How To Get A
Second Passport

Second Passport

This report started an industry.

When I wrote it, it was impossible to find information in this topic in one handy volume.

Pretty quickly, that changed — in significant part because this report was shamelessly plagiarized and copied all over the world. And my ads caused people in the passport business to realize that it definitely “pays to advertise.”

How To Get A Second Passport went through three editions and seven printings from the time it was first published in September 1984 to its last edition in July, 1990.

Today of course you can find information on this topic just about anywhere (though, especially since 9/11, most of the easiest options have been firmly blocked).

What led me to write it was the 1997…

Crisis in Hong Kong

In 1984 the then-British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, signed an agreement with Beijing that would pass the sovereignty of Hong Kong to China on July 1, 1997.

The reaction in Hong Kong was, to put it mildly, one of panic. The Hong Kong dollar collapsed; and people, especially the wealthy, began hunting for the exits.

It was in this environment that I wrote How To Get A Second Passport, which I published in September 1984. As you can imagine, in Hong Kong it sold like hotcakes.

 

The Sincerest Form of Flattery…

If plagiarism is any indicator, How To Get A Second Passport is the most successful thing I’ve ever written.

It was shamelessly stolen and published in Britain, Canada, and Greece (I even went to court in Athens and won — not that that made any difference).

An American had it translated into Chinese and tried to sell it in Hong Kong!

I was told that was it was on sale at the Manila Hotel in the Philippines — as a photocopy.

While I was sitting in his chair, my dentist in Hong Kong shamelessly told me he had a photocopy of it!

It’s amazing what lengths people will go to to get something for nothing. The first time I ran an ad for How To Get A Second Passport in the local Hong Kong paper, the very first phone call that morning was from an Indian gentleman who wanted to know whether there was really a money back guarantee.

Sure enough, a couple of days later the copy he bought was returned for a refund — after, no doubt, he had photocopied it.

What really surprised me, though, is that when I ran an insert in my investment newsletter, World Money Analyst, about 10% of my subscribers bought it — even in countries like Australia and the United States. In large part it was curiousity value — though I was visited by one very wealthy American who wanted to stop paying taxes to Uncle Sam.

A Word of Caution

I’ve put this up on the internet as several people have asked where they can get a copy. Now they — and you — can read it with my complements.

But you need to be aware that this is the text of the latest edition, published in 1990! So much, if not all, of the information is out of date.

That’s especially true of the centerpiece of my report: Portugal.

Back in the 1980s, you could become a resident of Portugal if you merely owned property there. Six years later you could become a citizen. With no more than two or three visits to Portugal over that time.

There was one other requirement: you had to pass a Portuguese language test. This was laxly enforced — but one of the first things the Portuguese government tightened. (I was told that the wife of Portugal’s Consul in Hong Kong was doing a roaring trade giving Portuguese lessons.)

As Portugal came under pressure from British government (who were afraid of an influx of Hong Kong Chinese moving to Britain with their new Portuguese passports) and the EU, Portugal changed its rules.

Given that and the other information that is no longer current, the main reason you might want to skim through How To Get A Second Passport (aside from curiousity) is that the principles applied in analyzing passports, citizenships and residence have not changed.

In addition, I have provided links where you can find current information on some of the countries I talked about.

Here are the chapter headings…

Chapter 1 : Why Do You Want A Second Passport?

Chapter 2 : Citizenship: the Two Stage Process

Chapter 3 : Do You Need A Lawyer?

Chapter 4 Citizenship Without Residence

Chapter 5 : Central and South America

Chapter 6 : Portugal: For the “Man of Means”

Chapter 7 : The Big League

Chapter 8 : How Another Passport could Save You a Bundle in Taxes

Chapter 9 : Portuguese Property: Suggestions and Calculations

Chapter 10 : Future Developments

Begin wherever you like!