Safest Top Tier Passports (These Countries are Unlikely to Introduce Citizenship Based Taxation)

[@patienceisalpha]

Michael, citizenship based taxation the way the US does it is impossible to achieve in France. I can try to explain why. Essentially, France uses the constitution of 1958. There is an article in the constitution that explicitly states that treaties have a higher status than laws passed by the assembly. France has one of the most extensive tax treaty networks. In order to introduce CBT they would have to Renegotiate all the tax treaties they have passed, which is not going to happen. The far left parties (La France Insoumise) had setup a task force to investigate CBT in 2018. It was led by Eric Coquerel. Their rapport essentially admitted introducing CBT for everyone is not achievable as is. What they stated is that they should target their effort on specific tax treaties. Moving on, they have renegotiated Belgium tax treaty already. It's not introducing CBT flat but introducing capital gains for entrepreneurs relocating in Belgium with a large position in French stocks The second tax treaty they want to target is the UAE one. It already has an article with specific tie breaker rules but they want to enforce that. Anyways, lots of fud but the reality of the law is that the 1958 constitution is not going to change and CBT is impossible in France. So never become a French resident and you get the best of both worlds.

[@hendrixansel9750]

Can't you just become resident without becoming tax resident ?

[@patienceisalpha]

@@hendrixansel9750 nop. article 4bis of the tax code outlays tax residency rules

[@chocmilkisgood]

Something I like about south America is that the governments here are so incompetent that it feels like the place with ultimate amount of freedom (for cheap). But, it also feels very safe in terms of conflict and food supply issues and the culture is very relaxing. Issues? Everyone is sleepy and unmotivated and it's difficult to get stuff even in capital cities that are common in other countries.

[@OffshoreCitizen]

Thanks for sharing your insights! Where in South America do you live?

[@augustusmaximus2283]

Your trust in Singapore is misplaced. They were already talking about citizenship based taxation and made it harder recently to stop being a Singapore tax resident after moving abroad.

[@RomilCPatel]

I agree, I feel Malaysia is the play in the SE Asia region now rather than Singapore.

[@mkishon]

Do you have a source relating to what you said about non-resident being able to open bank accounts in South Korea? I have never heard of such a thing and I lived there for 5+ years.

[@marcomartinez1843]

8:30 I read that San Marino citizens can visit both China and Taiwan without a visa.

[@OffshoreCitizen]

San Marino is an amazing passport!

[@Larzh220469]

The 30 years' residency requirement in Liechtenstein and San Marino means that these are probably off the table for most interested parties. Or do you know about any shortcuts? Being a personal friend of the prince might help in the case of Liechtenstein?

[@holeefuk8505]

Hey Mike Cyprus recently revised immigration rules maybe you can make a video clarifying this? Not sure if they've just upped the stakes for category F slow track or just cancelled it outright with only the fast track remaining? Thanks

[@MrAmhara]

Don't underestimate the so called "Eastern European" countries subservience to the USA and EU leadership. I believe firmly that because Eastern Europe is relatively cash and resource poor they will bend. ( excluding Russia and its allies)

[@hendrixansel9750]

exactly. I would say Turkey is a country that have a lot of independence in that geographically area.

[@difference018]

Citizenship based taxation doesn't matter. What matters is whether a country has the ability to enforce it. The US can have Citizenship based taxation, because they have the world reserve currency and because of FATCA which gives the US additional spying powers over their expats. The rest of the world simply isn't powerful enough to have CBT. Who will help them enforce it? What leverage do they have? This is absolutely nothing to worry about.

[@jeremyleonbarlow]

You are aware of the Common Reporting Standard are you not? Are you aware that the EU is 2x the market of the US & with that comes a lot of clout to enforce member states laws internationally?

[@hendrixansel9750]

Other countries have CRS which achieve same thing FATCA does.

[@justingriffin2546]

Your channel is wonderful Michael, I was going to call you but your next video answered my question...ill definitely be calling you when things get serious out there ... Otherwise when my ship comes in I'll send you a nice patreon gift. Again thanks.

[@OffshoreCitizen]

Thank you for the support Justin, appreciate it! Looking forward to connecting with you :) What's your plan for now?

[@jayvincent8860]

Michael what about Panama? I love spending part of the year there and it's very tax friendly.

[@OffshoreCitizen]

Unlikely to impose citizenship based tax but I wouldn't describe it as a top tier passport

[@jayvincent8860]

@@OffshoreCitizen I agree but has VISA free access to Russia which is great.

[@ruslanulko8195]

@@jayvincent8860 do not even think of visiting nazi russia

[@bojanamir1988]

JUST 🇦🇪

[@randyleebear]

Hi Michael. A good video as usual and as a past client of yours I pose a serious question for you. What is your mental model of the world’s political and economic structure for the future? What if your model is wrong? Would that alter your advice?

