as they say, a third culture guy. I don’t really come from any one country. I’m a mix of countries. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:02:35 – 00:02:39] Finland and the US as well. That’s two different cultures. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:02:39 – 00:03:23] Very different. Very different in the us, in the Boston area, so same as Dan. And then in Finland, in the south of Finland. But that’s really the beginnings of my interest in immigration and investment migration later. Because when you grow up going back and forth between places, this is kind of natural that the world is big and there are a lot of different kinds of places in it. So that’s really at the core of why I’m interested in the field and how I developed expertise in it. But as an adult, starting in my early 20s, I’ve also lived in several more countries and I hold several citizenships today. And I really see myself as a person of the world rather than a person from any one place. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:03:23 – 00:03:25] What citizenships do you hold? 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:03:25 – 00:03:37] I have two European ones and one not European one. And I’m a little private about naming them, but I’ll just leave it that, yeah, I have two European and one non European. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:03:37 – 00:03:39] Are these ones you’ve acquired on your travels? 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:03:39 – 00:03:42] So they’re all by blood? They’re all by descent. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:03:42 – 00:03:42] Okay, great. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:03:42 – 00:03:51] Yeah. But I did have to go through procedures to actually acquire them. I didn’t have them all since I was born. I had to go through the formal procedures of actually claiming them. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:03:51 – 00:03:56] Okay, great. And notably absent from that was the U.S. yes. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:03:56 – 00:06:04] So I did formerly have the U.S. as well. So starting with. You could say starting with far, but not really because they didn’t all exist at the same time. But yeah, I renounced my American citizenship about 10 years ago. Everyone is always curious about why, but it’s a very common story. Thousands of people every year renounce their American citizenship. And it’s almost always for the same reason, which is that banks do not like to have American citizen clients. And if you have made your life outside of the United States, most banks will not, for example, give you a mortgage or allow you to have a business account or a brokerage account or a tax advantaged savings account. Basically, you can have a checking account and that’s about it. And the more compliant the country, the more limited your options will be if you’re an American citizen. So, for example, in the European Union and EFTA countries, you are effectively banned for life from entrepreneurship because you can sure register a business, but no bank will open a business account for a U.S. person owned or controlled corporation. So you can’t be involved in any business. I mean even being a controlling non owner. So being a CEO or being a chairman of the board, for example, this can expose a company and its banking to all of the US regulations. And then the bank will say, well we don’t want to do business with your company. So for me the last straw was I learned at the time I lived in Finland and at the time I wanted to start my first business and I also wanted to get my first mortgage. And I learned I could do neither because I had US citizenship. And that was really the last straw for me. But even before that I couldn’t get a credit card from any bank in Finland because that’s also a debt instrument. And the Finnish banks, like most in Europe, would not want to give those to a U.S. citizen because it’s a reportable event when you’re paying off debt. So yeah, I had all those restrictions. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:06:04 – 00:06:41] That is something that is spectacularly misunderstood. No one knows that. What you mentioned about we’ve had a client recently who refinanced an interest only UK mortgage and got hit with a tax bill because of it. People cannot comprehend this until they experience it. It’s just abstract and like oh yeah, I’m sure that sounds terrible but I’d work it out. But until you. Actually I’ve been on a call where a tax attorney, a US tax attorney has described living outside of America with an American passport as akin to having a disability. That’s how, that’s how draconian. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:06:41 – 00:06:41] I agree. 

 

Dan Brotman:

[00:06:41 – 00:06:43] Yeah, I agree. It’s wild. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:06:43 – 00:07:43] And there’s a really like you said, there’s a lot of misunderstandings about it because for example, people will often say, oh well, why don’t you just have your investments and your banking in the US well it’s a catch 22 because then you end up in the opposite situation where everything that you have in the U.S. for example, let’s say you have an IRA account in the U.S. that’s a tax advantaged account in the U.S. well in the country you live in that won’t be recognized. So everything that happens inside the IRA will be reportable and taxable in the place where you live. And then you end up in an equally terrible situation where it’s very difficult to do the reporting properly and you will be taxed on that. Even if it’s not taxed in the US it’ll be taxed in the country where you live. So there’s no way to deal with this reporting in any kind of efficient way. And then there’s this. The bottom line is there’s this discrimination that you don’t have access to all the same things. And it really is like a disability. Many American banks won’t do business with an American who lives abroad as well. So. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:07:44 – 00:07:55] Yeah, but despite all that, and I hear everything you just said, I leave this world, you are still the first person I met who’s actually pulled the trigger, who’s actually done it. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:07:55 – 00:08:32] Yeah, it is a big thing. It depends on the jurisdiction where you meet people that have done it more than other jurisdictions. Like in Switzerland, it’s very common that people renounce their American citizenship because the banks are so highly compliant. In Switzerland, there’s only one bank out of the dozens, ubs, that will even open a checking account. Among commercial banks, there’s the Post bank that will open an account for an American. But it’s not very ideal. So among the commercial banks, it’s just one that will offer anything to an American. So places where it’s more restrictive, people are more likely to renounce because they want to have a normal life. 

