Why are so many Americans applying for second passports?

Al Jazeera

31-03-2025

In an era of political volatility and rising global uncertainty, a growing number of Americans are seeking second passports as a safety net against future instability.
According to citizenship and residency advisory firms such as Latitude Group and Arton Capital, demand from United States citizens for second passports or long-term residency in other countries – often through investment schemes offered by those countries – has surged dramatically in recent years. The election of Donald Trump as US president appears to have turbocharged that trend.
Arton has reported a 400 percent increase in the number of its US clients in the first three months of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, while Latitude said US applications for second citizenship or residency have risen by 1,000 percent since 2020, right after the COVID pandemic hit and travel restrictions were at their peak.
There are no official records of the number of American citizens seeking second passports.
However, industry estimates shared with Al Jazeera suggest that of roughly 10,000 global applications for second passports in the past few years, about 4,000 have come from Americans. While the overall number of applications has remained consistent for many years, the proportion of them coming from US applicants has increased significantly since the pandemic.
What was once considered the domain of billionaires and business owners is now increasingly attracting professionals and politically concerned citizens seeking a 'Plan B' – an exit route if, as they fear, they find it harder to live in the US.
'It's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it,' said Christopher Willis, managing partner at the Latitude Group, which helps clients secure second citizenship and residency through investment schemes.
These programmes, often called 'golden visas' or 'citizenship-by-investment' schemes, allow individuals to obtain long-term residency or even citizenship in exchange for a financial contribution – usually via real estate investment, a donation to a national development fund or the purchase of government bonds.
Investment requirements vary by programme and location, ranging from as little as 10,000 euros ($10,800) to more than one million euros ($1.08m).
Not all programmes necessarily lead to full citizenship or a passport, but they do offer the right to residency.
Residency-by-investment schemes, such as Portugal's Golden Visa or Greece's equivalent scheme, offer long-term residence and the right to freedom of travel within the EU's Schengen Zone but do not grant citizenship immediately. In Portugal, however, the programme does provide a five-year pathway to citizenship with minimal residency requirements – an average of 14 days every two years.
Citizenship-by-investment schemes, offered by Malta and several Caribbean countries, can lead to full passports in as little as 16 months.
According to Latitude, 50 percent of its US clients now choose Portugal's Golden Visa as their top pick, followed by Malta (25 percent) and Caribbean nations (15 percent). About 80 percent of those clients say they have no immediate plans to relocate; they simply want the comfort of knowing they have the option to.
Most countries that provide citizenship also have options to transfer this to next generations of children, as well as grandchildren.
Second passports are now being sought by a much broader range of society than just billionaires and high-net-worth business owners.
David Lesperance, a Poland-based international tax and immigration adviser, said his American clients include LGBTQ individuals, major political donors and people concerned by what they perceive as authoritarian trends in US governance.
'I've never been busier,' he told Al Jazeera, adding that people who have never thought about leaving the US are suddenly thinking 'very seriously' about it.
Professor Kristin Surak, a political sociologist at the London School of Economics and author of The Golden Passport, said she has seen a rise in the number of what she calls 'Armageddon Americans' – those who feel that the country's direction is so uncertain that a second citizenship is a rational safeguard.
Willis said Americans now rank among Latitude's top three client groups, after China and India. Arton Capital also confirmed a sharp uptick from US nationals – including both high-net-worth individuals and professionals who are anxious about the current political climate.
The return of Donald Trump to the US presidency in 2025, along with a wave of executive orders targeting civil liberties, immigration protections and minority rights have prompted concern among many groups.
'I got nine applicants in seven days after one of those orders,' Lesperance said, citing a wave of fear among LGBTQ clients, in particular, following a 'gender ideology' executive order that recognised male and female as the only two sexes and reversed several protections for transgender people.
Some people, says Lesperance, worry about being added to political watchlists compiled by allies of the president such as Kash Patel, Trump's pick to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Others, such as supporters of last year's student-led pro-Palestine protests, say they feel increasingly vulnerable amid the Trump administration's attempt to crack down on pro-Palestine activities on US campuses and deport several students involved.
Lesperance also points to the rise in frequency of disasters such as the recent California wildfires, mass shootings and deepening ideological divides as additional drivers of anxiety.
'The US is becoming a wildfire zone,' he said. 'Mass shootings, a dramatic increase in … racism. And if you're politically active, it means half the country doesn't like you.'
For some families, second citizenship is a financial decision. Some choose real estate investments in Caribbean nations including Grenada and Antigua and Barbuda that come with passports in as little as six months.
One of Latitude's clients opted to invest $300,000 in property in Antigua and Barbuda instead of purchasing a vacation home in Florida, gaining a second passport in the process.
Global mobility is another appeal. Armand Arton, CEO of Arton Capital, said his clients often combine 'bundle' residencies. For instance, pairing a UAE Golden Visa with a European one to ensure broader travel access.
To obtain a Golden Visa in the UAE, individuals typically need to invest about $545,000, either by purchasing real estate or making a deposit in an approved financial institution.
Another key factor for some high-net-worth individuals is taxation.
The US is one of the only countries in the world that taxes its citizens and permanent residents – also known as green card holders – on their worldwide earnings, regardless of where they are living. This system, known as citizenship-based taxation, means that even Americans living abroad must file US tax returns and may owe taxes on their global income.
This system has led some high-net-worth Americans to consider renouncing their US citizenship altogether, and green card holders to relinquish their residency status.
While it remains rare for people to take that step, it's becoming a serious consideration for some clients.
'I have had several hundred clients over the decade do this,' Lesperance said. 'We still believe there will be a sharp increase in the numbers of renouncing citizens,' he said, citing economic, political and social uncertainty.
Arton, whose clients are mainly high-net-worth individuals, noted that even before the 2024 US election, 53 percent of American millionaires were actively exploring options abroad.
Yes. US applications for citizenship by descent – often a more affordable path – have also surged by 500 percent since 2023, with 80 percent targeting Italian ancestry, according to firms facilitating the process.
This path is fairly new in the industry but is 'growing so fast', Willis said, especially because it doesn't require any investments to be made.
These applications allow individuals to reclaim citizenship in countries where they have ancestral ties. Italy, for instance, allows people to apply if they can prove descent from an Italian citizen, often going back several generations, provided the ancestor did not renounce their own Italian citizenship before their child's birth.
Ireland, Poland and Germany have similar laws.
Each country has its own rules – Italy places no limit on how far back you can trace your ancestry to claim citizenship, while Ireland typically allows applicants to go back up to three generations.
Unlike some investment-based programmes, these citizenships can often be taken up by descendants fairly easily, making them an attractive option for families who can prove descent. Applicants must typically provide birth certificates, marriage certificates as well as other documents including a family tree.
Most experts believe the trend is far from peaking.
'Americans are future-proofing their lives,' said Willis. Clients are selling assets, restructuring finances, and making 'bold lifestyle decisions' all to secure a second citizenship.
Basil Mohr-Elzeki, managing partner at Henley and Partners, a residence and citizenship-by-investment specialist, said US nationals are also thinking generationally. 'When a citizenship is obtained, it often passes down by descent,' he said. 'That creates a Plan B not just for the client, but for their children and grandchildren.'