Post: #1

Guys,
Wanted to share something that may be of interest to some in here, that is to obtain a EU passport. This applies mainly for US citizens (I am not and I don't need a EU passport at this time) but it's good to know that there are options out there for those who are looking for it.

I read that in one of my favorite magazines, the only 1 or 2 that I'm a subscriber to, perhaps some in here know it or even a reader/subscriber to it, but it's a good source of info for traveling, investing and new trends worlwide for people who are travel minded and mobile like us on this forum. That magazine is International Living. Anyways, here's the article straight from IL:

"In 1956, the US and the Netherlands signed a treaty of Friendship giving citizens and businesses in each country reciprocal rights in both countries. Some of the treaty's provisions no longer apply to the Netherlands itself, but they still apply to the Dutch territories.

European Dutch citizens may stay for 6 months at a time in the Dutch Caribbean territories without applying for a residence permit. The court declared that US citizens ought to have the same entitlement. This is an important development if you're a US citizen interested in acquiring residence in the Dutch Territories, potentially leading to your eligibility to to apply for a Dutch passport...

Based on this court decision, your application for residence in the Dutch Caribbean territories must be treated the same way one from a European Dutch applicant would be treated. After 5 years of continuous legal residence, good conduct and integration into the community, you're eligible to apply for a Dutch passport. (Continuous legal residence means just that, you must actually live several months each year in your selected territory). With a Dutch passport, you have visa-free access to more than 150 countries. You can also live or work anywhere in the EU. For more information, you can contact the Nestmann Group LTD by email at : [email protected]"

Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with neither the Nestmann Group nor International Living. Just wanted to share this you guys as this can be a valid option to obtaining a EU passport for US citizens. Also because I have learned a lot of awesome and very useful things in this forum so I feel it's my duty as well to share things that can benefit others in here. Hope this helps some of us in here.

Cheers.

Post: #2

Great info Vacancier! Thanks for sharing...

Post: #3

Quote:After 5 years of continuous legal residence..

I guess that would be the downside.

Post: #4

If you ask me, it's not a bad deal. Choosing between living in the US or in a tropical place, in South America, just a stone throw's away from Brasil and with easy access to Colombia and the rest of the continent I'd definitely choose the latter. This agreement is that the US citizen must spend a few months each year for at least 5 years in the Dutch Caribbean (IMHO, either in Suriname or in St Marteen, in the Dutch side of it. Not bad places if you ask me to spend half the year. As to exactly how long one has to spend there each year, no idea, that's why a good lawyer will come in handy or even shoot an email to [email protected] and they should be able to answer that.

Post: #5

Fuck it, I'm just gonna marry a Spanish girl.

Post: #6

Its probably possible to fake your residency for the 5 years, no?
What type of proof are they looking for?

BTW, I've heard that there are benifits to US travelers to having a EU passport, but I'm not sure why. What are the benefits?

Post: #7

Partytime,
To get an accurate answer to your questin regarding the requirements for residency, speak to a good lawyer or send an email to the folks mentioned in the article.
The main benefits for US citizens and Canadians are:
a) living and working freely in any of the EU countries.
b) visa free entry to 150 countries which means that in places where as a US or Canadian citizen, you'd need a visa, like for ex Brasil, you could enter without one and this would be a non negligeable not only benefit but also savings on those visa fees and all.

I'm sure there are more benefits, but these are the main ones that come to mind at first.

Post: #8

Being able to work or live in the EU sounds like a big pro. And If the shit ever hits the fan, how nice it would be to be able to move on the fly. Like imagine if you lived in Europe right before WW2 and had an American passport. You could just pack up and leave before it got too rough.

Post: #9

Irish Passports are even better!


Check here.

But the weather is SHIT and Irish girls have got serious beer bellies.

Post: #10

Vacancier, from your past posts I am assuming you are Canadian. Have you found anything similar for Canadian citizens. Any ideas on the best way for a Canadian passport holder to get EU residency?

Post: #11

Manabout,
Yes I'm Canadian. I haven't heard anything similar for us canucks, but look into your ancestry to see if you have any Euro links/bloods and inquire about how to go about obtaining the passport of that country based on your ancestry. If you don't have any Euro ancestry, I guess you should talk to a good immigration lawyer to see what are your options.

Hope this helps.

Post: #12

I have a Dutch passport, It's really great. Most EU passport holders don't even need a visa to enter the US. We can just fill out a form via the internet before you leave and you're settled for 3 months. Same for Canada, you can even stay for 6 months.
There is one downside: You will lose your Canadian citizenship (Or you must marry a Dutch women.)

Post: #13

(05-31-2010 08:15 PM)naughtynomad Wrote:  Irish Passports are even better!


Check here.

But the weather is SHIT and Irish girls have got serious beer bellies.

Good link.

I see that the Irish passport is ranked fairly high. I think I did some research on that in the past, and you need 5 years temporary residency, and then you can apply for permanent residency and a passport. Lithuania offers the same deal, more or less, but you only need to start and maintain a Lithuanian registered corporation for 5 years (but then you have to learn the language to get residency as well.) So for all for the English speakers on this board, those countries probably offer the 'easiest' EU passport. The advantage to the Irish passport is that you already know the language, and the advantage to the Lithuanian passport is that you probably can get away with not staying in the country for any real length of time.

Post: #14

(06-16-2010 11:35 AM)hydrogonian Wrote:  

(05-31-2010 08:15 PM)naughtynomad Wrote:  Irish Passports are even better!