 

Dan Brotman:

[00:08:33 – 00:11:41] I think, though, the bigger picture, though, is that you cannot even begin to think about renouncing your U.S. citizenship unless you have another citizenship because you can’t be rendered stateless. So I think part of what Marco and I are so passionate about is talking to people about what their options are. You know, many people. I mean, a common, you know, reaction that Marco and I often get from people is, is dual citizenship even allowed? People just don’t know the basics about obtaining another citizenship. And as we discussed last time, there are three main ways to do it. One way is to physically immigrate to another country and eventually naturalize. That’s what I’m. Richard, you and I did, and you did it in the US I did it in Canada. The second way is through ancestry, which Marco just alluded to. He’s gotten citizenships through ancestry. And the third way is citizenship by investment. And I think that it’s important to talk also about the citizenship by investment industry and how it works, because when you meet with someone in the industry, our industry is incentivized by commission. So when you’re meeting with an advisor in the investment migration industry, they’re not incentivized to tell you, for example, oh, did you know that you’re actually eligible for Italian citizenship through your grandparent? They get no commission from that. So when you’re speaking to an advisor in cbi, they’ll probably be pushing a program onto you where they’ll be getting a commission. But There might be a cheaper and faster way for you to obtain another citizenship. So Marco and I, we dub ourselves the passport nerds. We’ve got seven citizenships between us. We’re both US born. We like to look holistically when we talk to people and really advise them in an ethical manner. What are their options? What’s the cheapest and fastest way to do it. Sometimes it’s ancestry, sometimes it is citizenship by investment. But it really depends on their specific situation. The one other thing I was just going to mention, and I’m sure, Marco, you have a lot to say about this, is understanding that in the citizenship by investment industry, you have the manufacturer and you have the reseller. So that’s two ways to look at it. And when you’re speaking to someone in the industry, it’s important to understand if you’re speaking to a manufacturer or a reseller. So when I say a manufacturer, that’s someone who holds a direct license with a government to manage a program. Not everyone has a license. That’s the manufacturer. The reseller is someone who is an entity that’s a marketing agent. So they don’t hold the license. So they take a commission or an advisory fee. They then transfer your file to the middleman that has the license. So you’re dealing with several middlemen and each middleman is getting a different commission. So it’s good to go to a manufacturer if you know exactly the product that you want. You know that Malta is exactly the program that you need. You do not need to consider anything else. It is better to go to a reseller if you’re not sure what your options are and you want someone to present all of the options. Marco, what am I missing in terms of how the industry works? 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:11:41 – 00:11:58] Yeah, no, that’s. That’s very, very correct. And yeah, for example, I have direct licenses from two countries in Africa, Sao Tome and Principe and Sierra Leone. And I offer those programs because I genuinely like them. I would be happy to have those citizenships myself. I think they’re great programs. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:11:58 – 00:12:00] In that example, you’re the manufacturer. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:12:00 – 00:13:33] Yeah, I have a direct license from the government. Yeah. I would also add that there are some major differences between citizenship by investment programs in that in some countries you’re really a second class citizen. So, for example, in the Caribbean countries, you’re not equal in any of them to a citizen by descent or by birth. You’re solely in those countries. So, for example, in some of them you’d have to pay an additional fee to pass on your citizenship in St. Kitts and Nevis, you’re actually subject to due diligence every time you renew your passport. It’s not clear, you know, if they could take away your citizenship, but you’re subject to due diligence and there’s a lot of lack of clarity. You’re certainly not equal to a regular citizen there. And in others you can’t vote or you need to pay an exorbitant fee to receive, renew your passport that an ordinary citizen by descent is not. So these I think are very important and they’re not talked about much in the industry that there are huge differences like this between programs. One of the reasons I like the African programs is that you are an ordinary fully fledged citizen. There’s no discrimination, there’s no second class citizenship. And like Dan said, the citizenship by dissent programs are also not talked about much by people in our business because of course the commissions are a lot less for that. But that’s the first thing you want to talk about with people is their ancestry because that’s the way you can get quite easily and cheaply. A great passport is by descent. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:13:34 – 00:13:48] Just before we get into these different options and the changes, can we just, Marca, can we just go back to you talk about the process of giving up your citizenship and then that what happened afterwards? Like, what’s the last 10 years been like after you gave it up? 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:13:48 – 00:15:11] Sure, sure. So, yeah, so the procedure was now I should say today they’ve made it much more difficult because there’s so much more demand for renunciation. But back then, almost 10 years ago, it was quite simple. It took me about six months. I just had one appointment at the embassy. I had to take an oath and then I waited to receive the certificate by mail. And that certificate is extremely important because for the rest of my life, every time I open a bank account anywhere on earth, I have to show my certificate of loss of nationality as proof that, that I’m, you know, a normal, a normal eligible person to open an account and not subject to any American reporting obligations. So that’s, you only get one. So you need to take very good care of this piece of paper. But yeah, after that. There’s a big misconception that if you visit the US after you’ve renounced that you’re going to be somehow mistreated. No, they really don’t care. Of course you need to have a good passport to visit the US on. But that would apply in any case. But you really are treated like any other foreigner. And I always visit the US with My Finnish passport. And I’ve been visiting for close to 10 years, several times a year. And I’ve never so much as been asked about being a former citizen or having given up my citizenship. It’s never even come up. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:15:12 – 00:16:01] The process was relatively easy. I’m sure it’s changed. I know there’s a bit of a backlog, but, but, but broadly, relatively easy. And I just want to highlight people, we have done episodes on giving up your citizenship and giving up green cards. Please go back and listen to them, particularly if you’ve been here for a while. There can be addition. There is, there’s a separate process for, for severing your tax obligations than there is from actual citizenship. So people be careful, but it’s not too challenging. And 10 years on, you’ve been back and forth to the US lots. No regrets, you know. No. Yeah. How did it feel? Yeah. Right. So. So you, you’ve both got multiple citizenships. You know what? It’s like that when you get another citizenship. It’s a special moment. It really is. Something does change inside of you. When you gave it up, did. Did you feel anything? Did you feel the opposite of that? Did you. Did he feel a moment of like,. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:16:01 – 00:16:30] Oh, I felt free. I felt that, you know, now I can finally, I can finally get a mortgage and get a credit car, all these other things, start a business. All these other things that I, that I had been wanting to do, but I hadn’t done because I wasn’t able to. So, yeah, it was very positive and I went ahead and did those things and that’s, you know, the rest is history. That’s when I began my, really, my independent life as an adult. So, yeah. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:16:34 – 00:16:44] So between you, you have seven passports and one US Renunciation. You really are passport nerds. I love it. Right. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:16:45 – 00:16:50] And we’re not finished because I applied, I applied for Italian last year, so I’m getting back to Forest. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:16:50 – 00:16:51] Good. All right. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:16:51 – 00:16:51] Good. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:16:51 – 00:16:52] Yeah, you got. Yeah. 

