Paraguay Best Bet for 2nd Passport?

rudder · Post by **rudder** » August 6th, 2013, 9:19 am

Hello,

Not a lot of info on here about Paraguay...just a couple threads.

I must admit that it's always been a fantasy of mine to have a second passport. I'd like to keep my American citizenship option open, so I don't want to burn any bridges for the time being.

I'm pretty certain that my wife will be a latin american national...either an immigrant in the US or a woman in her home country...just because those women resonate with me. My plan was to go live down in Mexico and marry the sweetest woman I could find there.

Recently though, I signed up for a TESOL course, and I'm looking at all their information about all the language schools around the world, and their job placement guarantees. It has me thinking that English is really my ticket to anywhere I can endure living in for at least 6-12 months. I'm narrowing myself to Latin America, because Spanish has been a big investment in my life, and it would be a waste to be somewhere where I can't use the language.

Paraguay has always attracted me - perhaps just because of its extreme exoticness. I'm not sure exactly what the requirements are, but it sounds like getting a Paraguayan passport is not too complex.

My choices are:
1)Marry a national of a Latin American country
2)Apply for citizenship the old fashioned way (Paraguay is probably the easiest?)

My main concern is what happens if I get a Paraguayan passport the old-fashioned way and then say I marry a Peruvian woman later in life. Will it be possible then to go live with her in Peru? Can you have triple citizenship? Or would I have to renounce one of my previous nationalities at that point if I wanted to live with my Peruvian wife in Peru.

Anyway, do you think Paraguay would be a worthwhile place to live for at least the time necessary to get a 2nd passport? Obviously women would be a major factor in the quality of life down there. My main concern is that it's right next to Argentina, so as a white guy you wouldn't really be a hot commodity.

Also, how's the cost of living down there? Let's say cost of an apartment + food + transportation to and from work.

I'm curious because I read on an expat forum that you can make $1000-1500USD per month teaching english at a language school. Not sure how many hours/week you'd have to work to pull in this kind of money though.

skateboardstephen · Post by **skateboardstephen** » August 6th, 2013, 9:27 am

All you need in Peru is residency which you will get from marriage to a citizen..why would you even want to be a citizen?When you all ready hold dual citizenship as a U.S. citizen with a a passport from Paraguay?Plus i am in Brazil and from what i have seen of Paraguay..the place seems pretty ghetto especially at the boarder with Brazil..all kinds of shady stuff goes on there.

Rock · Post by **Rock** » August 6th, 2013, 9:56 am

skateboardstephen wrote:All you need in Peru is residency which you will get from marriage to a citizen..why would you even want to be a citizen?When you all ready hold dual citizenship as a U.S. citizen with a a passport from Paraguay?Plus i am in Brazil and from what i have seen of Paraguay..the place seems pretty ghetto especially at the boarder with Brazil..all kinds of shady stuff goes on there.

All residency or permanent residency does is allow you to live in a country indefinitely and maybe with a few fringe benefits such as right to open bank account, etc. As far as I'm concerned, foreign country residency permits are a dime a dozen and have very little value. If the USA ever wants your ass for anything, all they have to do is cancel your passport and wala, you residency permit is worthless as you will be quickly arrested and sent straight home.

However, if you have a second passport, the USA no longer has a line tied to your ass. Cus if they cancel your passport for any reason, you can just travel on the other country passport, problem solved. Edward Snowden was a very special case yet he almost had to go back to USA to face the music. He was in one of the few right countries fortunately for him. Don't be naive about this. Any kind of residency program does not protect you much from your government's tentacles if you are a US citizen.

I also think OP is correct in assessing that Paraguay may now be the fastest track to foreign country naturalization for an American who doesn't wanna pay a lot (starting price for economic programs US$100K for individual and goes up into the millions for some countries), and also does not have any special circumstances which would give him naturalization rights in one or more countries (close ancestors from certain European countries, Jewish, etc.). DR used to be fast but new administration seems to have slowed things down considerably.

AnonymousAmerican · Post by **AnonymousAmerican** » August 6th, 2013, 10:14 am

If you want a Latin American passport, get either a Mexican one, a Brazilian, or Chilean one. Those are the best passports to have in Latin-America and you get access to a lot of first world countries without a visa.

