Nomad Capitalist Chapter 4 Part 2: The Practical Guide to Getting a Second Passport
In Part 1 we covered why anyone would want a second passport and the four ways to get one. Now Henderson gets into the messy details. And trust me, it gets messy. Fake passports, lazy lawyers, and the surprising truth that a Mexican passport might be better than an American one.
Let us dig in.
The Challenges Nobody Warns You About
Henderson does not sugarcoat the naturalization process. Getting a residence permit is just the beginning. The real problem is what happens after.
Governments Change the Rules
You move to a country, start the clock on naturalization, and five years later the government decides to change the requirements. Or they just… do nothing. Henderson knows a couple that lived in Panama for fifteen years. The law says you can apply after five years. Their paperwork has been sitting on the president’s desk, unsigned, for a decade.
This is one of those things that sounds impossible until you have dealt with government bureaucracy in developing countries. Then it sounds completely normal. I worked with government systems in the former Soviet Union. Trust me, paperwork sitting on someone’s desk for years is not shocking at all.
The Lawyer Problem
Henderson has some entertaining stories about lawyers in Latin America. One could barely be bothered to show up for their meeting. Another one in Nicaragua took the full payment upfront and then became impossible to reach. His Nicaraguan friends later told him the lawyer would have been more motivated if half the payment was still pending.
There is a lesson here that applies to pretty much any country outside Western Europe and North America. Always keep some of the payment as leverage. People stay motivated when they have something to earn. Pay everything upfront and your urgency becomes their optional task.
Scams Everywhere
This section was eye-opening. Outside immigration offices in Moldova, you can find fixers who will create fake Romanian papers for $1,500. Since Moldova used to be part of Romania and most Moldovans qualify for Romanian citizenship anyway, these fixers just help people skip the line. But for foreigners, it is straight up fraud.
The internet is even worse. Websites promise Panamanian citizenship in six weeks. Henderson asks a good question. The same government that takes a year to issue a permit to replace a toilet is somehow going to process citizenship in six weeks? Obviously someone on the inside is pulling blank passports off the shelf.
His advice is clear. If the deal sounds too fast or too cheap, it is a scam. Do not end up in a foreign prison because you tried to save money on a passport.
The Passport Portfolio Concept
Here is where the chapter gets really interesting. Henderson introduces the idea of a “passport portfolio.” Just like you diversify investments across stocks, real estate, and bonds, you can diversify passports across different types of countries.
The Three Tiers of Passports
Henderson created a tier system that actually makes a lot of sense.
Tier A passports get you into the United States without a visa. These include most EU countries, Japan, Singapore, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and a few others. About 40 countries total. These are expensive and hard to get. You either need EU naturalization (years of living there plus high taxes) or citizenship by investment in Malta (about $1 million).
Tier B passports get you into Europe’s Schengen Area but not the US. These include Caribbean nations, Eastern Europe, Central and South America, and parts of Asia. Much cheaper and easier to get. This is where most of the action is for practical passport shoppers.
Tier C passports do not get you into the US or Europe. Most African and some Asian countries. A few exceptions like Turkey and Russia are what Henderson calls “C+” because they get you everywhere except the US and Europe.
Why Tier B Is the Sweet Spot
Here is what surprised me. Henderson, the guy who owns multiple passports, actually recommends Tier B passports for most people. Not the expensive Tier A ones.
His reasoning is solid. If you already have a US or European passport, getting another Tier A passport does not add much. You already have the travel. What you need is a passport from a country that leaves you alone. Low taxes, minimal reporting, no one reading your emails.
Mexico, he says, has one of the best passports on earth. Mexican citizens can visit everywhere in Europe, all of Central and South America, developed and emerging Asia, plus Australia and New Zealand. The only real difference from a US passport? You need a visa for the US and Canada. That is it.
Even El Salvador, the poorest country in the Americas, gets visa-free travel to most of Europe. Henderson puts it bluntly: the passport of a country known for exporting dishwashers is 80% as good as your first world passport. That is a wild statistic if you think about it.
Building Your Portfolio the Smart Way
Henderson gives specific advice on how to combine passports for maximum benefit.
Think Complementary, Not Identical
If you are British, getting US citizenship adds more tax obligations without much new travel access. That is what Henderson calls a “lateral move.” Getting Panamanian citizenship, on the other hand, gives you similar travel access plus no tax obligations and a government too small to care what you do when you are living far away.