Check here.

But the weather is SHIT and Irish girls have got serious beer bellies.

Good link.

I see that the Irish passport is ranked fairly high. I think I did some research on that in the past, and you need 5 years temporary residency, and then you can apply for permanent residency and a passport. Lithuania offers the same deal, more or less, but you only need to start and maintain a Lithuanian registered corporation for 5 years (but then you have to learn the language to get residency as well.) So for all for the English speakers on this board, those countries probably offer the 'easiest' EU passport. The advantage to the Irish passport is that you already know the language, and the advantage to the Lithuanian passport is that you probably can get away with not staying in the country for any real length of time.

It takes 3 years to get a Belgian passport, better get a Belgian one then.

Post: #15

(05-31-2010 11:36 AM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  The main benefits for US citizens and Canadians are:
a) living and working freely in any of the EU countries.
b) visa free entry to 150 countries which means that in places where as a US or Canadian citizen, you'd need a visa, like for ex Brasil

According to Henley Visa Restrictions Index, U.S. passport is actually better than Dutch (155 visa-free countries versus 154). I wonder if anyone knows a web site to see the difference? Obviously I can write a scrapper to obtain this info from Timatic, but it would be better if someone already done that. Also even for NL citizens the maximum stay in Brazil is 90 days.

In my opinion if you have US passport and want just to travel to more countries, Russian passport may be even better than Dutch as you'll be getting visa-free access to whole ex-USSR (except Turkmenia) as well as Brazil and North Korea (lol). However it's quite tricky to get.

My main concern though would be whether you're losing U.S. citizenship by going that way.

Post: #16

(06-16-2010 11:47 AM)Badstuber Wrote:  

(06-16-2010 11:35 AM)hydrogonian Wrote:  

(05-31-2010 08:15 PM)naughtynomad Wrote:  Irish Passports are even better!


Check here.

But the weather is SHIT and Irish girls have got serious beer bellies.

Good link.

I see that the Irish passport is ranked fairly high. I think I did some research on that in the past, and you need 5 years temporary residency, and then you can apply for permanent residency and a passport. Lithuania offers the same deal, more or less, but you only need to start and maintain a Lithuanian registered corporation for 5 years (but then you have to learn the language to get residency as well.) So for all for the English speakers on this board, those countries probably offer the 'easiest' EU passport. The advantage to the Irish passport is that you already know the language, and the advantage to the Lithuanian passport is that you probably can get away with not staying in the country for any real length of time.

It takes 3 years to get a Belgian passport, better get a Belgian one then.

But what are the requirements, and who is it open to?

Keep in mind everyone on this board will have different motivations, and therefore be after different passports. Most likely, the North American guys on the forum would mostly be after an EU passport. This is because most of the rest of the world, that is desirable to live in, is open to us. I'm not sure what the EU guys would be after, unless you fellas have a strong desire to live indefinitely in the USA or Canada.

Likewise, if someones dream was to live in Thailand indefinitely, they would want a Thai passport (very difficult, I believe). As long as you have a first world passport, you have a lot of countries open to you. But its about where you want to live or travel... For me, an EU passport would be ideal.

Post: #17

That would rock to have an EU passport, if only to be able to choose the tiny EU custom line at Heathrow vs the mile long line for other passport holders..

Post: #18

(06-16-2010 10:45 PM)hydrogonian Wrote:  what are the requirements, and who is it open to?

To people that has been living for 3 years in Belgium

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturalizat..._countries

Post: #19

There are only a few ways to lose your US citizenship.

http://travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/...p_778.html

Shit, argentina is only 2 years.....

Post: #20

(06-17-2010 10:57 AM)clr Wrote:  There are only a few ways to lose your US citizenship.

And "obtaining naturalization in a foreign state" is one of them. Several countries I know require you to submit a written notarized declaration that it is your intention to renounce all other citizenships, so it may also be a concern.

Post: #21

(06-17-2010 05:06 PM)oldnemesis Wrote:  

(06-17-2010 10:57 AM)clr Wrote:  There are only a few ways to lose your US citizenship.

And "obtaining naturalization in a foreign state" is one of them. Several countries I know require you to submit a written notarized declaration that it is your intention to renounce all other citizenships, so it may also be a concern.

right but read teh state dept that I posted, only if you obtain with the INTENT to renounce..... most people dont want to renounce.

Post: #22

(06-17-2010 06:39 PM)clr Wrote:  right but read teh state dept that I posted, only if you obtain with the INTENT to renounce..... most people dont want to renounce.

When you apply for Russian citizenship, you sign a notarized form which states that you INTENT to renounce all other citizenships. This form is sent to your embassy, so I believe this is enough to prove the intent. The law also states that if you did not renounce all previous citizenships during 365 days after acquiring the Russian one, this is the ground to revoke your Russian citizenship. I do not know what kind of laws EU has though.

Post: #23

I am an EU citizen and US permanent resident. Anyone know firsthand how difficult it is to move to Canada? I'd love to be able to work in Montreal. I know Quebec has different rules than the rest of the country.

Post: #24

Do you want to move to Canada just to work in Montreal, or you want to immigrate, and at some point get citizenship there?
What degree do you have? Do you speak French?

Post: #25

Well I'd like to live and work in Montreal, with the option of becoming a citizen if I decide to stay. So yes, I'd say immigrate.

I have a B.S. in Business and speak French at an advanced level, but not fluent.

-LS