Rock · Post by **Rock** » August 6th, 2013, 11:13 am

AnonymousAmerican wrote:If you want a Latin American passport, get either a Mexican one, a Brazilian, or Chilean one. Those are the best passports to have in Latin-America and you get access to a lot of first world countries without a visa.

It's easy to say that. But how do you do it in practice, how much time on the ground do you have to spend, and how long does it take from start to finish? For most, we are talking at least 5 to 10 years. Some people want or need to get a second passport much faster than that without paying for an economic program one. Paraguay may be the fastest available right now.

If your goal is just an insurance policy against your home country in case they decided to force you home by pulling your passport, then about any second passport would do.

rudder · Post by **rudder** » August 6th, 2013, 12:10 pm

Rock wrote:
AnonymousAmerican wrote:If you want a Latin American passport, get either a Mexican one, a Brazilian, or Chilean one. Those are the best passports to have in Latin-America and you get access to a lot of first world countries without a visa.
It's easy to say that. But how do you do it in practice, how much time on the ground do you have to spend, and how long does it take from start to finish? For most, we are talking at least 5 to 10 years. Some people want or need to get a second passport much faster than that without paying for an economic program one. Paraguay may be the fastest available right now.

If your goal is just an insurance policy against your home country in case they decided to force you home by pulling your passport, then about any second passport would do.

Yes, very easy to say, but how does it all pan out in practice?

rudder · Post by **rudder** » August 6th, 2013, 12:12 pm

Facts about Paraguay

Population: 6.9 million
Language(s): Spanish, Guarani
Capital: Asuncion
Neighbours: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil
Current Exchange: G4,470 per US$1
Government: Democratic Republic
Leadership: Pro-Business/Growth
Electricity: >90% Renewable
Avg Rent: $232.50 (1br), $650 (3br)
Top Internet Speed Down: 25Mb/s
Top Internet Speed Up: 10Mb/s
Unlimited Cell/Data Plan: $37.50
Avg Inexpensive Meal: $4
Avg Mid-range Meal for 2: $25
Beer Prices: $1.75 (dom), $2-3 (imp)
Major Airport: Silvio Petterossi ASU
Direct Flight from USA: MIA to ASU
Full Time Resident Help: $400/month

Some stats that I pulled from here: http://www.whyparaguay.com/expat-lifestyle/

Looks like rent is really cheap

rudder · Post by **rudder** » August 6th, 2013, 12:21 pm

OK, looks like it would take 3-4 years to get the passport if you went down there with $5,000.

E Irizarry R&B Singer · August 6th, 2013, 12:27 pm

TAKE THIS MUTHAFUCKIN THREAD DOWN,

ACCORDING TO A N T DOT COM, THIS SITE IS RANKED 214, 658 SITES OF ALL 2-4 MILLION WEB SITES OUT THERE. SO YOU DO THE "POPULARITY MATH" HERE.

kai1275 · Post by **kai1275** » August 6th, 2013, 12:42 pm

E Irizarry R&B Singer wrote:TAKE THIS MUTHAFUCKIN THREAD DOWN,

ACCORDING TO A N T DOT COM, THIS SITE IS RANKED 214, 658 SITES OF ALL 2-4 MILLION WEB SITES OUT THERE. SO YOU DO THE "POPULARITY MATH" HERE.

What are you talking about mayne!?

AnonymousAmerican · Post by **AnonymousAmerican** » August 6th, 2013, 1:56 pm

Rock wrote:
AnonymousAmerican wrote:If you want a Latin American passport, get either a Mexican one, a Brazilian, or Chilean one. Those are the best passports to have in Latin-America and you get access to a lot of first world countries without a visa.
It's easy to say that. But how do you do it in practice, how much time on the ground do you have to spend, and how long does it take from start to finish? For most, we are talking at least 5 to 10 years. Some people want or need to get a second passport much faster than that without paying for an economic program one. Paraguay may be the fastest available right now.

If your goal is just an insurance policy against your home country in case they decided to force you home by pulling your passport, then about any second passport would do.

quickest way to get one, getting married.

E Irizarry R&B Singer · August 6th, 2013, 2:33 pm

kai1275 wrote:
E Irizarry R&B Singer wrote:TAKE THIS MUTHAFUCKIN THREAD DOWN,

ACCORDING TO A N T DOT COM, THIS SITE IS RANKED 214, 658 SITES OF ALL 2-4 MILLION WEB SITES OUT THERE. SO YOU DO THE "POPULARITY MATH" HERE.
What are you talking about mayne!?

