Curry G. Says:
Hi Ted,
Which country do you suggest for a second passport? Which one did you choose and why?
IL Global Diversification Expert Ted Bauman Says:
Ah, that’s the $64,000 question, as they used to say! There are so many variables involved. It depends on your goals and eligibility. In fact, that’s going to be one of my key roles here at International Living—to help people make decisions like yours.
The thing to remember about having a second passport is that you become a citizen of another country. As such, you qualify for all the rights, privileges, support, and protections afforded to citizens of that country.
So, the first thing to consider is how those foreign rights and protections augment what you get from a U.S. passport. The most basic right you get is to live in that country. The first thing to ask yourself, therefore, is whether that’s what you want. If you do, then logically you would want a passport from a country that you’d like to live in.
For example, it’s easy to get a passport from the Caribbean island nation of Dominica. I’ve been there, and although it’s a lovely place, I can’t imagine most Americans would want to reside there permanently. By contrast, if you have ancestral connections to many European countries, you may qualify for one of their passports, which give you residence and work rights throughout the entire European Union. So even though it’s a lot more difficult to get an EU eligible passport, a lot of people are willing to put in the extra work.
My second passport is from South Africa. I didn’t really “decide” to get a South African passport; Instead, I moved to the country as a young man and was eventually naturalized. But the passport has come in handy over the years. It’s allowed me to travel to some countries that are not particularly welcoming to Americans, like Vietnam, without any hassles. And because South Africa is part of the Commonwealth of Nations, it affords me certain residence and work privileges in other Commonwealth countries that our U.S. passport doesn’t. These countries include Australia, the Bahamas, Cyprus, Fiji, Malta, and New Zealand, to name but a few.
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