 

Dan Brotman:

[00:16:52 – 00:16:56] And we’re also not finished because I’m only 39 and who knows where I’ll be living. Good. Yeah. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:16:56 – 00:16:57] We’re just beginning. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:16:57 – 00:16:59] Right, right. And I’m 35, so we have time. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:16:59 – 00:17:01] I’m 42. I lose this argument. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:17:01 – 00:17:01] Yeah. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:17:01 – 00:18:07] Right. So, Dan, after our last conversation, I was just telling you, you got me, you got me looking into. Is it Mercosur? You know, we talked about this Argentinian program that I see is still not up and running, but they make. They’ve just appointed someone, haven’t they? But it’s definitely happening. I got to Be honest with you, my world is mostly people coming from the UK and Europe to America, but also Americans going to Europe. I never really looked at, never really considered South America. But like they’re learning about this Mercosur region and the strength of, the potential strength of the Argentinian option, the way it can get you into Spain and, and for anyone listen, listening. Mercosur is this region in South America, much like European Union. But by having a passport in one of these countries you can live in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, right? I mean, huge swaths of fantastic, part of, part of the world. So you’ve really got me like I’ve started looking, I’ve started as we always do in this world where you start like, oh, could I live there? Could I do this? Do you see? Many people do Amer, are Americans going to South America? 

 

Dan Brotman:

[00:18:08 – 00:19:19] Well, so it’s interesting, I was in Buenos Aires last summer. Argentina has become incredibly expensive. So I, you know, Milei cut inflation and I found the prices in Buenos Aires match New York now. So I think that, you know, prior to Milei cutting inflation, Argentina was considered a very affordable place for retirement for digital nomads to work from. That has very much changed in the past year. Certainly when I was there, I mean, I remember I went and I got like a small piece pizza and a Coke and it was 30 US dollars. So I, I was like, this place is not a bargain anymore. So I don’t think that, I think that, you know, there’s, there’s a lot of variety in South America. I mean, I was, you know, last summer I was in Argentina, I was in Peru, Ecuador. They very much vary in price. I think what’s interesting though is we are the, the whole citizenship by investment space is changing. I think we mentioned last time that we’re basically waiting for the Caribbean citizenship by investment countries to lose their Schengen access. We’re anticipating that that could happen this year. The EU is constantly threatening that they’re going to take away Schengen access. They don’t like citizenship by investment. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:19:19 – 00:19:42] Dan, correct me if I’m wrong, right? But from what the research I’d already done, by research, I mean I am on the periphery of this industry. I’m in a related profession. I know plenty of people on LinkedIn who are in this. So I watch it from afar. From what I’ve seen in the news on LinkedIn and following my conversation, for me, the Caribbean’s done right. You’d be crazy to go and get Caribbean citizenship, wouldn’t you? 

 

Dan Brotman:

[00:19:43 – 00:22:30] Well, I think that you’ve got limited and Marco, you can chip in. I mean, I think, I think that the part of the issue right now is there are fewer and fewer countries that offer citizenship by investment. So, you know, that’s really not possible in Europe anymore with a few very small exceptions. And so really, if you want citizenship by investment, there’s five countries in the Caribbean. There are, you know, probably two countries in Africa, a few countries in the South Pacific. You don’t actually have a lot to choose from. So I think that the Caribbean as of right now is still a viable option, but I think that they’re going to lose a lot of value once they lose their Schengen access, if that happens this year. And they’re basically going to become overpriced passports. So if you’re paying upwards of $250,000 for a Caribbean passport, but then it loses 40% of its access, visa free access to the rest of the world, theoretically the price should be reduced by 40%. So the question is, do you want to pay full price right now knowing that it’s probably soon going to be losing 40% of its access to the visa free access to the world? So I think that there’s a big question about the Caribbean. What’s going to happen? They also are, we’re also waiting for further changes where they’re introducing a mandatory residency requirement where you’re going to be required to spend, I believe it’s 30 days there in the country where you’re obtaining citizenship by investment, I believe within the first five years. There’s also, they’re also looking at introducing things like citizenship tests, civic courses. So they’re introducing more and more requirements at a time when they’re at risk of losing visa free access. 40% Of their visa free access, including to the Schengen area. So I think there’s a big question with the Caribbean. I think there’s a lot of stigma with Africa, which I’m sure Marco wants to speak about, but Africa actually has some very attractive CBI programs right now. I think the South Pacific programs are problematic because they’re viewed the least favorably within the citizenship by investment industry. There’s been a lot of scandal related to South Pacific programs. And the big program that we’re waiting on right now is Argentina. So Argentine, the Argentine government had awarded a bid to a consortium of four companies to manage their program that was challenged by competitors in the industry. That bid and Argentina canceled the bid. And so they, they, a few days ago, I believe they, they appointed internally a director for Their citizenship, Future Citizenship by Investment program, but we don’t yet know. Are they going to run it internally? Are they going to outsource it? The. What I understand, and this is not confirmed, is that it’s going to cost about $500,000 and it’s going to be a direct donation to the government, not an investment. But the program doesn’t exist. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:22:30 – 00:22:36] So you’re saying not going to be an investment. It’s going to be goodbye to half a million dollars. Is that per person or is that for a family? 

