International Living Community

I recommend Mary Gratia Colombo. She is an attorney that specialises in both residency and tax matters. You can find her at mgrazia.colombo@leexe.it

I speak to dozens of people who are looking for Portuguese residency at my consultation service here at International Living. I always recommend Global Citizen Solutions based in Lisbon. They do more than just residency. They can also help you with getting your tax figures in order, getting health and drivers license cards and so on.

I offer one to one consultations for people looking to secure ancestral citizenship in Europe so if you'd like to reach out, you can find the sign up link on our IL website. Look for Global Citizen.

Regarding Poland, there is technically no limit on how far back you can go to find an ancestor who qualifies you for residency. The problem is that Poland only came into existence as a modern nation in 1920. That means that your ancestor must either have been alive and Living in Poland when the Polish Republic was declared, or they must have lived on territory that subsequently became the Polish Republic before 1920. For example, many ethnic polls left what was then the Russian Empire or the Austro Hungarian Empire prior to 1920, but qualify as Polish ancestors. Not all countries do that.

If and when you have your Polish citizenship recognized come up your wife would be eligible for a family reunification visa. This is required by European Union law. However, the only way to qualify for it would be to move to a European country as an EU citizen and then apply for her visa once you are settled. She won't be able to get the visa if she's still living abroad.

If you're looking for Portugal specific advice, I would recommend Rita Jardim. She's a Portuguese attorney who specializes in helping foreign immigrants make the best of their move to Portugal. You can contact her at rita.jardim@mayerjardim.com.

For broader issues regarding global investments and asset protection you can reach out to me directly on the IL website via my Global Citizen service.

Ted Baumann

If both of your grandparents were Greek citizens, then you should be eligible to apply for citizenship by ancestry. To prove this, you will leave the birth certificates marriage certificates come a death certificates and proof of citizenship of your Greek ancestors. Greek citizenship is historically based on being registered in the Municipal Rolls (Dimotologio). If your Greek ancestors weren't registered, you may need additional steps to prove their citizenship.In almost all cases, acquiring the assistance of a Greek attorney that specializes in such matters is necessary.

Depends on what help you need. If you are applying as the descendant of a citizen of those two countries, There's a process for that. If you're looking to qualify by naturalization, that's another route. Can you clarify which way you're trying to get citizenship?

If your father's father (your grandpa) was born in Malta before 1 September 1964, then your father Is automatically a Maltese citizen. You do not automatically acquire Maltese citizenship from him; but you can apply for citizenship by registration on the basis that your father is a Maltese citizen as were your grandparents and great grandparents. To pursue this, you'd need to contact the Malta Citizenship Agency, get the application, gather all the documents that prove your ancestry, and submit your case.

First of all, there is no obstacle to getting a second citizenship on the American side.The Supreme Court has ruled several times that Americans cannot be forbidden from acquiring other citizenships. So keep that in mind because if you really like a country, it's always best to become a citizen if you want to stay there.

There are many countries where you can live and retire indefinitely. For retirees, countries have visas that allow you to remain indefinitely as long as you have sufficient income from pensions and investments. In Europe, they include Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Germany, and several countries in the Balkans. Popular retirement visas in the Western Hemisphere include Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, and Ecuador.

The key factor for all of these visas is whether you have enough passive income from pension and investments to qualify. The cheapest are in Central America, with Costa Rica and Panama at $1000 a month. Europe is more expensive although Portugal will grant AD7 retirement visa for around $1000 a month income. All the other countries are in the €3000 to €3500 monthly income range.

Finally, note that although you often need to renew the visa annually for every two years, this is just a formality to show that you continue to have enough income. Many IL subscribers have lived for years abroad in these countries in this way.

Yes, as long as your Social Security is equal to or above the monthly income requirement, you should qualify. Bear in mind, however, that these minimum amounts are subject to adjustment based on the opinion of the consular officials who are processing your application. Sometimes they will ask for a higher monthly income especially if you have chronic medical issues. But in general, a guaranteed government pension is the best source of income you can have for Portugal.

once you have been given approval for a Mexican Visa whether temporary or permanent, you get a stamp in your passport, and you have 180 days to go to Mexico and have that temporary stamp converted to a permanent resident status. If you don't go to Mexico with him that time, you have to start the application process all over again.

