Foreign citizenship, dual citizenship info

[WaltM]

I clicked on the Sovereign Society ad, and watched their video for you, here's the 3 secrets they've given for free (and want to sell you more)

1) the fastest way to EU citizenship is via ancestry, this applies to 4 countries currently, Ireland, Poland, Lithuania, Italy, if you can show you have ancestry in one of these countries, that's the easiest way to get an EU passport (within months)
(this was there 2 secrets, the 3rd one is below)

2) there are 2 Carribean countries that "sell" citizenship : Commonwealth of Dominica (NOT to be confused with Dominican Republic), and St Kitts & Nevis.

They require some $200K for up to a family of 4.
(who wants to move to a country they've not heard of? I don't know either)

I don't they the rest of the information they sell is going to be of any interest or use if the above isn't already. Hope that saved you 10 minutes

[specialK]

I clicked on the Sovereign Society ad, and watched their video for you, here's the 3 secrets they've given for free (and want to sell you more)

1) the fastest way to EU citizenship is via ancestry, this applies to 4 countries currently, Ireland, Poland, Lithuania, Italy, if you can show you have ancestry in one of these countries, that's the easiest way to get an EU passport (within months)

Ancestry is not enough for Italy. I took a trip to the local Italian embassy for that purpose only to be told that my immigrant father was stripped of his Italian citizenship when he chose to leave Italy back in the late 50's. As a result, I do not qualify. Apparently there was a window of opportunity in the 90's for Italian expats to reclaim their cizenship, but we never got that memo ;-(.

Anyway, now that the Canadian Tax Gestapo is off my back, I'm very happy with my Canadian citizenship.

[Elwar]

They require some $200K for up to a family of 4.
(who wants to move to a country they've not heard of? I don't know either)

This is what the US should do.

1 million people immigrating per year, 200k each = $200 billion.
If you're born in this country charge $50k, with 4 million people born in the country each year, that's another $200 billion.

That should be enough for US defense and basics called for in the Constitution.

Add to that, no US citizen has to pay taxes...ever.

[MelissaWV]

This is what the US should do.

1 million people immigrating per year, 200k each = $200 billion.
If you're born in this country charge $50k, with 4 million people born in the country each year, that's another $200 billion.

That should be enough for US defense and basics called for in the Constitution.

Add to that, no US citizen has to pay taxes...ever.

I hope tongue was planted firmly in cheek with that one....

Charging people to get into this country to the tune of $200,000 means two things. First, you are going to be splitting some families up whenever that goes into effect. Second, when you remove $200,000 from the pockets of someone who can afford it (or has scrounged up enough to barely make the amount and get into the country) you are going to have that much less capital in that person's hands. Of course, if they made the money through not-exactly-legal-or-ethical means, they could just make more.

Charging people born in this country $50,000 seems to carry an implied consequence with it. What if you don't pay? What if the tax man cometh to your delivery room after you've just given birth, and you don't have $50,000 on you? Do they kill the baby? Throw the parents in jail? Confiscate the person's property? Revoke citizenship (and then where do the parents/child go, since they are not citizens of anyplace)?

[John Taylor]

I hope tongue was planted firmly in cheek with that one....

Charging people to get into this country to the tune of $200,000 means two things. First, you are going to be splitting some families up whenever that goes into effect. Second, when you remove $200,000 from the pockets of someone who can afford it (or has scrounged up enough to barely make the amount and get into the country) you are going to have that much less capital in that person's hands. Of course, if they made the money through not-exactly-legal-or-ethical means, they could just make more.

Charging people born in this country $50,000 seems to carry an implied consequence with it. What if you don't pay? What if the tax man cometh to your delivery room after you've just given birth, and you don't have $50,000 on you? Do they kill the baby? Throw the parents in jail? Confiscate the person's property? Revoke citizenship (and then where do the parents/child go, since they are not citizens of anyplace)?

Just because someone may not be born a citizen does not mean their right to life must also be abridged. There is no natural right to citizenship, but there is a natural right to life. You are conflating issues here.

[Elwar]

I hope tongue was planted firmly in cheek with that one....

Charging people to get into this country to the tune of $200,000 means two things. First, you are going to be splitting some families up whenever that goes into effect. Second, when you remove $200,000 from the pockets of someone who can afford it (or has scrounged up enough to barely make the amount and get into the country) you are going to have that much less capital in that person's hands. Of course, if they made the money through not-exactly-legal-or-ethical means, they could just make more.

Charging people born in this country $50,000 seems to carry an implied consequence with it. What if you don't pay? What if the tax man cometh to your delivery room after you've just given birth, and you don't have $50,000 on you? Do they kill the baby? Throw the parents in jail? Confiscate the person's property? Revoke citizenship (and then where do the parents/child go, since they are not citizens of anyplace)?

That was the cost of citizenship. This was with the idea that you could be here as a non-citizen, but you just don't get to enjoy the benefits of citizenship such as voting and being excluded from taxes, etc...

"What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings on the earth collect tolls or tributes? From their own subjects, or from foreigners?" Peter's reply "from foreigners".

[MelissaWV]

Just because someone may not be born a citizen does not mean their right to life must also be abridged. There is no natural right to citizenship, but there is a natural right to life. You are conflating issues here.

No, there is no natural right to citizenship. My question was what would be done with those who are born and whose parents can't afford to foot that kind of bill for "citizenship." The options are rather limited in our current setup. If someone's a non-citizen, then it would follow that they'd be deported, but they were born in the US and, in this hypothetical, their parents are citizens, so where would one deport them to? The other option would be death or stopping people from having non-citizen children (which would involve, I guess, licensure and pre-payment... but the question still remains as to what would be done with those found to be in violation).

Thankfully my question was answered by the appropriate party.

That was the cost of citizenship. This was with the idea that you could be here as a non-citizen, but you just don't get to enjoy the benefits of citizenship such as voting and being excluded from taxes, etc...

I have been talking about making citizenship worth something, and stopping the focus on whether or not someone's in the country, for some time Government programs (since we're assuming some still exist) should be limited to citizens. Voting, obviously, should be limited to citizens. Running for office, I believe, should be limited to citizens. You could go even further and say that running a business with which the Government does business might carry the requirement of being a citizen.

My concern would be that the richer families would continue their hold on the votes that matter, and to run for office in far greater numbers than any average person, but this isn't really much worse than we are now.

[eduardo89]

If you have a Spanish parent or grandparent you can get citizenship within a year, or automatically if you're a minor or within two years of emancipation. (that's what I did)

Also people from Iberoamerican countries, portugal, the phillipines, sephardic jews, and equatorial guinea need only two years of residency to get Spanish citizenship.

[steve005]

anyone have any info on germany, my mother is half german, I'm moving there in a month or two

[ibaghdadi]

2) there are 2 Carribean countries that "sell" citizenship : Commonwealth of Dominica (NOT to be confused with Dominican Republic), and St Kitts & Nevis.

You missed out Panama. They have a program whereby you deposit a large amount of money in their national bank, and in return you get a 5-year passport. But the amount has to be large enough to bear some $500 per month or something. With interest rates as low as they are now, I wouldn't think that would be a brilliant idea. But then the advantage is that the money is yours - you don't "donate" it.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't these "economic citizenships" strictly "second passports"? I.e. you can't give up your original citizenship?