Passports for Purchase

08 August 2020, 05:53 PM

Amanda

I guess it differs from country to country, but from the superficial info provided, I'm left completely confused about just what the 'entrance free" pays for.

Is it a donation to the government or could it just just pay for a residence?

What about taxes?

Speaking as someone who's been checking out overseas retirement for years (mostly as a hobby), it seems to me being a dual citizen of the US requires in some cases paying taxes both to the add-on country and the US (possibly even inheritance taxes to both). Not that uber rich USians couldn't jigger the tax code so as to work around such requirements, but something tells me it's not *that* easy.

(FWIW the above caveats apply to dual Israel-Americans, among whom I count. You might have thought Israel would have been one of the countries to have been granted a tax "agreement" - exemption from US taxes, but unless the laws have changed, no...)

All of which only references retirees (with passive income), not those still earning. (It's really, really Byzantine.)

Then too I wonder about medical coverage and other perks (as we all know, Medicare doesn't cover citizens residing overseas). It's all well and good to have a back-up citizenship, but when it's not "just" a matter of fleeing an immediate catastrophe, there are many other costs to consider. (Note, many Israelis have long had secondary citizenship as a precaution, the dirty little motive being escaping a major war - something the generally poorer Sephardic Israelis are less able to afford).

09 August 2020, 12:42 PM

Dan

We're thinking we may eventually go with a Non-Lucrative Visa in Spain. (aka a non-work, or retirement visa).

Demonstrate you have 26,000 euro per year (from investments, rentals, or whatever), get Spanish health insurance, don't work, and get a two year (renewable) visa. Apply for permanent residence after 5 years and citizenship after 10 years.

Live in Barcelona!

09 August 2020, 02:21 PM

Daniel

quote:
Originally posted by Amanda:
I guess it differs from country to country, but from the superficial info provided, I'm left completely confused about just what the 'entrance free" pays for.

Is it a donation to the government or could it just just pay for a residence?

What about taxes?

Speaking as someone who's been checking out overseas retirement for years (mostly as a hobby), it seems to me being a dual citizen of the US requires in some cases paying taxes both to the add-on country and the US (possibly even inheritance taxes to both). Not that uber rich USians couldn't jigger the tax code so as to work around such requirements, but something tells me it's not *that* easy.

(FWIW the above caveats apply to dual Israel-Americans, among whom I count. You might have thought Israel would have been one of the countries to have been granted a tax "agreement" - exemption from US taxes, but unless the laws have changed, no...)

All of which only references retirees (with passive income), not those still earning. (It's really, really Byzantine.)

Then too I wonder about medical coverage and other perks (as we all know, Medicare doesn't cover citizens residing overseas). It's all well and good to have a back-up citizenship, but when it's not "just" a matter of fleeing an immediate catastrophe, there are many other costs to consider. (Note, many Israelis have long had secondary citizenship as a precaution, the dirty little motive being escaping a major war - something the generally poorer Sephardic Israelis are less able to afford).

Excuse my ignorance, but who are the Sephardic Israelis?

09 August 2020, 05:21 PM

Amanda

quote:
Originally posted by Daniel:
quote:
Originally posted by Amanda:
I guess it differs from country to country, but from the superficial info provided, I'm left completely confused about just what the 'entrance free" pays for.

Is it a donation to the government or could it just just pay for a residence?

What about taxes?

Speaking as someone who's been checking out overseas retirement for years (mostly as a hobby), it seems to me being a dual citizen of the US requires in some cases paying taxes both to the add-on country and the US (possibly even inheritance taxes to both). Not that uber rich USians couldn't jigger the tax code so as to work around such requirements, but something tells me it's not *that* easy.

(FWIW the above caveats apply to dual Israel-Americans, among whom I count. You might have thought Israel would have been one of the countries to have been granted a tax "agreement" - exemption from US taxes, but unless the laws have changed, no...)

All of which only references retirees (with passive income), not those still earning. (It's really, really Byzantine.)

Then too I wonder about medical coverage and other perks (as we all know, Medicare doesn't cover citizens residing overseas). It's all well and good to have a back-up citizenship, but when it's not "just" a matter of fleeing an immediate catastrophe, there are many other costs to consider. (Note, many Israelis have long had secondary citizenship as a precaution, the dirty little motive being escaping a major war - something the generally poorer Sephardic Israelis are less able to afford).

Excuse my ignorance, but who are the Sephardic Israelis?

Refers (there are different terms) to Israeli Jews of Eastern origin.

FWIW at least half of the original immigrants were not only such Jews, but (all too few seem aware of this) they ended up in Israeli because they were expelled from their countries of origin, after having all their property confiscated.

Although things are getting culturally mixed over time, they are still overall more economically disadvantaged. (This doesn't even include the so-called Black Jews - largely from Ethiopia - who suffer great discrimination as well as still greater economic weakness in modern Israel.)