 

Dan Brotman:

[00:22:36 – 00:23:12] We don’t know yet. We don’t know yet. But I don’t anticipate that for a single person, it would be under $500,000. And I think you would need to be prepared to say goodbye to it now. Not everyone has 500 grand to part with. And that’s where Caribbean and African programs might be more attractive. And I think, I mean, Marco, you and I talk about this a lot. You know, especially in our industry, commissions are often the same whether you’re selling a citizenship or a residency program. But there are major differences people need to think about. I mean, when you’re advising someone, Marco, citizenship or residency? Permanent residency. What are your thoughts around that? 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:23:12 – 00:24:02] Yeah, so citizenship is, is right of abode. It’s. It’s unconditional. If you have citizenship, you have the right to, to be somewhere unconditionally. Residency can always be revoked. And also the rules around naturalization on the basis of residency can always change. And that relates to some of the recent events that we’ve seen. Just in the last week, we saw both Portugal and Sweden change the requirements for naturalization. People should never assume that being a resident guarantees you a path to become a citizen. So anyway, if you care about the right to be somewhere unconditionally, then citizenship is the way to go. If it’s a plan B or C option where you just value being able to live somewhere as a secondary, then residency might be the best choice. 

 

Dan Brotman:

[00:24:02 – 00:24:52] That I think that the other thing to keep in mind is that, you know, the government has the right to cancel your passport or to not renew your passport. So let’s say you have a child support dispute or you have a dispute with the irs. The US Government doesn’t necessarily have to issue you with a new passport without it. Without a valid passport, you cannot board an international flight, and a residence permit is not going to suffice to board an international flight without a valid passport. So generally speaking, commissions aside, I would say the. The correct order would be start with another citizenship and Then if you want to add a residency to that, that’s fine. But I would definitely start with another citizenship because you want to imagine the worst case scenario where your passport’s not renewed and you, you need to board. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:24:52 – 00:25:05] You know, I’d never, I hadn’t actually made that connection. I believe they can, they can, they can do that in America over something as small as like a $50,000 dispute as well over your tax bill. They can withhold your passport. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:25:05 – 00:27:12] I would just add to some of the things Dan was saying earlier, that it related to Mercosur, related to citizenship in general, is that we really. So the old way of thinking is passports for visa free travel. Travel, right, you get a passport and you use that to travel around the world. The focus now is increasingly on blocks where you have a much, much greater degree of power. So for example, among MERCOSUR countries, it’s not quite, for example, the same degree of free movement as the eu. There are some minor conditions you need to show, for example, a proof of no criminal record to live in another MERCOSUR country. But you do have a large degree of free movement and that’s one of the many blocs in the world. The European Union is one such free movement bloc. But then you have mercosur, you have ecowas, and you have several others around the world where you can exercise free movement if you’re a citizen of one of the member countries. And this is another strike against the Caribbean because yes, they do actually have their own bloc caricom between Caribbean island nations, but these are very small and they don’t have much international influence. So they’re not able to really stick it to the eu. For example, when it comes to these discussions about, in a sense, threats from the EU that, you know, you need to impose a residency requirement or whatever the next requirement is that they, that they come up with to preserve visa free access. That’s not going to happen with, for example, americosaur, which is, you know, hundreds of millions of people. So block thinking is, I think, very important. Now in Africa you have the ECOWAS bloc that Sierra Leone is a member of. It’s about 430 million people. 12 Countries though this is a pretty, pretty significant bloc in the world. It’s the size of almost the size of Europe in terms of population. So, yeah, being a citizen of a powerful bloc is important. And I would say, I would argue it’s more important than the number of countries you can travel to as a tourist on the passport. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:27:12 – 00:27:18] This conversation pains me because I used to be A member of an important block. And then Brexit happened. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:27:19 – 00:27:21] Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:27:21 – 00:27:21] But. 

 

Dan Brotman:

[00:27:21 – 00:27:24] And you don’t. And you don’t have an Irish grandparent. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:27:24 – 00:27:38] I don’t have an Irish grandparent. Although I did learn our conversation spurned set me off in many different directions. And what I have since learned is I did not know this. As a British citizen, I can live in Ireland and then after five years,. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:27:38 – 00:27:40] Yeah, you can cta. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:27:40 – 00:29:19] I was completely. And that apparently is the old, one of the oldest blocks in the world. It predates European Union and others. So I could, as a Britishness, I can live in Ireland and work in Ireland without getting a visa. And after five years I would qualify for residence and then citizenship. So that, that could be a way. And I actually went and told my wife about that because 10 years on I’m still bitter about, for so many reasons I’m bitter about Brexit. But one of them is that we lost that ability, that right to a free movement. And I’ll tell you, once you’ve had that and had it taken away, you will understand how valuable, important, meaningful that is. And I really feel that. I’m excited to announce that Expat wealth has its first sponsor, the Global Financial Planning Institute. The GFPI exists to provide education, community tools, resources and ongoing research for financial planners and other advanced financial professionals working with international and cross border clients in the US And Americans abroad. I’m a GFP Institute fellow and I’ve put all our employees through their GFPI programs when they join us. I’ve met some great people. I’ve learned a ton. It’s a genuine community of internationally minded folk doing their best to serve their clients properly and critically sharing what they know in the oftentimes challenging and ambiguous US Cross border environment. And as anyone in this sector will tell you, you’re always learning. So if you work with international clients and or Americans abroad or, or if this is an area you’re looking to get into, check out the gfpi@www.gfp.in stute you will be glad you did and I hope to see you there soon. 