What I am talking about is why do you want manginas and agents/informants for the government to see threads like this so they can pay Paraguay money to try to absolve Americans away from trying to obtain a 2nd passport so the US of Gay government can keep you within the matrix so they can make a greater ROI off of you??

Look at what ContrarianExpatriate said on a forum (I don't have the look it up by you can); he said that the US of Gay government is trying to get banks to stop opening bank accounts abroad for US passport holders and it's becoming harder to do so.

Don't get you get the correlation here??

rudder · Post by **rudder** » August 6th, 2013, 2:37 pm

AnonymousAmerican wrote:
Rock wrote:
AnonymousAmerican wrote:If you want a Latin American passport, get either a Mexican one, a Brazilian, or Chilean one. Those are the best passports to have in Latin-America and you get access to a lot of first world countries without a visa.
It's easy to say that. But how do you do it in practice, how much time on the ground do you have to spend, and how long does it take from start to finish? For most, we are talking at least 5 to 10 years. Some people want or need to get a second passport much faster than that without paying for an economic program one. Paraguay may be the fastest available right now.

If your goal is just an insurance policy against your home country in case they decided to force you home by pulling your passport, then about any second passport would do.
quickest way to get one, getting married.

OK, but you still have to reside in the country of your wife for x number of years before you can get a passport, right?

I heard even in Mexico if you marry a Mexican woman then you still have to wait something like two years before you can get citizenship. I'm not sure that's true, though. Consult with an immigration attorney.

AnonymousAmerican · Post by **AnonymousAmerican** » August 6th, 2013, 2:39 pm

rudder wrote:
AnonymousAmerican wrote:
Rock wrote:
AnonymousAmerican wrote:If you want a Latin American passport, get either a Mexican one, a Brazilian, or Chilean one. Those are the best passports to have in Latin-America and you get access to a lot of first world countries without a visa.
It's easy to say that. But how do you do it in practice, how much time on the ground do you have to spend, and how long does it take from start to finish? For most, we are talking at least 5 to 10 years. Some people want or need to get a second passport much faster than that without paying for an economic program one. Paraguay may be the fastest available right now.

If your goal is just an insurance policy against your home country in case they decided to force you home by pulling your passport, then about any second passport would do.
quickest way to get one, getting married.
OK, but you still have to reside in the country of your wife for x number of years before you can get a passport, right?

I heard even in Mexico if you marry a Mexican woman then you still have to wait something like two years before you can get citizenship. I'm not sure that's true, though. Consult with an immigration attorney.

it's something like that. you would have to look up on the internet.

skateboardstephen · Post by **skateboardstephen** » August 6th, 2013, 2:46 pm

Rock wrote:
skateboardstephen wrote:All you need in Peru is residency which you will get from marriage to a citizen..why would you even want to be a citizen?When you all ready hold dual citizenship as a U.S. citizen with a a passport from Paraguay?Plus i am in Brazil and from what i have seen of Paraguay..the place seems pretty ghetto especially at the boarder with Brazil..all kinds of shady stuff goes on there.
All residency or permanent residency does is allow you to live in a country indefinitely and maybe with a few fringe benefits such as right to open bank account, etc. As far as I'm concerned, foreign country residency permits are a dime a dozen and have very little value. If the USA ever wants your a** for anything, all they have to do is cancel your passport and wala, you residency permit is worthless as you will be quickly arrested and sent straight home.

However, if you have a second passport, the USA no longer has a line tied to your a**. Cus if they cancel your passport for any reason, you can just travel on the other country passport, problem solved. Edward Snowden was a very special case yet he almost had to go back to USA to face the music. He was in one of the few right countries fortunately for him. Don't be naive about this. Any kind of residency program does not protect you much from your government's tentacles if you are a US citizen.

I also think OP is correct in assessing that Paraguay may now be the fastest track to foreign country naturalization for an American who doesn't wanna pay a lot (starting price for economic programs US$100K for individual and goes up into the millions for some countries), and also does not have any special circumstances which would give him naturalization rights in one or more countries (close ancestors from certain European countries, Jewish, etc.). DR used to be fast but new administration seems to have slowed things down considerably.

I know this is why i am trying to get my Braziilan passport and naturalize since i am married to a citizen...which i am going to due soon..since all that is required is to live in Brazil for a year with legal residency,be married and take a test in Portuguese.