The rise of digital nomad visas, global investment programs, and alternative citizenships has begun to redefine what it means to belong to a country. The “sovereign individual” concept is no longer hypothetical—it is an emerging reality.
My wife and I started the task you speak of in 2021 by applying under Portugal’s Golden Visa program when it was still possible to qualify by investing in residential property. It’s been over 2-1/2 years since we purchased the property and submitted our application and we just recently attended our biometrics appointment which is a big milestone on the path to gaining temporary residency status. We are very much invested in a blue state with family ties there and like you, not willing to renounce US citizenship. However, the democratic backsliding is intense and I’m not going to operate under the thumb of these cretins. Portugal has always been a wonderful country to us and given that the citizenry there performed a bloodless military coup to overthrow a fascist regime as recently as 1974, it’s a vibrant new democracy which has really come along way with economic development in the past 20 years. Whether I live there full-time remains to be seen, but I very much desire to be a citizen of this country that the rest of Europe pretends doesn’t even exist except for holidays and futebol.
Thanks for this. I found it really interesting. When you have a moment, I'd love to talk to you about your journey. We are going to be pursuing the "jus sanguinis" route first. There is an exceptionally good chance that I am entitled to Italian citizenship. If so, then so are my kids, and then my wife could also live in the EU as my spouse. That would significantly shorten the road (as I understand it) in terms of getting a PR "ticket," and, ultimately, a citizenship card in an EU country. At the moment, we're considering Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, and Sweden (in roughly that order.) I decided to start a company, and publish this blog to capture the research and the information we learn along the way. My kids are also going to blog and document their journey as part of the process as well.
Maybe the Italian thing works out, maybe it doesn't. We've looked at the Golden Visa programs in Ireland, Portugal, Spain, etc. Some are, as you've pointed out, real estate accepting, some aren't. We could go that route, but it would be financially painful. So I want to explore first the bloodline route.
I think Spain and Portugal are great potential places for Americans. I keep hearing wonderful things about Portugal, quite frankly. It keeps coming up over and over in my research. My wife and I really also enjoyed Barcelona the times we've been there. Spain is an amazing country in general.
When you travel around the world... it's simultaneously frustrating and eye-opening. It's frustrating because you see how other countries have "solved" (or rather effectively addressed) so many problems - like violence, crime, health care, etc.; simultaneously - eye-opening because they have built these stable civil societies, despite all we've told that "America is the best! If we haven't figured it out, NOBODY can!" Well, that myth isn't true, now is it?
I say this having been someone who's extensively traveled.
I wish America was trending a different direction... but it's not.
I’d love to speak with you. I’m preparing for a deposition I have to take on Monday (I’m a lawyer) so after that is behind me, I’ll have time to speak. I just had a conversation with a retired lawyer who’s wife has Italian heritage and who has been on that track you are considering for 2.5 years and she just gave up on it due to what she was told by her lawyer could take anywhere from another 2-5 years.
Portugal has now ended the residential real estate path for the Golden Visa but there are other options that you might be able to qualify for since you have a business. The Golden Visa has its drawbacks, particularly the time it takes. Portugal’s immigration service is notoriously backlogged and sclerotic. I think that’s true for most of Europe.
There is also the Nomad visa that I’ve heard is pretty easy to qualify for since you’re going to meet the minimum income requirements and there’s also the D7 for people with passive income recipients that you might qualify for. The incomes are so low in Portugal that the income requirements for these alternative visa programs are relatively easy to meet for Americans.
If you’re interested in Portugal, Spain or Ireland, I recommend looking into Global Citizen Solutions, a company that acts as your agent and is a great resource to get you through the process. I am using GCS and I’ve met it’s representatives in their office in Lisboa. I have nothing but praise for them. I’m friendly with the owner if you’d like an introduction. The realtor GCS furnished me with went above the call of duty and he’s become a friend who I visit every time I go back to Portugal. Here’s GCS’s website: https://www.globalcitizensolutions.com
Let me know when it would be convenient to speak next week. I’m west coast PST.