 

Dan Brotman:

[00:29:20 – 00:31:13] Many people don’t realize that Americans, Canadians and Mexicans are part of a bloc. It’s not like Schengen per se, but you know, we have USMCA or in Canada we call it Kuzma. So many people, for example, they move to Canada, they become Canadian citizens, citizens and then with if they’re a professional with a degree and they get a valid job offer in the U.S. it’s a very simplified process for a Canadian citizen to get a work permit in the US under usmca. It’s not a path to permanent residency, but it allows you to work in the country. The reverse is true for Americans that want to come work in Canada. So there, there is a type of block within North America. You know, I was interesting, I, last week I attended Bitcoin. Bitcoin 2026. It’s one of the largest bitcoin conferences, if not the largest bitcoin conference in the us it was in Las Vegas. And you know, everyone at this conference is talking about, you know, sovereignty, you know, self sovereignty. And you know, we don’t want the government to be able to interfere with our bank accounts. We don’t want to be, you know, in the banking system. We don’t want the government to be able to touch our money. But as soon as I started speaking to them about, you know, well, that’s great that your money is independent of the banking system. What happens if the government doesn’t renew your passport? How are you going to be independent of the government? It hadn’t even crossed their mind. I think there’s such an emphasis on the monetary system and there’s not enough of an emphasis on the physical self and that you don’t want to put your entire physical well being in the hands of one government, which again, you could be in a, in a cafca situation where you can’t get a passport renewed and you’re stuck. So I think it’s like you want to diversify your finances, but you want to diversify your life too. In your physical, your ability to physically move around the world. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:31:13 – 00:32:51] It’s really the most important thing. You should start with that, actually. I mean, that’s the base of the pyramid of your, you know, the security of your life is your citizenships. So it is surprising how people often go straight to the diversifying their finances, let’s say. But they don’t start with this, which is at really a lower level, more foundational. I was just gonna add that like, related to the renunciation planning that I was mentioning before, which citizenships you have, it’s so important if you plan to renounce your American and for example, if you have Canadian, you’re extremely well positioned if you renounce your American citizenship because you don’t need an S for the US So you don’t even need this ETA that’s normally required of, let’s say, Europeans, including myself. And you could actually go work and live in the US on a TN visa. Quite Easily if you later wanted to go live and work in the US and that’s a non immigrant visa, which is a, it’s a good thing because you can terminate it and end tax obligations to the U.S. if, if you later, you know, would do that, you’d go, spend some time there and then leave again. It’s very easy to start and end. So that’s just one example of how somebody wanted to have the option to renounce in the future. Having a Canadian passport is really the best. Having a European one is second best. And then you really have to consider, well, if you have others, how are they going to affect any future access to the US you don’t want to have any undesirable nationality if you want to be able to return for any reason, be it as a tourist or, or to work. So those are all considerations. 

 

Dan Brotman:

[00:32:52 – 00:33:48] And for example, there are certain CBI countries now that are on the, you know, the U.S. has an expanded travel ban list of 75 countries. There are CBI countries that are on that list. So for some nationalities, they’re not being granted tourist visas to the US or extremely, extremely limited tourist visas, like maybe one entry and you need to enter, you know, very quickly. So I think, you know, going back to Marco’s point, it’s not enough to just get another citizenship. If you, if you’re going to renounce your U.S. citizenship, you really need to think, is the, Is my default citizenship that’s going to become my only citizenship, going to grant me access to the US what’s the likelihood of getting a US B1, B2 tourist visa on that passport? Is it at risk of a travel ban? Would that prevent me then from seeing my family? I think one has to think very, very carefully about renouncing and what your default citizenship is going to become. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:33:48 – 00:34:01] Well, I’ll tell you what, then. Let’s use that as a springboard. So, Marco, you mentioned before you represent a couple of African programs. Tell us about those. Sure. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:34:01 – 00:34:04] Yeah. Sierra Leone and Sao Tome and Principe. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:34:04 – 00:34:08] Wait, Sierra Leone. I know, obviously. What’s the other one? Sorry. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:34:10 – 00:34:40] It is a small island nation off the coast of West Africa. It’s a former Portuguese colony. It gained independence from Portugal in 1975. And it’s a very interesting country. I’ve been there. I’ve visited there myself. And it’s the newest CBI program in the world. So it launched in September of last year. And it’s also the cheapest program program in the world currently. So for a single applicant, it’s a donation of $90,000. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:34:40 – 00:34:54] So, you know, so. So to Dan’s point before about you got to think about if you renounce, let’s just say US citizenship, for example, what’s would those passports get you? Would they be problematic coming into the U.S. would you want to have others as well? 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:34:54 – 00:37:27] You would definitely want to have others. You would not want to be applying for a US Visa. Of course you would need a US Visa. Those two do not have visa free access or esta access to the US So you would need a visa on those. I wouldn’t suggest that anybody gets those and renounces their American citizenship. So the main demographic of people who are getting those passports are Europeans and Americans, people who already have a passport that gains them access to, for example, the U.S. but Western countries in general. So the reason why people are getting African passports is they’re geopolitically different. It’s a great diversification. If you are Canadian, American or European, getting, for example, a Caribbean passport doesn’t make any sense because it doesn’t gain you any meaningful additional access. And it’s geopolitically very correlated. It’s very much within the North American sphere of influence. Africa is very different. Africa does things their own way. Africa is increasingly, you know, autonomous. They increasingly want to exercise their own sovereignty and make their own international relations independent of what Europe and North America is doing. And that is a great geopolitical diversifier. So, you know, currently I’m working with several Europeans who are getting the South Omen citizenship because for them it’s a diversifier. But the thing that I think is really notable about Sao Tome is it’s not just one island nation, but it’s also a member of the cplp, which is one of these blocs in the world that’s the association of Portuguese Language Countries. And this association, they have a framework in place where they actually allow citizens of member states to get a special visa in each other’s countries called the CPLP visa. So a citizen of so Tome can actually go to Brazil and live in Brazil on a CPLP visa, which is not dependent on work, not dependent on investment. It’s simply being a citizen of a CPLP country. You do have to apply for it and be accepted, but it’s a very simple procedure. You just need to show a proof of no criminal record record and that’s it. So very similar to the MERCOSUR free movement between MERCOSUR member countries. And you can also go live in Portugal. That’s obviously not relevant for the Europeans, but it could very Much be relevant for, let’s say a Canadian or American who gets the South Dolman citizenship and wants to go live in Portugal. 