Getting two Caribbean passports? That is redundant. Same travel benefits, same geography, same political sphere. Instead, combine a Caribbean passport with something from a completely different region. An Armenian passport does not get you into many countries. But it gives you access to Georgia, Ukraine, Iran, Russia, and all the Central Asian countries. That is a whole region the Caribbean passport does not cover.
Geopolitical Diversification
This was a concept I had not considered before. Henderson suggests getting passports from countries with different political alignments. One from a Western-aligned country, one from something more neutral or even pro-Russia or pro-China. That way, no matter which way the geopolitical wind blows, you have options.
Think about it. If you only have passports from Western-aligned countries and the West gets into a serious conflict with another bloc, all your passports might face the same restrictions. But if one of your passports is from a neutral country, you still have freedom of movement.
Natural Resources and Safe Havens
Henderson even thinks about which countries have fresh water, oil, and grazing lands. If the world goes really sideways, having citizenship in a resource-rich, geographically isolated country in the southern hemisphere could be valuable. Far from panicked crowds, far from conflict zones, with access to basic necessities.
This might sound extreme. But living through the Soviet collapse taught me that “extreme” scenarios happen more often than comfortable people think.
Dual Citizenship - What You Need to Know
Not every country allows dual citizenship. Henderson lists over 50 countries that officially forbid it as of 2021. Some surprises on that list: Austria, Netherlands, Japan, Singapore, China, India.
But here is the thing. Many of these countries look the other way. There are Chinese citizens all over the world holding second passports. Estonians with Russian passports. Malaysians with British ones. The only person who got caught in Malaysia did so because he accidentally entered the country on his British passport instead of his Malaysian one.
The United States allows dual citizenship but considers you only American when you are on US soil. You must enter and leave on your US passport. And you cannot ask the British embassy for help while you are in America, even if you are also British.
One important warning Henderson gives. If your second passport is from a country with questionable human rights and you visit that country, you enter as their citizen. If they detain you, your other country cannot help. This has happened to dual citizens in Iran who were detained and could not get help from their Western embassies.
The “Know What You Need” Advice
Henderson ends the chapter with what I think is the most important advice. Figure out why you want a second passport before you start shopping.
He gets hundreds of messages from people in India and Pakistan who all want a Paraguayan passport. Why Paraguay specifically? Because someone told them it is fast and cheap. But they never stopped to think about whether Paraguay is actually the best fit for their needs.
Same thing happened after Brexit. His website traffic quadrupled with British people searching for “fastest way to get an EU passport.” Within days the traffic died. People were emotional, not strategic. Most British citizens do not even need an EU passport. They get 180 days in Europe as tourists. If they want more, a simple residence permit works.
The secret ingredient, Henderson says, is not speed. It is diversity. Get a passport that complements what you already have. If you already have good travel access, get something with low taxes and privacy. If your current passport has poor travel, get something with better access.
Do not chase shiny objects. Do not be emotional about it. Think about what you actually need.
Key Takeaways
After reading all of Chapter 4, here is what sticks with me:
Second passports are real and legal. This is not some underground shady operation. Countries openly sell citizenship. It is a legitimate market.
The cheap route takes time. The fast route costs money. Naturalization can take 3-10 years but costs very little. Citizenship by investment takes 2-6 months but starts at $100,000. Pick your trade-off.
Tier B passports are underrated. You do not need the most expensive passport. A Mexican or Paraguayan passport covers most of what a US passport does, without the tax baggage.
Think like a portfolio manager. Do not just collect passports randomly. Each one should add something different: new regions, different politics, different resources.
Beware of scams and lazy lawyers. If someone promises citizenship in weeks for cheap, walk away. Always keep leverage in any payment arrangement.
Know your “why” first. Tax escape? Travel freedom? Insurance? Investment access? Your reason determines which passport is right for you.
Henderson clearly knows this world inside and out. The chapter is packed with real examples and practical knowledge. My main criticism is still the same as Part 1. This is fundamentally about freedom for wealthy people. If you have $100,000 to donate to a Caribbean government, great. Most people do not. But the knowledge itself is valuable even if you are just starting to think about these things.
Next chapter, Henderson tackles the most extreme step of all: renouncing US citizenship. That should be a fascinating read.
Book: Nomad Capitalist by Andrew Henderson | ISBN: 9798461831486
Previous: Chapter 4 Part 1 - Second Passports Next: Chapter 5 Part 1 - Renouncing US Citizenship
Part of the Nomad Capitalist series