The World Is Getting Less Stable, Not More

The post-Cold War promise of convergence, open borders, frictionless capital flows, a rules-based international order, is under sustained pressure. The US-China rivalry has hardened into a structural competition that touches everything from semiconductor supply chains to visa reciprocity. Russia’s isolation from the Western financial system reminded dollar-denominated investors that sovereignty can move fast. Brexit showed that even wealthy, stable democracies can fundamentally restructure their citizens’ rights overnight. Where does alternative residency come in?

For anyone with meaningful assets or income streams crossing multiple jurisdictions, sitting in a single citizenship is the biggest risk to their future.

What Second Citizenship Actually Buys You

The obvious answer is mobility and visa-free access to more countries. But that undersells it.

A second passport from a small, neutral country can keep doors open in regions where your primary citizenship creates friction. A Maltese or Portuguese EU passport gives a non-European businessperson access to the entire Schengen zone without navigating bilateral tensions. A Caribbean citizenship opens US E-2 investor visa pathways that aren’t available to citizens of many emerging-market countries.

Beyond travel, second citizenship provides real optionality in a crisis. Conflicts, political instability, and currency collapse give very little warning. Citizens of Venezuela, Lebanon, and Myanmar who held a second passport had exit options their compatriots didn’t.

There’s also the long term estate planning question; what will the world look like in 20 years for my family. Will my legacy survive?

Where Americans Are Actually Going

Something has quietly shifted. The clients walking through the doors of global residency firms are no longer just billionaires and dynastic family offices. They’re entrepreneurs, retirees, professionals, and young families who have simply decided that keeping all of their life in one country no longer makes sense.

The data backs this up. Inquiries from wealthy Americans seeking residency and citizenship abroad jumped 183% between Q1 2024 and Q1 2025. By the end of Q3 2025, applications were already 67% ahead of all of 2024, which itself was a record year. A Harris poll from spring 2025 found nearly half of all Americans interested in dual citizenship. Among younger generations, that number climbs to two thirds.

The thinking has evolved too. Families are no longer approaching this as an escape plan. They’re approaching it the same way they approach their investment portfolios. Diversify across jurisdictions. Reduce concentration risk. Build optionality before you need it.

EU and Europe is the next best thing. Portugal occupied the top ranks for several years, with many Americans flocking to Lisbon, Porto and the Azores through the Golden Visa. That 5 year option has slowly increased to 5 years residency while the processing time alone takes 3 years. The government has announced that citizenship can only be attained after 10 years of residency, significantly minimizing it’s appeal.

New Zealand and a different kind of life

New Zealand occupies a different category entirely. It’s less about a European lifestyle upgrade and more about a fundamental reset. Clean air, dramatic landscapes, low crime, a relaxed but sophisticated culture, and for the wealth planning crowd, no gift tax, no estate tax, no wealth tax.

Around 28,000 Americans now call New Zealand home, up nearly 30% in five years. At the high end of the market, Americans account for roughly 40% of all investor visa applications. Property searches from US buyers were up over 117% year-on-year in early 2025, with interest from New York alone surging over 175%.

Most of the people making this move aren’t fleeing anything. They’re building something. A second base, a different option, a life that doesn’t depend on one country getting everything right.

This Isn’t Just for the Ultra-Wealthy Anymore

For most of the 20th century, second citizenship was either an accident of birth or a privilege reserved for the truly elite. That’s no longer true. The programs that exist today were largely designed to attract investment and talent, which means they’re structured to be accessible to a much broader range of people than most assume.

The families acting on this now aren’t doing so out of panic. They’re doing so out of the same instinct that drives any good long-term planning: the recognition that the world changes, that flexibility has real value, and that optionality built early costs far less than optionality built in a crisis.

The passport has become part of the portfolio. And for a growing number of Americans, that’s not a radical idea anymore. It’s just good planning.

Ezzedeen Soleiman advises high-net-worth families on global residency and citizenship planning, helping them build flexibility and optionality across borders.

What does this shift mean for the global economy, and what signals can we take from it? Ultra-high-net-worth investors are quietly losing confidence in the world’s largest economy. With U.S. debt ballooning over the past two decades, it has become increasingly apparent that finding a sustainable solution is proving difficult.

Gold, real estate, and even the recent Hollywood-style museum heist at the Louvre all point to one undeniable reality: physical assets are having a moment. As uncertainty grips global markets, tangible wealth is regaining importance.

History reminds us that during World Wars I and II, many who fled conflict did so carrying only what they could—family jewels and gold. Those assets allowed them to rebuild their lives in new countries.

Today, as nations grow more divided and geopolitical tensions rise, we’re seeing echoes of that behavior. In the family office world, ultra-high-net-worth investors are once again prioritizing mobility, security, and portability—seeking assets that transcend borders, such as gold, real estate, and fine art.

These are not just stores of value, they are symbols of resilience in an era where confidence in traditional financial systems continues to crumble and the world prepares to see what comes next.

As I continue to explore options with family offices and build a path forward, the focus, in addition to physical assets, is on finding a Plan B residency to call home and feel safe in. As more billionaires buy bunkers and carve out pieces of paradise in places like Hawaii and New Zealand, it’s clear that planning for the future is essential and urgent. With pandemics and global instability on the rise, it’s only natural to seek regions that are less susceptible to these crises and better equipped to withstand them.

At the end of the day, it’s not about escaping; it’s about protecting and preserving. Wealth, when paired with foresight, becomes a shield , one that protects families from uncertainty while giving them the freedom to choose where and how they live.

The new definition of wealth is not dollars, but options.

In Italy, this principle is called jus sanguinis, literally “right of blood” and Italian Americans have increasingly pursued it as a way to secure an Italian passport. Many other countries across Europe and beyond offer similar opportunities.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, when many Americans felt their wings have been clipped, interest in alternative citizenship has surged. Even as restrictions lifted, people have continued seeking a “Plan B”, a second home, a new lifestyle abroad, or simply the flexibility to live and work internationally.

Rising inflation and political uncertainty have only added to this trend, with investors realizing their money can stretch much further in charming towns along the coast of Portugal or Greece. Over the past five years, the investment migration industry has experienced a significant boom — and it’s only growing more popular.

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