[@hendrixansel9750]

Who cares about all this ? Just do what rich people do.

[@moregold]

What about Cyprus? Serbia?

[@jeremyleonbarlow]

I would add a few other passport with gaps, but access to Canada, Mexico, Japan, the US, and New Zealand to the list, like BOTC Cayman Islands, BOTC BVI, BOTC Turks & Caicos, Bahamas, Barbados, and Mauritius. With the exception of Bahamas, most of those could be part of a multi-citizenship strategy to build access in places with hard to get visa access. I mean if you have a college degree and you buy any of the Caribbean CBIs Barbados becomes potentially attainable via a Skilled Worker Certificate and residence. If you have the cash, BOTC Cayman, Turks & Caicos, or BVI become possible, same for Mauritius. If the hard to get visas are not a concern, then St. Kitts & Turkey's CBI give you most of the world. I big investment as 2 years in Mauritius gives you New Zealand and a huge swath of Africa. A big investment in the Caymans and most of a decade there should get you BOTC Cayman which gives you US & Canada, but if you have money and a stable residence, Barbados and a B1/B2 visa should be just as good for the US and not unattainable. Honestly, money and a stable residence combined with a visa application to Canada, the US, and New Zealand gets you reasonable long term access to those countries with multiple entry visa and they are the hard to get visas. Australia is a bigger pain for everyone, even with ETA access, so a Caribbean CBI with Schengen access is probably all you need, but possibly spending money and time to add a country like Mauritius in 2 years in the event Schengen access is restricted for CBI countries might be how to fill out access. Getting a visa is a hassle, but with the exception of US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, there aren't a lot of countries with high rejection rates. Getting a visa for Canada, the US, Schengen, or a few permanent residencies makes Mexico more accessible, so it could be a two birds with one stone solution.

[@hendrixansel9750]

what is BOTC ?

[@De_Séchelles]

@@hendrixansel9750 British overseas territories

[@haroldcrown5541]

Any thoughts on North Macedonia? They have a cbi equivalent program.

[@OffshoreCitizen]

Check out our video on it and let us know what do you think kzbin.info/www/bejne/mV6ym3-uoauNpMk

[@tameemmayet4454]

What about uk?

[@RomilCPatel]

Are you going to eventually go to a different location so we can play some more where’s Waldo?

[@OffshoreCitizen]

Yes! Stay tuned :) How did you like the video?

[@RomilCPatel]

The issue with a lot of these top tier passports that are safe to get is that it’s almost impossible to get naturalization in those countries.

[@Romanesco18]

Yes, that's true for a lot of these countries. You can always marry a local, as Michael once suggested hah Is that why he married a Swiss citizen? We know Michael. ;P

[@hendrixansel9750]

It will be funny to see the social credit score for people that renounce the citizenship and for people that don't pay taxes in the country that they have citizenship.

[@OffshoreCitizen]

How do you think it could play out?

[@hendrixansel9750]

@@OffshoreCitizen Well, for people that don't pay taxes in their country of birth citizenship is very simple, they would just lose the passport. And for people that got a 2nd citizenship somewhere...they still could lose their passport/citizenship because US and EU can easily bully this small countries that sell passports. And without passport or citizenship you can't do much in this world because you have to show that you are owned by a government.

[@soundslight7754]

Would have been better to start with your definition of "Citizenship Based Taxation"

[@OffshoreCitizen]

Have you seen this one kzbin.info/www/bejne/pqaQoIqXhKdnsKc ? :)

[@Anthony-pn4rr]

Thanks for another great video! Of all the Western countries, do you think the UK would be quite unlikely to introduce citizenship based taxation? Thanks!

[@Alvaro1ization]

Uk would be among the first, they're a draconian State much like 1984 described. If not there, they're on their way to that

[@andydoma]

Hi Michel, I read on the officials website (e.g.citizeninformation) that you can loose your Irish citizenship (if naturalised) after spending 7 years abroad (outside of Ireland). Do you have more information about that? Can you elaborate that?

[@alantorres3601]

Wikipedia says the following "Naturalised persons (other than those of Irish descent or employed in the civil service) who reside outside of the Republic for a continuous period of seven years without annually registering their intention to retain Irish citizenship are liable to be stripped of their citizenship". Based on that, it seems that you can still keep it if you register your intention of keeping the citizenship anually, so don't fail to do so. Spain has a similar law.

[@FrozenSkyy]

Interesting thoughts Mike. Any ideas if it's realistically possible to naturalize as a Maltese citizen after living there for 5 years? I heard from someone that Malta is not good with naturalizing non-ethnically Maltese people, even if they meet the requirements (like Greece).

