Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
What if the world’s borders were free and open, allowing unrestricted movement? If you could travel to anywhere, stay as long as you like, and seek employment wherever and whenever you chose?
Many find this concept intimidating, and countries often setup hurdles and roadblocks preventing unwanted immigration. In recent times, there has even been discussion by some to build a wall along the southern border of the United States to keep out the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. “Yes, my grandparents were immigrants, but you new immigrants are unwelcome”
Even doctoral graduates are increasingly unwelcome. “Thanks for studying in the United States, please take your advanced degree and go home.” These are interesting times
But what if we could bypass this whole mess, bureaucracy, and hypocrisy? What if, simply by being born in the right place, we could be welcome anywhere? What if we could be a Citizen of the World?
This was our goal in planning a Destination Birth
Citizens of the United Kingdom, for example, are free to travel to 173 countries sans Visa. They are also able to get work visas to other members of the former British Commonwealth, including Canada, New Zealand, Australia, amongst others
Citizens of the 28 countries in the European Union are able to travel and work in the other member countries, much as citizens of the US have free access to all 50 States
Citizens of the United States are able to travel to 172 countries sans Visa. Work abroad options are available, but getting a work permit in the EU might be more difficult than for a Canadian citizen (Yes, this is an oversimplification)
Our child will, through citizenship of his parents, have citizenship of the United States and Taiwan. But could we also provide future travel and work opportunities simply by being in a particular country when he is born?
What if in addition to a United States citizenship, our child could be a member of the EU (1st priority) or Commonwealth?
Dark blue – Unconditional birthright citizenship for persons born in the country (jus soli),
Turquoise – Birthright citizenship with restrictions,
Light Blue – Birthright citizenship abolished
(image courtesy of Wikipedia)
It turns out, with the exception of some interesting places like Pakistan, unconditional birthright citizenship (jus soli) is a New World phenomenon. And much like the borders of the US have become more restricted with time, so have the practices of many countries
Spain, for example, was our preferred destination, allowing GCCjr to be a citizen of Spain and the EU. But since neither of us are citizens of Spain, neither would GCCjr. Australia and New Zealand were also tempting, but both countries have abolished jus soli
So we started looking at countries that both follow jus soli and are members of the EU or Commonwealth. It’s a short list… Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Fiji, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Pakistan, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Canada seemed the obvious choice… great modern medical care, English speaking, easy border access with the US and 6 month entry permits, a strong University system… But GCCjr is due in April, and neither of us is a big fan of spending the winter so far north.
This puts us into the Caribbean, Fiji, or Central or South America, but as we move down the standard of living ladder, our interest level wanes. Sure, Dominica citizenship might one day allow a way of working in the UK… but it isn’t nearly as good as being a UK citizen
In the end, we concluded there was no great option for direct EU citizenship, and that back door options could just as easily be pursued with US Citizenship
Vancouver has very mild winters if you’re considering birth tourism to Canada.
My wife and I would love our future children to have EU citizenship in addition to Canadian, but we found the same thing as you – there just aren’t any easy options. We’ve considered actually immigrating and living in the EU for several years to give our kids that advantage, but that is obviously a big commitment.
As for American citizenship, I don’t think that’s a good one to have if it’s not your primary citizenship. The tax filing burden and investment structuring requirements are very arduous if the US is not your tax home. I have dual US and Canadian citizenship and would not wish that upon my children – I’ve actually been seriously considering renouncing US citizenship.
Unless the US changes their estate tax laws I will probably have to renounce before retiring as otherwise the US will levy estate tax upon my death, regardless of if my “non-resident alien” wife is still alive and needs that money to live. I couldn’t put her in that situation. One other option would be to have no money in my name and have it all in my wife’s name.
As of 2014 you can leave anyone (including non-US citizens) up to 5.34 million dollars without paying any estate tax. If she were a US citizen it would be unlimited, of course that would be better, but the 5+ million as of now isn’t too shabby.
Also, you can give her $145,000 (as of 2014) per year during your lifetime that doesn’t count in the above limit, so perhaps you could transfer money to her sole account for several years in anticipation of retiring.
> As of 2014 you can leave anyone (including non-US citizens) up to 5.34 million dollars without paying any estate tax.
All of the articles I’m able to find on this say that this doesn’t apply to non-resident aliens (ie someone who has never resided in the US and is not a citizen of the US, like my spouse). It’s possible I’m misinterpreting things, however. I would definitely seek the advice of a US overseas tax professional before renouncing citizenship.
As for transferring all of our money to my wife’s sole account: that’s certainly a possibility, but comes with its own set of hassles. I will definitely seek the advice of a tax professional before making any big changes like this.
It can be frustrating to deal with so many hoops from a country in which I’ve never worked in and hold no assets in.
Definitely, an attorney that specializes in this situation would be worth the fee.