 

Dan Brotman:

[00:37:27 – 00:37:55] Well, as an American who became an African, because that’s what I am. I mean, I can say that I have a diversified geopolitical portfolio. So I became a citizen of South Africa, which is part of brics. So for example, I have, you know, I have visa free access to Russia, for example, to Brazil, which. Which Americans don’t have visa free access to either. I believe it’s with my. If I get a visa to India, it’s free. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:37:55 – 00:38:14] Wait, BRICS is an actual block. I. I’m familiar with bricks because when I started out in this profession, it was. Bricks was all the rage before the world crashed in 2008. Brics was the up and coming investment strategy. I didn’t realize it was an actual block. I just thought it was an investment. Wow. 

 

Dan Brotman:

[00:38:15 – 00:38:21] Well, I would say it’s more of a geopolitical block. So it’s positioning itself to be a counterweight. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:38:21 – 00:38:30] Totally. But I thought it was just purely like an investment thesis. It’s actually a thing with some reciprocal benefits. I have learned something new today. 

 

Dan Brotman:

[00:38:30 – 00:40:27] Well, for, I mean, certainly to visit each other’s countries. But again, you know, for example, I’ve been to North Korea. I went to. Americans are not allowed to go to North Korea. South Africa has full diplomatic relations with North Korea. So I have. I was able to visit Iran and get a visa on arrival. An American or a Canadian wouldn’t be able to do that. So for me, you know, I like the fact that I have, you know, as an American and a Canadian, very solid, A very solid foothold in the West. But also there’s a whole nother geopolitical block in the world and I’m a citizen of that too. And I have access to that. So I like having both. I would not want to. Going back to Marco’s point, I wouldn’t want to just be in this world purely as a South African. That’s quite a weak passport. But. But to have a South African passport that complements my Western passports, that really allows me to move very, very freely. It allows me to go to places in the world that America, where Americans or other Westerners would face enormous hostility. And I like having that kind of access. I also think, just going back to cbi, I think it’s important to note that there are certain countries which cannot get visas to the US right now that offer cbi. So you would really want to keep that in mind. So for example, Citizens of Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone has a CBI program. They cannot obtain any kind of visa to the US Right now. And if you’re looking at just tourist visas, like, let’s say you’re thinking of renouncing Antigua and Barbuda as well as Dominica. Those are two of the five Caribbean CBI countries. They cannot obtain visitor visas to the U.S. so you just want to be very, very strategic. I. I think the minority of listeners are thinking about renouncing. I think for most people, they want to stay American. That’s what I did. I stayed American. But I added. And so that I didn’t have to think about being able to enter the U.S. i just thought about where else in the world do I want to have access to. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:40:28 – 00:40:53] It’s really about building a portfolio, a portfolio of citizenships that have different access. So, yeah, many Westerners don’t know this, but it’s actually very difficult for Europeans and North Americans to get visas for a lot of countries in Africa. So if you have any African passport that actually unlocks a lot of countries there that you can access, you could visit. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:40:53 – 00:41:28] It’s a complacency because we’ve grown up with, you know, with these strong passports and, you know, we. We have like a. I think complacency is the right word. We think the world’s never going to change. West’s always, always going to be on top. And as you get older and you start, you realize how fragile everything really is and how things. And how quickly things change not always in your favor or for the better. I think you become less secure, less complacent, or some of us do anyway, and realize the value in diversification simply of all sorts. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:41:31 – 00:42:26] I want to add, Dan and I are both really into traveling. I visited over 140 countries and Dan over 100. So we both like to go to weird places. So we really do. We do use our access to unusual destinations. And this is very relevant. And one of the demographics that is interested in the African cbis, for example, are Americans who want to visit every country in the world because, like dan mentioned, about 75 countries now have been put on this ban list by the US and several of them have done recipients. So, for example, several countries in Africa are now not allowing Americans to visit at all. They won’t give you a visa. You just can’t go. So if you are somebody that wants to visit every country in the world and all you have is American, well, now actually you can’t. So you actually need to acquire another citizenship in order to visit every country. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:42:27 – 00:42:28] Everyone should be thinking about this. 

 

Dan Brotman:

[00:42:28 – 00:43:41] But, and you know, some people say, you know, oh, thinking about other citizens citizenships, this is, this is a rich person’s problem. And, and I would say to that again, not necessarily because if you look at your family tree, you make, you know, million. We spoke about this last time. Millions of Americans are potentially eligible now for Canadian citizenship. All you need to prove is that you had a Canadian ancestor with the correct documentation. So that’s not an expensive process, especially if you have the documents. You have a Canadian grandmother, it’s not expensive. Many people have, you know, an Irish grandparent or maybe a British grandparent. CBI is for people that have money. It’s basically a way to buy your way in. You’re not buying a passport, you’re making an investment, but it’s like sort of pay as you go, but there are less expensive options. And there are also options where you can just go live abroad for several years and eventually naturalize. I mean, it has restrictions, but Argentina, if you comply, Argentina has one of the fastest naturalization processes of a country that offers a strong passport. So, yeah, there’s so many ways to skin this cat. CBI is one of them. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:43:41 – 00:43:58] Dan, you lost me at $30 for Coke and pizza. Dan, let’s talk about, let’s talk about some changes, specifically Portugal. Portugal is red hot right now. Has been for a number of years. It’s changed since we last spoke. Tell us what’s going on. 

