The Top 7 Reasons Why You Need a Second PassportBy Nick Giambruno People simply went wherever they wanted. In many cases, they didnt need any kind of permission from a government agency. Obviously, thats not how it works today. Today, governments use passports to document and control their citizens. In my view, the world would be better off without them. Of course, passports are not going away. You will continue to need one to travel. This is why youre better having more than one. A second passport keeps the government from locking you in. Without it, the government in your home country can effectively place you under house arrest by taking back your passport. Among other things, having a second passport allows you to invest, bank, travel, live, and do business in places you wouldnt otherwise be able to. Obtaining a second passport is a fundamental step toward freeing yourself from absolute dependence on any one country. Once you have that freedom, its much harder for any government to control your destiny. No matter where you live, you can benefit from the political diversification that comes with a second passport. Here are the top seven reasons why everyone needs a second passport. A second passport unlocks the door to international financial services. This is especially true for Americans. U.S. regulators have a long reach. This is why many, but not yet all, foreign financial institutions now turn away anyone who presents a U.S. passport. To be a welcome customer, you need a passport from a different country. Say your home government has a bad habit of sticking its nose in other nations internal affairs. This could make you a target if you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, like the next time ISIS radicals decide to attack a public area. There are, of course, passports with minimal risk of foreign policy blowback. When was the last time you heard of anyone targeting Swiss passport holders or rounding up Uruguayans? Applying for a visa before a trip is a real hassle. It can be frustrating, time-consuming, and expensive. A good second passport gives you visa-free access to more countries than you had before. Take Paraguay, for example. Its one of the easiest countries in the world to obtain a second passport from. A passport from Paraguay lets you travel visa-free to 123 countries, including most of Latin American and much of Europe. A second passport can also come in handy when your home government starts restricting where its citizens can go. For example, after Castro came to power in Cuba, the government used to make its citizens apply for an exit visa to leave the island. It did not grant them easily. Preventing people from leaving has always been the hallmark of an authoritarian regime. Unfortunately, the practice is growing in so-called liberal democracies for ever more trivial offenses. In the U.S., for example, the government can cancel your passport if they accuse you of a felony. They dont even need to convict you. Many people think felonies only consist of major crimes like robbery and murder. But that isnt true. The ever-expanding mountain of laws and regulations has criminalized even the most mundane activities. Its not as hard to commit a felony as you might think. Many victimless crimes are felonies. A study by civil liberty lawyer Harvey Silverglate found that the average American inadvertently commits three felonies a day. So, if the U.S. government really wants to cancel your U.S. passport, it can find some technicality for doing sofor anyone. That, of course, is not unique to the U.S. government. Any government can revoke or cancel the passport of its citizens for any reason it sees fit. Having a second passport dilutes this power. A second passport is mobility insurance for you and your family. Regardless of how bad the economic or political situation might get in your home country, a second passport gives you the legal right to live and work elsewhere. It guarantees that once you get out of Dodge, you wont have to live like a refugee. In all likelihood, you will need a second passport if you decide to take the drastic step of renouncing your citizenship. This could give you huge tax and regulatory benefits if your home country burdens its citizens with suffocating and inescapable taxesas the U.S. does. Once you obtain a second passport, the political diversification benefits will last for generations. You will be able to pass on multiple citizenships to your future children and grandchildren. Unfortunately, no path to a legitimate second passport is at the same time fast, easy, and inexpensive. However thisdoes notmake a second passport any less crucial. Today, the government is the biggest threat to your personal freedom and financial security. And the risks it poses are only growing amid skyrocketing government debt. At some point, politicians will inevitably try to further restrict the movement of citizens in a desperate attempt to squeeze them for every penny. You may have noticed theres a lot of misinformation out there about second passports. Following bad advice can create significant problems and limit your options. Your goal should be the opposite: Minimizing problems and expanding your options. In these shark-infested waters, its essential to have a trusted resource with reliable information. Thats where International Man comes in. We can show you how to get started. You can get our comprehensive guide on how to get the best second passports by clicking here. Nick is Doug Caseys globetrotting companion and is the Senior Editor of Casey Researchs International Man. He writes about economics, offshore banking, second passports, value investing in crisis markets, geopolitics, and surviving a financial collapse, among other topics. He is a CFA charterholder. In short, Nicks work helps people make the most of their personal freedom and financial opportunity around the world. To get his free video crash course, click here. I have 2 passports but I haventt used my US passport in over 15 years. My Dutch passport has gotten me high paying jobs world wide. some of them unattainable if I showed my USA passport. US citizenship is the most overrated thing on earth. But Americans are basically clueless and dont have any idea . They truly believe the USA is a free country. hahahah I am an American and I damned sure dont think that this is a free country. I was recently persecuted for growing plants and mushrooms, both of which are God-given, unalienable rights, but this criminal empire doesnt think so. I curse this place and the sheeple that populate it. Here is what I would do if I had to do it again. Get as many credit cards as you can. make small purchases but always pay on time. Then request larger limit.. Do this for a couple of years. Meanwhile make your plan to get another passport from ANY country you can, Then in one fell swoop max out all your cards for cash and all the things you need to make the move, including airline ticket. (one way). Thee is NOTHING the banks can do to you when you drop off the radar. ZERO. I didnt do this but I knew a guy who was in the US Army stationed in Germany and married a German girl. He got discharged in Germany and stayed there, Shortly before getting discharged he went to the PX furniture store and bought 5000 dollars worth of furniture and wrote a check on USA bank on it. The check BOUNCED after he was discharged. They tried to get him but couldnt. The German authorities told the USA bank , Sorry its none of our business. Furthurmore, when you get your new passport most countries in Europe require you have a bank account for all pay and benefits you may receive. NO CHECKS here. but they automaitcally give you 2000 Euro overdraw limit on your debit card. NO CREDIT check. Then you start making new credit record in your new country. Oh, and here in the Netherlands there are strict usury laws. 11 percent is the max allowed. and payday loans are STRICTLY ILLEGAL. Readers would be much better served if this article said HOW to get second passport- without spending 6 figures and our lifes blood There are lists you can Google which show countries offering passports for cash or other investments, but as you mentioned, most are 6 figures. For me, it came courtesy my wife, who is a citizen of Venezuela. She also had rights to EU citizenship via her father, who was born in Spain. Once she jumped through a tremendous amount of paperwork and got her new passport, she was able to register our marriage in the Spanish consulate, and now I have rights to the same. Similarly,we can now offer the same option to our children. But beware- laws change constantly, and what was relatively easy before may soon be impossible. Once you narrow down a list of potential countries, it makes sense to talk to an immigration lawyer in that country (via interpreter if needed) before taking the plunge. I will also warn you: if youre American, the recent enforcement of FACTA by the IRS has made many countries paranoid about any financial dealing whatsoever with US citizens. Unfortunately, our government is not making many friends with their policies, so if youre going to do something, start now. Thereby the limits of secular ethics. Such acts are allowed, but are still by definition theft, is this the type of men that will build our future? Such dishonor. We succumb to the practices of the current establishment, therefore, if ever such men are put in power, what will change? People, conduct yourselves with honor and truth. So did you know that if you pay US taxes you are guilty of murdering millions of INNOCENT people vis a vis the military? Try smooth talking your way out of that one, kid. I like the way you think. And oh the poor banks that have robbed us for years! you are awesome! 