Latin America residency

Lee2521 wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 27, 2019 8:24 pm

I have watched a few YouTube videos about getting residency in Paraguay, Panama by making a bank deposit of $5.000 but this comes with conditions etc like not staying out of the country for too long plus you will have to fly back every so often but is there any other countries in this region which offer something similar to gain residency or is there a better option to go after.

Sulla wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 04, 2019 2:44 am

Lee2521 wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 27, 2019 8:24 pm

I have watched a few YouTube videos about getting residency in Paraguay, Panama by making a bank deposit of $5.000 but this comes with conditions etc like not staying out of the country for too long plus you will have to fly back every so often but is there any other countries in this region which offer something similar to gain residency or is there a better option to go after.

Hi Lee,

It has been a while since you posted. I never looked in this section of the forum before.

It really depends upon what your motivational mix is for seeking this residency. Is it primarily a tax reduction strategy, for banking or because you wish to eventually qualify for citizenship in the jurisdiction?

I have some experience with second residencies and passports. I would be happy to give you what guidance I can. However, I am Eurasia based and all of my residence experiences relate to Europe or central, east and south east Asia. I do have a Caribbean passport, but I have not spent much time there. That said, I do have quite a lot of friends from the US who have gone through various central american residence / citizenship programs like Panama and one who has done Brazil.

Lee2521 wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 04, 2019 7:07 pm

Paraguay would be good too 6 months residence each year for 3 years and you can become a Paraguayan citizen but the Paraguay passport does allow visa free travel to Thailand.

Then there is Chile the closest to western standards, Ecuador nice beaches history and Colombia looks like an amazing country plus many more

Sulla wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 05, 2019 1:46 am

Lee2521 wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 04, 2019 7:07 pm

Paraguay would be good too 6 months residence each year for 3 years and you can become a Paraguayan citizen but the Paraguay passport does allow visa free travel to Thailand.

Then there is Chile the closest to western standards, Ecuador nice beaches history and Colombia looks like an amazing country plus many more

Hi Lee,

The thing about some of the Central / South American residency - citizenship processes that you have to be wary of is that what appears to be the law may not actually be applied in practice when it comes to transitioning from residency to citizenship. There are plenty of people who have gone down to Uruguay or Paraguay thinking that they can get a cheap second residency that will involve little time in country and lead to citizenship. Ditto for Pananma. It is easy enough to acquire residence in any of these aforementioned countries, but transitioning to citizenship often meets substantial resistance. This is because a lot of the naturalization process depends upon local judges or officials. There have been many reports of people who have actually lived in some of these places for the full residency timescale or more (technically not required) and still been refused naturalization. Therefore, I would hit the avoid key on any of them.

Any Caribbean, Central American or South American passport you can obtain is going to be tier B - with the exception of Chile, which is Tier A. They alone have North American visa free access. Caribbean passports are easy to get in exchange for investment. They have no residency requirements. For the others, time will be required on the ground. There is really no way around this. The best options in my view from the group would be:

Argentina: Two year residency requirement. You need to be physically present during this time. Proof of income / funds is also a requirement. This is a high Tier B passport.

Brazil: 1 year residency requirement. You must stay there during this time. Adoption of a child or being the natural parent of a Brazilian born child is required. I know a person who did this. He took his wife to Brazil when she was 5.5 months pregnant and they stayed there for a year and a half. He had no issues to get his passport. Smaller cities are recommended for this. This is a high Tier B passport.

Chile: 6 month temporary residence requirement during which you must physically remain in Chile, followed by 5 years of Permanent residence which requires one day per year spent in the country to maintain. There are financial income requirements to meet. After these 5 years of PR pass, you may apply for naturalization which can take about a year. This is a tier A passport that will take you to most places you would want to go (except Australia). It is the least demanding option in my view. Of the lot, this is the one I would aim for. I may do it in the future, but first I will be doing Israel later this year and after that probably Malta.

You did mention visa free access to Thailand. You don't need this. You already have that covered twice over with your UK and Irish passports. Thai immigration are in the process of introducing bio-metric entry systems anyway. Until now, some people (like me) with several passports could have been living in Thailand permanently on tourist visas, simply by exiting to Cambodia and coming back in on a new (extendable) 30 day stamp using another passport. The new system will check fingerprints against the database and this is likely to eliminate such practices.

If you are looking for the lowest cost (and least time required in country) second passport (High Tier B) then the Americas are not the best choice. Israel will give citizenship right away to returning Jews making Aliyah. This extends to secular Jews and to the child or grandchild of a Jew. You could also convert to Judaism and return as Olim after about 18 months of conversion and Synagogue attendance in the UK. Reform Judaism imposes no stringent lifestyle requirements on converts. This is a good option if you don't intend to spend time in the Arab world as there are travel restrictions against Israeli passport or visa holders. However, this can be overcome simply by entering any of these nations on the UK or Irish passport.