 

Dan Brotman:

[00:43:59 – 00:45:19] So we, last time we spoke about a law that was sent to the, it was, it was sent to the president to sign. We didn’t know if the president was going to send it, sign it. We didn’t know if he was going to send it back to the Supreme Court. He just signed it since we last spoke. And basically what the law says, it’s, it, it’s regarding citizenship and naturalization in Portugal. And the way that it previously worked is that if you were a resident in Portugal for five years, after five years you had to pass a language test, but then you were eligible potentially to apply for citizenship that has now been extended to 10 years if you’re not a citizen of a Portuguese speaking block country like we spoke about the blots before with Marco. So let’s say you had invested half, half a million euros to get a golden visa in Portugal and you were four and a half years in. And under the rules in which you applied, you just had six more months to go and then you could pass your language test and apply for your Portuguese citizenship. Well, now this new law says, guess what, we’ve changed the goalpost. Instead of five years, it’s 10 years. So you actually don’t have half a year anymore. You actually have five and a half years now. So they didn’t grandfather in people who were already, you know, who already were obtained residency by. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:45:20 – 00:45:23] That is pretty. That’s like a poke in the eye. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:45:24 – 00:45:50] It’s worse though, because the law change also disqualified the time that you’re waiting for your permit. So it used to be that and the processing time can be very long. It can be several years even. So now let’s say you’re waiting two years to get your initial permit. Those years also don’t count. And then eventually when you’d be eligible to apply for citizenship, the processing time can be a few years. So you’re talking about realistically, you know, 14 plus years. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:45:51 – 00:47:21] And who’s to say it’s not going to change again? Like, this is, I think, I think, I think, I think Portugal is like the poster child right now for, for the wider, I don’t know, warning shot, if you like, which is like, look, popular. Populism is on the rise. Anti, Anti immigration rhetoric is on the rise. There is, there is hostility in multiple countries to immigrants, even like of all colors for different reasons. You know, you’re either, you’re if from a certain part of the world, you’re. You’re accused of changing the, the, the structure and the makeup of a country, or if you’re from a deliberate world, you’re charged with pricing out locals, you know, gentrification. The tide is how much. I don’t know if it’s turning, but like the, the noise is, is gathering pace and it’s gathering. It’s like. And as much as I wish it would change direction, it isn’t, unfortunately. That’s, you know, just change it. That, that’s part this podcast. It started purely honestly as like a contract for me to try and like, educate people on making the most of their opportunity coming or going from America. And it’s turning into like, trying to be a, a mouthpiece for the benefits of this both to the individual and to society writ large. Like, because, because it’s just, it’s just unrelenting negativity right now in a time when I think immigration is a, is a force for good, for, for individuals and for size societies. And I want people to make a bigger deal out of that. And I’ve just gone on about that. I’ve completely lost my train of thought. Oh yeah, that was it. Portugal. 

 

Dan Brotman:

[00:47:21 – 00:49:06] Well, I was just going back. Just going back to Portugal. Yeah. I mean, I would say that it. I would say that it’s not a bad program, but we have to rethink how we approach Portugal. So previously, many people liked the Portugal program because they saw it as a fast way to EU citizenship. Five years, you could get European Union citizenship, live in the rest of the continent. That needs to shift if you’re going to do a golden visa now in Portugal. It should not be a citizenship play. That should not be your end goal. Because as you just said, Richard, you know, within the next 14 years, while you’re on, on this path to Portuguese citizenship, the law could change again. They’re not going to grandfather you in just like they did to the other people. You would do it purely for residency because you actually want to have Portugal specifically as an option, and you don’t want to have to physically spend time there. So Portugal, with their golden visa program, requires you to only spend 14 days there every two years. So there’s a minimal residency requirement. So if you don’t want to live in Portugal, you want the option as a plan B, and you then, then, then the golden visa is still a good program, but don’t do it for citizenship. And if you’re actually looking to live in Portugal, there are less expensive and easier ways to do it. You know, Marco had mentioned that, you know, obtaining Sao Tome citizenship through investment being part of the Portuguese block. There’s a simplified way to reside in Portugal if you actually want to live in Portugal. And there are other types of residency visas in Portugal which are far less expensive than, you know, a half a million euro investment. So it really comes down to what is your intention? Is it to live there, is it not to live there? If it’s a citizenship play, that would not be a smart reason to obtain a golden visa in Portugal. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:49:07 – 00:49:18] And it also makes other programs in Europe more appealing, I think, to a lot of people, because there are plenty of programs in Europe that require far less of a commitment, far less of an investment. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:49:18 – 00:49:19] Do you mean like Malta? 

 

Dan Brotman:

[00:49:19 – 00:49:35] Malta is my favorite program, but the disadvantage of Malta is that, again, it’s not a citizenship play. But yeah, as Marco said, but as Marco said, now that Portugal shouldn’t be seen as a citizenship play, they’re kind of on equal footing. And I think Malta is actually in some ways more attractive active. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:49:35 – 00:49:51] I know, but at least with Portugal, you do still currently have the carrot dangling at the end of the line. I know it could change, but with Malta, that you don’t have that carrot at all. Where’s this going? Do you think this is going to get tighter and tighter and tighter? Do you think. Do you think CBI will exist in 10 years? 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:49:51 – 00:50:50] DBI will exist, but like, immigration in general is becoming more conditional. So also, about a week ago, Sweden changed their naturalization timeline from 5 to 8, 8 years and introduced a number of other conditions. So this is absolutely the trend everywhere, the conventional naturalization, as in residing in a country for a certain amount of time and then applying for citizenship, that this is becoming more and more restricted. But on the other hand, we are seeing new countries in other parts of the world introducing new programs. So in Africa, two programs launched last year, and there’s potentially more in the works because we do know that there are several countries in the world, including a few in Africa, where they’re working on the legislation now to start a new program. So while Europe is absolutely closing, I would say the west in general is closing up, other parts of the world are opening up. So it’s not all the same everywhere. 

