Latest / IMI Podcasts / 13 Ways Your Passport Could Ruin Your Life

Transcript

13 Ways Your Passport Could Ruin Your Life · IMI Podcasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: We investment migration practitioners love to talk about passports like their power-ups.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Second, citizenship, more freedom, third, even better.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Optionality is the name of the game.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: But here's what we rarely admit: a passport is sometimes a leash.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's a target on your back.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: And in some cases, having more of them just means more ways to get screwed.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: In a world trending toward punishing mobility, tracking wealth, and weaponizing identity, that shiny passport may just be your biggest liability.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Here are 13 ways a passport could ruin your life, under the government-imposed liabilities.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: 1.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Citizenship-based taxation, or CBT.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: The United States is the only major country that taxes its citizens no matter where they live.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: Although the Trump administration has flirted with ending CBT, David Lesperence wrote an articulate article about the improbability of it happening, the trend is spreading.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Other countries like France, China, and India are actively debating whether CBT is a practical way to increase government revenue and pay off debt.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: And it's politically expedient to make the wealthy foot the bill anyway, because who cares about those job-creating, wealth-generating, economy-stimulating, high net worth individuals, right?
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: The wrong passport could mean a lifetime tax leash, regardless of whether you live, work, or even exist in your country of citizenship.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: Second military conscription.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: You're 35.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: Your parents endowed you with citizenship in a country with mandatory military conscription.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yet you haven't lived there since you were a teenager.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: But when that country enters a war they didn't start, in a country you can't point to on a map, you're still eligible for the draft.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: And if you ignore the call to arms, you might be barred from re-entry.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: Or worse, arrested upon your next arrival.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Try renouncing?
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Not until you fulfill your duties.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: We're not just talking about you here.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: If you have a son born abroad with your passport, he could be next.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: Third, exit bans.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: You thought your second passport was an escape route, but when the pressure comes, your government slams the door shut.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: In Ukraine, men can't leave the country.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: In Myanmar, exit bands are slapped on dissidents, business people, and even foreign executives.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: In Belarus and Iran, some citizens are trapped as political pawns.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: The truth is that you don't own your freedom if you can't leave.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: Many of us and our clients entered the investment migration industry because of what we saw just five years ago.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: A passport can become a state-owned ankle bracelet overnight.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, dual citizenship bans or revocations.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Citizenship revocations aren't just theoretical.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: Indonesia, Singapore, and several other countries have strict dual citizenship bans.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: Indeed, Kuwait has revoked 12,000 citizenships from dual nationals in just the last eight months.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes the revocation isn't even due to fraud, it's due to changing rules.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: You're forced to choose the citizenship you were born with or the one you bought to escape it.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: 5.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Exit and wealth taxes.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Want to leave your country of citizenship?
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: That'll cost you.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: The U.S.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: has an exit tax if you've chosen to renounce your citizenship when your assets exceed$2 million.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, the state of California levies its own exit tax.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: The Netherlands has tabled an exit tax as well.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: Norway introduced a wealth tax and has lost an estimated 5,000 millionaires because of it.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: These are taxes governments levy on the act of wanting to be free.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: This is financial punishment for disloyalty.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: Sixth sudden travel document invalidation.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: You board an international flight.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: Immigration checks your passport.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: They say it's invalid, no warning, no appeal.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: This is what's happened to dozens of Russian citizens, to Iranian athletes, to Chinese journalists, predominantly through no fault of their own, under the global mobility liabilities.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: Seventh blanket travel bans.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: If your country of citizenship angers the wrong alliance or global power, suddenly you may not have the visa-free access you once had.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, Venezuela, North Korea.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: At this very moment, there were reports of a new travel ban draft list reportedly floating around the U.S.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: State Department.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: And although the U.S.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: denied such a list existed, it did confirm it was reviewing certain security issues with specific countries.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: Even if you're innocent, your passport isn't deemed so.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: Your travel mobility is at the whim of political leaders and governments worldwide.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: 8.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: Airport and border flagging.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: Some passports are risk-coded in airline and immigration systems.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: You get pulled into secondary screening, missed flights, unnecessary suspicion.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: Middle Easterners know the drill.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: So do Nigerians.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: Even some Latin American nationals are profiled based on cartel connections or asylum trends.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: With the wrong citizenship or passport, you become a walking red flag.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: Not because of what you did, but because of what others think your passport says you might do.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Financial liabilities.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: 10th FATCA and CRS Fallout.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: FATCA and CRS of OECD weaponize the global banking system.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: As American citizens know full well, international banks will often refuse to open accounts or close existing ones.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: You could be wealthy, clean, and transparent about your source of funds.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: But because of your nationality, you're considered a high compliance risk.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: Your investments and holdings worldwide could be subject to tax, privacy violations, and undue surveillance.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: With the introduction of traceable, manipulable central bank digital currencies, CBDCs, this issue may only exacerbate your passport as a tag.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: 11th.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: Mandatory reporting obligations.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: Some countries demand annual declarations of global income, transactions, real estate, bank accounts, crypto, and gifts.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: You're still expected to file and report no matter if you live in that country or not.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: Failure to do so could mean exorbitant fines, blacklists, or even criminal charges.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: Multiply this across three or more passports, and you've built a bureaucratic nightmare.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Legal and social liabilities.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: 12.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: Social or political stigma.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: As a passport holder from a certain country, you may not be just a citizen, you might also be a symbol.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: Some passports make you a target.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: Quick test.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think of when I name the following countries?
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: United States, China, Russia.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: Millions of people around the globe have a negative generalized reputation because of what others have read on social media or watched in the news.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: And it affects how you're treated, from airports and job interviews to dates and visa applications.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: The world makes assumptions.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: Your passport can fuel them.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: Strategic risk.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: 13.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: Diminishing returns on multiple passports.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: Finally, many investment migration practitioners assume that with more passports comes more freedom.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: But after three citizenships, you begin to see diminishing returns.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: Four or more?
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: You may be stacking risk, not just passports.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: Each passport brings potential tax complexity, military service obligations, exit restrictions, paperwork burdens, and surveillance risk.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: Most investors and high net worth individuals need one or two strong mobility passports and perhaps one or two insurance plans.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: Anything more than that could become a liability stack for the 13 reasons I discussed above.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: This episode first appeared as an article by James Newveen on IMIDaily.com.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: Subscribe for free to the IMI newsletter for breaking news and updates from the investment migration industry.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: And upgrade your membership to IMI Pro to get access to our exclusive professional community, citizenship catalog, investment migration company Rolodex, private briefings, and more members only content.