Logic says with all assets outside the US and no working history that it would be silly to try to claim assets, but unfortunately the IRS seldom uses logic or math when deciding if a case is worth pursuing
A non-resident spouse is ineligible to receive the unlimited spousal exemption that applies to US citizens, but anyone is allowed be the beneficiary of the 5M+ exemption whether it is a spouse or not. But, I don’t know why I feel compelled to offer tax advise over the internet anyway. I will stop now :)
Thanks Sunny! For the tax advice, not for the stopping part :)
Thanks Sunny for the advice! A 5M exemption would probably be plenty, so that makes me feel much better about my citizenship. There are still a lot of other hoops to jump through, but that was the biggest one in my mind!
Hi Jeremy (great name!)
Vancouver is great, a lot like our home town of Seattle. The gray skies in winter can be brutal though unless you can break away to the mountains for some snowboarding. That works for me, but Winnie won’t be making fresh tracks anytime soon
If we hadn’t already committed to staying in Taiwan through the birth, I might explore things more deeply. We had a bit of a scare early on and Winnie was put on bed rest for awhile, so we decided to be a bit more stable for the rest of the pregnancy
I’m in complete agreement on US citizenship being a poor 2nd citizenship. As the only country in the world that taxes its citizens while abroad, the US is a bit heavy handed. As a US citizen myself, GCCjr will be a US citizen regardless
As for EU citizenship for GCCjr, it is highly likely that we will end up in Europe longer term. We are both big fans of southern Spain. Particularly now with aging and declining populations in Western Europe, immigration policies are becoming more lax.
As a US citizen since birth, I’m not so keen on renouncing citizenship, but generally speaking if one were to do so, it would be best to do it as early and as poor as possible. As I understand it, there is an exit tax if you have assets over $500k or so. They get you coming and they get you going
On the flip side though, one of the more popular questions I’ve seen from non-US citizens/residents, is how can they invest in Vanguard funds from outside the US. So maybe there are some advantages along with the hassles?
Thanks Jeremy
Jeremy
Hi Jeremy,
I hope Winnie has a stable and uneventful pregnancy! My wife and are probably five or more years out from having children, so I’m looking forward to seeing where your adventures take you all. :) Maybe get some ideas for our own future.
Despite the fact that I was born in the US to US citizens, my future children would not be US citizens. (unless I spent a few more years in the US before their birth or they were born in the US, of course). Personally I think would be the best for them, but I am experiencing major loss aversion when thinking about renouncing my own citizenship.
Vanguard has an array of ETFs that they offer in Canada. The fees are ever so slightly higher, and you have to deal with a third party to buy and sell them, but I don’t have to worry about currency exchange so I think things are about even.
I do think US citizenship is a great thing to have, and I know many people wish they had it. But I just don’t think it’s beneficial if you live outside of the US and already have citizenship in another “first-world” country. But in the end it really isn’t that much of a hassle, I don’t want to sound like a complainy-pants. I’ve got a good life. :)
-Jeremy
My wife and I are lucky that our kids are both EU and USA citizens via me. I was born in Ireland and then adopted by a lovely US couple while I was still a baby. As a result my kids are considered to be Irish citizens as long as they elect to be before they have kids (Ireland has some silly laws like a lot of other places).
This combo of citizenships will hopefully be handy for both my kids!
A perfect combination. EU and US Citizenship is probably the closet one can become to being a citizen of the world
We’re looking at this from the other perspective. We hold Irish passports (but can also hold British if we desire) and are looking for opportunities to move in the next few years post FI. We’re due in June also, so consideration to education, healthcare & safety is paramount. Do we move across Europe (language barrier) closer to the Alps or do we consider Canadian move.
It’s all very exciting and daunting.
Really enjoying your blog! My husband and I hope to one day live in Taiwan (at least for awhile) as well. :) I haven’t looked too much into this but am wondering how many citizenships/best optimal citizenships would be best for my future child. I hold both US and Taiwanese Citizenship and my husband holds Croatian (now a part of the EU) and US Citizenship. Makes me think if I should give birth in Canada too… but can a child hold that many citizenships? Going to google this a bit. :)
Some countries expect you to renounce other citizenship, others support dual citizenship…
Having US and EU Citizenship is about as close to being a citizen of the world as you can get
Wow, it’s a cool way to think about it. Considering the cheaper cost of living, cheaper cost of giving birth. I’ll have to discuss with Mr. to see if this is a good option for us.
But one thing though, the kid cannot say “I want to go up to be the president of the United State”, and she/he can’t, because you have to be American born. (I know it’s like 1 in 300 million chance or even more :P)
We can just help GCCjr become a young billionaire, and then he can just own a few politicians like the Koch Brothers. It’s like being President, but without all the responsibility
Gotcha! ^ ^
Actually the requirements are that the President be a “natural born citizen”. Most interpret that as meaning automatically a US Citizen upon birth, not that they need to be physically born in the US. See Ted Cruz as an example…
That’s why Donald Trump was arguing against. Also Ted Cruz was also a Canadian Citizen until a couple years ago.