As a citizen of Ireland, you do not need to apply for an ETIAS before traveling to other countries within the EU. As an EU national, you have full travel, settlement, and work rights anywhere in the bloc. Just be sure when you travel that you are doing so on your Irish passport.

If you have a long term residency visa in Slovakia, then it does not count against your time in the Schengen zone. You should be able to travel to Italy and remain for 90 days or anywhere else in the EU.

That's a tough one. Almost all countries require proof of guaranteed income, which in the absence of a formal pension means a bank deposit big enough to support yourself for the length of the visa. In Central America, most countries require a formal pension and only accept savings or investment income in exceptional circumstances.

The two exceptions I can think of are Uruguay and Paraguay, in southern South America. Both countries will accept residency applications as long as you have the means to support yourself, regardless of where it comes from. Of the two, Paraguay has a much lower cost of living, but the lifestyle is rustic to say the least. In both countries you should be able to initiate a residency application on a rival, and remain in the country until it's processed. As part of my global citizen service I offer personalPersonal consultations to facilitate those applications.

Ted Baumann

Mark, if you'd like to book a consultation with me, I offer personalized planning for a move abroad. If you'd like to sign up, here's the link.
https://secured.globalcitizenliving.com/journey/120SZTCC3/1

Glen, you are most welcome to sign up for my consultation service at Global Citizen, part of International Living. I can help you plan for everything that you mentioned in your post.

Here's the link: https://secured.globalcitizenliving.com/journey/120SZTCC3/1

Could you be more specific? There are bilateral treaties regarding taxes, Social Security, and for some European countries, for extended stays for US, Canadian, and other citizens.

If you're referring to the MM2H Visa in Malaysia, I'm afraid there are no exceptions. My understanding is that the country offers different tiers of visa depending on income and savings. I'm not aware that there are any exceptions unfortunately.

In both countries, the only way to get a passport is by acquiring citizenship, which requires living in those countries for a continuous period. Thr spouse can't get citizenship ifhe/she isn't living there.

In Lithuania, if the spouse of a citizen lives in the country for seven years as a permanent resident they are eligible to apply for a passport.Getting permanent residency is more or less the same as it is in the US, with registering your foreign marriage with the Lithuanian government, having a place to live, sufficient funds, and so on.

In Poland, the foreign spouse must first live in the country with a temporary residence permit based on marriage. After that, the spouse can apply for permanent residence. The spouse must remain on that status for another year. As long as you haven't been absent for more than 10 months in total over that five year period, the spouse can then apply for citizenship.

One thing that can cause complications in both cases is whether the Lithuanian or Polish citizen was recognized as such at the time of marriage. Lithuanian law doesn't require that a couple be married for any particular period before they apply for citizenship, but Poland says that you have to be married to a citizen for at least three years. Some Polish officials interpret that as meaning that you have to wait for three years after your spouse became a citizen, whilst others counted from the date of your marriage. But under Polish law, once you're recognized as a citizen by right of blood, your citizenship is backdated to the time of your birth. The problem is that not all Polish bureaucrats know that!

Hi there! Ted Baumann here. I've actually stayed at the Garden Route Game Lodge myself, it's really nice. Lovely big fireplaces for the evening meals.

The quickest way to get there from Aghulas would be to take the R319 provincial road north Until you intersect with the N2 highway, Which runs east west. You would make a right turn onto the N2 then go through Swellendam, Heidelberg, and Riversdale, and then you'll pick up the game lodge a bit further on on the left.

Hello there. Sorry about the technical difficulties.

Let's start with the golden visa issue. The type of programs you are referring to have mainly abandoned real estate as an option. But there are plenty of other visa types that will work for you as well. There's no need for you to start investing little bits into foreign stock markets to get residency abroad.

Of course, if you have money in an IRA, you can convert some of it to a self directed IRA, and to use that to invest in qualifying assets in whatever country you want to live in. As you note, it's quite difficult to get banking and brokerage facilities in a foreign country unless you have a close connection there, or until you've got a residency visa.

If your goal is to retire overseas, then your best bet is to focus on getting a financially independent person's visa, sometimes called a non-lucrative visa. In all countries, this requires that you demonstrate a regular flow of passive income from pension or investments. As long as you have enough coming in, and you have all the other paperwork in order, that allows you to live in the country indefinitely. And it doesn't require that you open up a bank account ahead of time.