Second Passports Are A Growing Trend Among The Ultra Wealthy

It was once the allure of obtaining an American Express Black Card that was the ultimate sign of wealth, but international citizenship may be the next frontier. Obtaining multiple passports has emerged as a trend among the ultra wealthy.

"For high net worth individuals across the world, a second passport has become a status symbol, It gives you more freedom and is becoming a new status symbol amongst international high net worth," said Nuri Katz, of Apex Capital Partners, a boutique investment firm that helps individuals secure a second passport.

Americans are renouncing their U.S. citizenship at record levels, with the figure is expected to reach 5,000 in 2016. Taxation has played a major role in the decision for wealthy individuals to leave the States.

Related Link: Looking To Escape An Unfavorable Presidency Outcome And Move To Canada? That's Not A Smart Financial Move

If an American citizen wants to leave the country and does not want the incur tax burden of that the United States imposes, they must give up their citizenship.

Wealthy Americans living outside of America are required to declare all their bank accounts, provide financial reports of all foreign companies and provide the highest balance every year in each account. No other country in the world requires such measures, besides Eritrea, and this is a primary factor in prompting wealthy Americans to seek out a second passport.

Katz added that some of the most popular countries people are seeking passports include St. Kitts, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, Malta and Cyprus. The cost of an international passport starts at $100,000 USD and can hit astronomical levels. To qualify to buy a passport, in many countries, the investor must meet a minimum net-worth requirement. For instance, in St. Lucia, the minimum net worth for an applicant to qualify is $3 million. In Cyprus, the minimum is 2.5 million Euros.

The process goes through immigrant investor programs set up by the governments of the countries within which they operate. In 1990, the United States launched its immigrant investor program known as EB-5.

"Every few years we are seeing more countries launch these citizenship-by-investment programs in order to attract and cultivate direct foreign investment in their country," Katz said.

The process is a win-win: Individuals achieve the political or tax freedom they are seeking, and governments are able to attract outside foreign investments to boost their economies.

Do you have ideas for articles/interviews you'd like to see more of on Benzinga? Please email feedback@benzinga.com with your best article ideas. One person will be randomly selected to win a $20 Amazon gift card!