Second Passports - How, Where and Why
Many of us have never traveled outside of our home country and as a result, we are missing out on the cultural experiences and opportunities that exist around the world. In this blog post I will go through how, where and why you should consider obtaining a second passport if you want to live abroad or even just travel internationally more often.
Since passports are important documents that enable international interactions we need to ensure they are up-to-date, valid for our current countries of residence, and show all required stamps from other countries visited. Anything less is an unnecessary barrier to creating opportunities for yourself or others who share your interests globally. This can include obtaining a second citizenship or passport in addition to your first nationality.
Obtaining a second passport is not easy and requires a lot of time and energy. Many people think that it's only for the super wealthy but this is just not the case, as many individuals can acquire passports in as short of a time frame given their situation. If you are considering obtaining an additional passport then below I have provided a step-by-step guide with information on:
where you can get one,
how to apply,
the cost of obtaining one and
the need to be aware of potential pitfalls when traveling internationally. Click here to read my full post here on this subject.
Posted by Nathan Swartz at 12:04 AM No comments:
The New Multi-Currency Debit Card
This card combines the multiple benefits of international business and travel into one, and reflects how a dual citizen can move around the world. In many places around the world you can't or just don't want to carry cash. This is because some places don't accept it, places that do only want bills in their local currency, the exchange rate from USD to Euro isn't favorable, and sometimes you just need immediate access to your money - something credit cards and cash don't provide. With a card like this you can have both, as well as the convenience of paying for things with a card that doesn't carry any foreign exchange risk.
This has been another concept on my mind for some time now and I think it's very interesting that it is becoming increasingly popular because of the way it allows you to benefit from two currencies without any need to switch - there are many dual citizens who work in more than one country, but who don't want to be carrying two different currencies at the same time just because they travel in and out of countries frequently.
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Posted by Nathan Swartz at 1:29 AM No comments:
Seemingly, more and more people are wanting to live abroad. And for good reason. Not only does living abroad provide greater opportunities for you and your family, but it also increases your network of friends/relationships, improves cultural understanding and communication skills, can lead to better jobs and business opportunities (especially if you are a digital nomad), it is possibly less stressful to live in another country as opposed to your own, and the list goes on. According to the United Nations Department of Economic & Social Affairs Population Division in their World Urbanization Prospects report the world population is expected to increase from 5.5 billion today to over 9 billion people in 2050.
The following infographic provides an example of the increase in population, along with the percentage of growth expected to occur in urban areas, and with the majority of that growth occurring between now and 2050. This will certainly mean a lot more people living abroad for longer periods of time, and as we've discussed previously this would present a new opportunity for you and your family - life abroad.
For those who want to live abroad but aren't sure how they first need to get started or what it would take. We've created an infographic below that provides some useful tips on how you can prepare yourself for this life change .
Posted by Nathan Swartz at 4:52 AM No comments:
As part of your international financial strategy and planning, you need to have a solid understanding of how to make the most of your global tax situation. If you're like "Dan" in the infographic below and are living abroad or traveling frequently between countries , then there are probably some tax implications worth considering. In this post, we offer some of the most common tax issues you may want to review, as well as provide some suggestions on how you can lessen the impact of that audit. We also wanted to dedicate a post to the most common tax and legal mistakes people make that can cause a lot of problems for their finances .
© Nathan Swartz - All Rights Reserved
Also important to consider are whether or not you would qualify for any specific tax treaty that applies. Not all countries have agreements with one another and each one allows differently inflow and outflow of money. For example, some agreements are only beneficial to a person living in one country, while others can be used by people living in multiple different countries.
We've created an infographic below on how to minimize your tax liability while maximizing your total income.
Posted by Nathan Swartz at 7:46 AM No comments:
As part of the mission at www.international-nest.com we believe it's important that our members and followers understand the tax implications they will face as they travel or live abroad to better prepare themselves for the future. In fact there is a lot of information out there today about traveling abroad and taxes . As a result we have created an infographic below to help make the most of your international financial strategy and planning.
Posted by Nathan Swartz at 4:30 PM No comments:
The topic of tax rates when living abroad has been discussed on this blog in the past , but it has always been in the context of talking about tax-havens. However, many people still don't really know what these terms mean, so it's important that you all understand as much as possible, especially if you're living abroad or traveling frequently between countries.
If you've never heard of these terms before then please check out our infographic above on the topics below and enlighten yourself .
Conclusion
We are all aware of the fact that the world is becoming more globalized and our day-to-day lives are being influenced by the need to be constantly connected to our social media networks, email, friends and family. However, with this increased connectivity comes increased vulnerability and although we can see benefits such as faster communication etc it could also come at a cost.
This infographic shows you how important it is for you to understand your personal finances as well as not just your immediate family's finances but also those of your extended family members.