In our increasingly global world, savvy business owners and innovative entrepreneurs are ramping up efforts to build international empires like never before.
As you build your business in your home country, you may wonder if it may be able to further flourish by taking advantage of bigger markets or more favorable tax regulations abroad. You may even begin to ask yourself if it’s time to consider opening an international branch in another country.
Moving your business abroad can be an exciting and a challenging venture. There are several factors to be taken into consideration for a successful move such as the language and cultural differences, the economic and political landscape, current tax regulations, and the costs associated with the move.
But before you start packing up your office or taking a deep dive into the cultural landscape of the country you have your eyes on, it’s important to put some thought into a commonly overlooked factor when conducting business abroad, your passport.
Your passport plays a surprisingly big role in how easily you can move your business abroad. It’s no secret that some passports are more desirable than others for travel and business purposes. Therefore, a second passport for business can open up a world of opportunities to help ensure that your company not only survives the move, but thrives in the process.
How Your Passport Affects an International Business Move
Your passport’s strength is generally determined by the number of countries it allows you to enter to without an advance visa. So it stands to reason that having a strong passport can make conducting international business easier. In addition to offering extensive visa-free travel, the right passport can also make it easier to move your business abroad by fast-tracking business permits and start-up visas or even help in easing the financial burden of international business taxes.
How a Second Passport can Benefit You When Conducting Business Abroad
There are numerous benefits a second passport can offer you and your business. Here are just a few of the reasons a second passport can help take your business to the next level.
- Make last-minute business trips a breeze: By expanding the list of countries you can travel to without a visa, you will be able to easily schedule last-minute business trips without worrying about the often-lengthy visa-application process.
- Save time by skipping the hassle of acquiring visas in advance: In addition to opening up the possibility of last-minute travel, visa-free travel will also save you time when booking regular company excursions.
- Take advantage of unique tax breaks and incentives: Several countries are known as unique tax havens due to their low tax rates. By acquiring a passport of a country with desirable tax rates and business incentives, you’ll be positioned to save your company big money by moving your business headquarters and banking there.
- Gain unique banking and investment opportunities: Many countries do not allow foreign nationals to take advantage of unique investment opportunities within their borders. By acquiring dual-citizenship, you’ll be doubling your banking and investment opportunities.
- Protect your business from economic and political stress: As many countries are currently going through periods of economic strain, having the ability to quickly move your company to another country provides an extra safety net.
- Extend your company’s reach: As the world becomes more global, business reach needs to expand in order to stay ahead of the curve.
Choosing the Best Passport for Moving Your Business Abroad
While having two passports is always better than having one, you can greatly increase your second passport’s impact by doing a little research into the perfect passport for the type of business you conduct. In order to determine which passport will be of the greatest service to you, you must first decide what benefits are a top priority for you and your company.
For example, if tax benefits are your top concern, a passport from one of the several Caribbean countries will likely serve your purpose. Some popular choices of Caribbean nations with favorable tax rates and easy second citizenship requirements include Saint Kitts & Nevis as well as Dominica.
If ease of visa-free travel is of high priority to you, European countries offer many benefits for the business-minded individual. Malta and Cyprus are both attractive options due to the fact that they both allow for visa-free travel to over 170 countries and have super-fast paths to citizenship; in as of as little as 4 to 6 months.
How to Get a Second Passport for Business
There are three commonly travelled roads to acquiring a second passport or citizenship for business. Your choice will depend on the type of passport you would like to obtain, the country you apply for, and your individual circumstances, needs and desires.
Economic Citizenship: By far the most popular choice for business owners. Economic citizenship, commonly referred to as “citizenship by investment”, is acquired by investing in a property or a business in the desired country. The amount of the investment required can vary greatly from one country to another, with some being as low as $130,000. The popularity of Economic citizenship is likely due to the speed by which you can acquire a second passport using this method. Once the initial investment is made, the path to citizenship can often take as little as 4 to 6 months.
Naturalization: A much slower but less expensive option is citizenship by naturalization. This path often requires a certain number of years spent residing in the desired country as well as passing tests and meeting language requirements. There are a few countries, however, that offer expedited naturalization.
Citizenship by Descent: Some countries offer citizenship to individuals who have ancestral roots linking them to that country. While this path isn’t an option for everyone, it may be worth taking a closer look at your family tree to determine if you qualify.
Closing Thoughts on Moving your Business Abroad
Regardless of the path you choose to follow, the journey can sometimes be turbulent without a bit of help navigating the often-complicated bureaucratic paperwork. To streamline the process, agencies such as Bluemina Citizenship & Residency specialize in helping individuals and business owners quickly acquire the passport of their choosing.