My wife and I started the task you speak of in 2021 by applying under Portugal’s Golden Visa program when it was still possible to qualify by investing in residential property. It’s been over 2-1/2 years since we purchased the property and submitted our application and we just recently attended our biometrics appointment which is a big milestone on the path to gaining temporary residency status. We are very much invested in a blue state with family ties there and like you, not willing to renounce US citizenship. However, the democratic backsliding is intense and I’m not going to operate under the thumb of these cretins. Portugal has always been a wonderful country to us and given that the citizenry there performed a bloodless military coup to overthrow a fascist regime as recently as 1974, it’s a vibrant new democracy which has really come along way with economic development in the past 20 years. Whether I live there full-time remains to be seen, but I very much desire to be a citizen of this country that the rest of Europe pretends doesn’t even exist except for holidays and futebol.
Thanks for this. I found it really interesting. When you have a moment, I'd love to talk to you about your journey. We are going to be pursuing the "jus sanguinis" route first. There is an exceptionally good chance that I am entitled to Italian citizenship. If so, then so are my kids, and then my wife could also live in the EU as my spouse. That would significantly shorten the road (as I understand it) in terms of getting a PR "ticket," and, ultimately, a citizenship card in an EU country. At the moment, we're considering Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, and Sweden (in roughly that order.) I decided to start a company, and publish this blog to capture the research and the information we learn along the way. My kids are also going to blog and document their journey as part of the process as well.
Maybe the Italian thing works out, maybe it doesn't. We've looked at the Golden Visa programs in Ireland, Portugal, Spain, etc. Some are, as you've pointed out, real estate accepting, some aren't. We could go that route, but it would be financially painful. So I want to explore first the bloodline route.
I think Spain and Portugal are great potential places for Americans. I keep hearing wonderful things about Portugal, quite frankly. It keeps coming up over and over in my research. My wife and I really also enjoyed Barcelona the times we've been there. Spain is an amazing country in general.
When you travel around the world... it's simultaneously frustrating and eye-opening. It's frustrating because you see how other countries have "solved" (or rather effectively addressed) so many problems - like violence, crime, health care, etc.; simultaneously - eye-opening because they have built these stable civil societies, despite all we've told that "America is the best! If we haven't figured it out, NOBODY can!" Well, that myth isn't true, now is it?
I say this having been someone who's extensively traveled.
I wish America was trending a different direction... but it's not.
I’d love to speak with you. I’m preparing for a deposition I have to take on Monday (I’m a lawyer) so after that is behind me, I’ll have time to speak. I just had a conversation with a retired lawyer who’s wife has Italian heritage and who has been on that track you are considering for 2.5 years and she just gave up on it due to what she was told by her lawyer could take anywhere from another 2-5 years.
Portugal has now ended the residential real estate path for the Golden Visa but there are other options that you might be able to qualify for since you have a business. The Golden Visa has its drawbacks, particularly the time it takes. Portugal’s immigration service is notoriously backlogged and sclerotic. I think that’s true for most of Europe.
There is also the Nomad visa that I’ve heard is pretty easy to qualify for since you’re going to meet the minimum income requirements and there’s also the D7 for people with passive income recipients that you might qualify for. The incomes are so low in Portugal that the income requirements for these alternative visa programs are relatively easy to meet for Americans.
If you’re interested in Portugal, Spain or Ireland, I recommend looking into Global Citizen Solutions, a company that acts as your agent and is a great resource to get you through the process. I am using GCS and I’ve met it’s representatives in their office in Lisboa. I have nothing but praise for them. I’m friendly with the owner if you’d like an introduction. The realtor GCS furnished me with went above the call of duty and he’s become a friend who I visit every time I go back to Portugal. Here’s GCS’s website: https://www.globalcitizensolutions.com
Let me know when it would be convenient to speak next week. I’m west coast PST.