Are you a business owner looking for novel ways to grow your business? Have you tried to do business overseas but found it too difficult?
Or do you have the perfect market in another country but you just cannot legally do business there? You may have found a solution. It is called dual citizenship. How exactly does this work?
In the past, the most common method for citizenship was through naturalisation. But that took time. Years to be exact. Nowadays, buying citizenship has become the norm. You do this through a small one time monetary payment to the country you want to become a citizen in or you purchase real estate for a certain dollar amount.
Yes, it really is that easy. In some cases, you will be subject to a background check and have to participate in an interview as well, but not all countries require this.
As for timing, you can get citizenship in another country as quickly as 45 days. Many countries are not this quick but they are much faster using this method than through naturalisation.
But as a small business owner, what are the other benefits (or more aptly put) reasons as to why this makes sense for growing your business? Here are a few reasons.
Doing business
This is an obvious reason but needs to be stated nonetheless. In some countries, only citizens can do business. When you become a citizen, you open your business to a whole new market of customers and potential revenue.
Lower taxes
While not all countries offer lower taxes than you are currently paying, many do. You work hard for your money, so why not keep more of it?
By potentially moving your business overseas, you can save a lot of money in taxes. Of course, before you make the jump, be sure to talk things over with a tax lawyer so you won’t be doing more harm than good.
Tax write offs
While the cost to becoming a citizen isn’t cheap, you may be able to classify it as a business expense which would help you to save even more money on taxes.
Even the travel back and forth could be nice tax write offs for your business. Again, be sure to talk with a tax professional first.
Mix business and pleasure
If you choose to become a citizen of a country in an exotic location, you can easily mix business with pleasure.
This means you can go there to relax and be on vacation and also check in on your business from time to time. But not too often as the real goal here is to relax.
More customers
Mentioned above was the ability to reach new customers in your new home country, but there is an even greater benefit to this. Many countries have agreements in place where you can travel to other countries without a passport.
This would open your business up to even more potential customers than originally thought. In fact, the UK alone has agreements in place with over 175 countries.
In the end, looking into dual citizenship could be the shot in the arm your growing business needs to take itself to the next level.
Spend a little time researching other countries to see if your business could thrive there and seriously consider becoming a dual citizen. It could mean the difference between your business growing and failing.