 

Dan Brotman:

[00:50:50 – 00:52:18] And again, I mean, the ones that I’m really looking at that I’m waiting on is I’m very excited about Argentina for hopefully when that launches later this year. And also for a while, there’s been talk about Botswana launching a program. My understanding is the legislation doesn’t exist yet, but the intention has been expressed. And as Marco said, there could be other African countries, you know, and again, when you look at African countries, don’t just look at the fact that they’re African countries, look at what groups they belong to. Look at, look at, you know, whether it’s ecowas, whether it’s even the British Commonwealth. So, for example, if you’re an American with a one British grandparent, you may be eligible for something called an ancestral visa, but which allows you to reside in the UK for five years and then apply for indefinite leave to remain. But in order to obtain an ancestral visa, you have to be a citizen of a Commonwealth country. So in a US is not part of the Commonwealth. So, for example, you could obtain citizenship by investment in Sierra Leone, which is part of the British Commonwealth, or in one of the Caribbean CBI countries, and then use that to relocate to the UK on an ancestral visa. As someone who’s originally from the us So I think blocks are important. And again, I think it’s really about talking to someone who really has your best interests at heart, who’s not just driven by a specific commission, but someone who’s really knowledgeable broadly about international migration and about the different paths to migration. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:52:18 – 00:52:27] Well, gents, as we wrap up here, is there anything else you want to add to that? Is there anything else, anything, any other points for us to cover off here? That’s immediately spring to mind, I would say. 

 

Dan Brotman:

[00:52:27 – 00:53:03] I would. Just as a reminder, you know, we’re not, we’re not at the end of history. So Marco and I have, you know, we’ve, as he mentioned, each, him and I have each been to over a hundred countries. We’ve been to many countries that for a long time were in great shape and their fate changed. Places change, people get, People become complacent and people become too comfortable where they live and they think that the situation can never change. And you know, again, again, there are examples of that from Venezuela, which was once the wealthiest country in South America. Did you know that the Concord used to fly to Caracas? 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:53:03 – 00:53:04] I did not know that. 

 

Dan Brotman:

[00:53:05 – 00:53:46] Yeah, they were considered the Saudi Arabia of, of Latin America and, and now they’re arguably the poorest. You know, if you’ve been to, you know, for. I’ve been to Iran. Iran was considered a bastion of the west in the Middle East. Now look what’s happening with Iran. I’m not saying that the United States is going to go the direction of Venezuela or Iran, but again, if you have the family tree or if you have the funds, why not diversify everything in your life, not only your bank accounts and your trusts, but also your person. And there are so many ways to do this, and Marco and I are here to talk to people about it because we ourselves have done it. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:53:46 – 00:54:57] I’ll add one more thing, which is that often I hear people say, yeah, I know I’m eligible for, you know, let’s say Italian citizenship by descent, but I’ll apply for it one day. No, you should apply for it now because countries change their policies for citizenship by descent as well. And if you, if you confirm your citizenship, you have it for life. But a great example of this is just a few months ago, Italy changed their citizenship by descent law, disqualifying millions of people, mostly in the Americas, by putting in a requirement that your ancestor, which can only go back to your grandparent, now needs to have actually lived in Italy or have been born there. So you can’t go back five generations anymore, anymore with Italian citizenship. And it’s just an example that when I hear people say that, I tell them, no, you ought to get it now and have it because then you’ll have it for life and you’ll have that option and the security of having it. But you shouldn’t wait because when everyone wants to get that, you don’t want to be in a position where you’re needing to be rushing to get it, because these procedures take time. And in the meantime time the law could change and you might be made ineligible. 

 

Dan Brotman:

[00:54:57 – 00:55:39] And another example that you know, many people in the US are potentially eligible for, and again, there’s no commission attached to it, is the law Israel’s law of Return. So any person that has one Jewish grandparent can obtain Israeli citizenship under the law of Return as well as their spouse and their children. And even if you don’t reside in Israel long term, you’re you can be issued with an Israeli travel document in lieu of a national passport, which still grants you access to the entire Schengen area, except, I believe, Malta visa free. And again, it means that if your US passport is not renewed or cancelled, even with the Israeli travel document, you can at least get on the plane. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:55:40 – 00:55:45] Yeah, Israeli citizenship by law of return is one of the easiest options for people who have the relevant ancestry. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:55:45 – 00:55:55] Super right. Well, the passport nerds, Dan Brotman and Marco Peck, thank you very much for coming back on. In the case of Dan, back on Expat wealth, where can people find you? 

 

Dan Brotman:

[00:55:55 – 00:56:07] People can find me on LinkedIn, Dan Brotman and I’d be happy to speak to anyone about anything related to passports, residencies and optionality and likewise you can. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:56:07 – 00:56:14] Find me on LinkedIn as well and I’m happy to speak about all these matters, particularly African passports for Westerners. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:56:14 – 00:56:32] Super right. Well guys, listen, can I also just put out there an open invite you please. As things change, if you have updates, if you have information to share, if you want to get into a specific, you know, if you want to come and excel the benefits of Sierra Leone or somewhere else, will you come back on Expat wealth and talk to us about it? 

 

Dan Brotman:

[00:56:32 – 00:56:33] Absolutely. 

 

Marko Peck:

[00:56:33 – 00:56:34] Certainly. Thank you. 

 

Richard Taylor:

[00:56:34 – 00:57:34] Okay, great. Thanks guys. See you soon. All right, folks, that’s another episode of Expat wealth under our belts. Thank you for listening. I appreciate it and I appreciate you. If you’re enjoying the show and would like to support the mission, which is to help ambitious expats thrive in America. I’d ask you to subscribe to the POD wherever you listen and also consider leaving a rating and review. This stuff really does matter. Please help us get this information to the people who need it, that is to your fellow expats. Just a quick reminder that this show is brought to you by Plan First Wealth. We are a US based financial planner and wealth manager, and we help successful American and international families living across the US to make the most of their opportunity and ultimately to retire happier. If you’d like to know more about how we might be able to help you, you can find us on our website, www.planfirstwealth.com or you can look me up on LinkedIn. Do get in touch. We’d love to hear from you. As always, thank you to the podcast guys for their help producing this episode and the entire show. See you next week.