[@RomilCPatel]

It’s possible but it’s seven years and super long and strict physical presence requirements.

[@TkSebastian]

Very hard ..

[@RomilCPatel]

Chile is a really good passport and the chance they have citizenship based taxation is close to zero.

[@OffshoreCitizen]

Do you live in Chile? What do you like about it?

[@RomilCPatel]

@@OffshoreCitizen I don’t live in Chile as there’s better value for money elsewhere and I already have a good passport. The main reason the people I know like Chile is that they can get a good passport with minimal physical presence. In Chile once you get PR you only need to spend about 4 months per year there for 5 years to get citizenship which fits in well in a trifecta. Many people want to leave the northern hemisphere in winter and Chile is a good spot as it’s summer time there and is in the same time zone for Americans. This is a way that people can get a high tier passport after 5 years with a small amount of physical presence. The only hard part is getting the PR which requires you to have TR and stay in Chile for a minimum of 6 months straight before you can apply for PR. Once you have PR the process is smooth though.

[@mariadavis3797]

New socialist president in Chile does not promise lower taxes which are already extremely high. Try to go swimming in Chilean beaches; the Antarctic Humboldt current keeps the waters at freezing temperatures all year long.

[@lucchese20]

Interesting point about San Marino. 🤔 Being of Italian descent and having lived fairly close, my understanding was you need to be born there to acquire SM citizenship. Looking at this site (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Marino_nationality_law), the options appear to be few and restricted. Future video perhaps on this option as you see it? Cheers.

[@RomilCPatel]

It’s mainly by decent or marriage

[@maximkarlov6978]

If still available any options for Russians to obtain some of the passport?

[@OffshoreCitizen]

Hi Maxim, it's probably best to send a message through our website and we'll see what we can do offshorecitizen.net/

[@MrAmhara]

How is the UAE a great passport?

[@jeremyleonbarlow]

Have you seen their visa free access? It is arguably the best passport in the world.

[@MrAmhara]

@@jeremyleonbarlow Yeah. UAE is ranked number 15. UAE has many powerful enemies. ( its neighbors) Too many foreign workers and a monarchy. Geo strategically the UAE is worse positioned than the Europe.

[@hendrixansel9750]

@@MrAmhara Having monarchy can be a good thing.

[@claireg.9732]

How about covering African passports in a future video?

[@OffshoreCitizen]

Any countries you have in mind?

[@claireg.9732]

@@OffshoreCitizen Not really, but there is now talks about Centrafrique adopting bitcoin and wanting to promote a citizenship program. Also, it's not a continent we are talking à lot for passports. There are also talks about African union passports. Let's keep an eye and be aware of possibilities

[@De_Séchelles]

@@OffshoreCitizen Mauritius

[@Silverhands]

I have Canadian and Jamaica citizenship. USA green card coming soon. Is it worth it to get my Grenada citizenship and passport through my parents?.

[@jeremyleonbarlow]

I would avoid the US green card and I say that as a US citizen. This country is not an opportunity it is a prison and I say that as a lawyer. The Grenada passport has the benefit of visa free travel to China if it ever re-opens. As a Caricom citizen with Jamaica it's only added benefit is OECS free movement which does not require a skilled worker certificate.

[@DS-vx3wf]

Yes, it is worth it, if you can get one just by paying passport application fee!

[@hendrixansel9750]

yes.

[@donovanmic]

If you’re relying on non-dom status to keep your taxes reasonable in a country like Ireland or the UK, would you be at risk of losing non-dom status if you became a citizen?

[@cernabonati7022]

i mean it seems fairly obvious imo

[@jeremyleonbarlow]

Citizenship=domicile

[@RomilCPatel]

Yes

[@TkSebastian]

After getting citizenship move out ... Till then enjoy taxfree

[@hendrixansel9750]

yes

[@KPGuitarStudios]

I'm sure we'll talk about this on our call but with Finnish citizenship as a second and Canadian as a first passport, I'm wondering if Finland is risky at this stage in your view? I mean I have it, it is what it is and I certainly don't plan on moving there (even though it's a great place aside from the taxes). Would it make sense to consider a 2nd for after getting rid of the Canadian? Like most situations I'm sure the answer is it depends. Just curious to start considering some longer term plays. Side note, that harbour in Montenegro doesn't actually look geographically much different than the harbour in St. John's, NL. Very interesting

[@hendrixansel9750]

Finland just declared intentions to join NATO, Russia might invade soon.

[@nerminhasanovic2240]

Pozdrav za crnogorskog zeta 😀

[@OffshoreCitizen]

Pozdrav! 😄

[@Amagyarikai]

🇭🇺🥳