00:02:25.740Thank you, guys. Really appreciate it. Thanks, everyone. It's been six years now. I've been with Rebel, and still have to finish myself to tell me this is real, so thank you, guys.
00:02:48.100Okay. Here we go. Thank you very much for Sheila.
00:24:27.380If we talk about precisely pay-to-play, citizenship by investment, where you truly buy the passport.
00:24:34.700Right now, there are about 20 countries who actually have a policy for that.
00:24:38.420So the company selling passport is precisely us helping you build the case to submit your application for citizenship by investment program that the nation has already issued.
00:25:32.500It may seem new to our Canadian ears because we always thought we had the best passport around.
00:25:38.620But you're saying there's a couple dozen countries that this is absolutely a deliberate economic or political strategy of those countries to let Canadians buy a second passport.
00:25:52.020I mean, I think a lot of Canadians think, well, if you're not a Canadian, you want to be an American.
00:25:55.540But there are other countries that may be a faster or cheaper or easier path to a second passport.
00:26:04.080And in the notes I was reading in preparation for our talk today, some of them were like St. Kitts and Nevis, which is a lovely little island in the Caribbean, or El Salvador, which recently has been in the news because they have a very strong president who's cut the crime rate down to almost zero.
00:26:23.980He's very progressive in his views on technology.
00:26:28.180I've never been to El Salvador, but it looks very exciting.
00:26:31.900They're one of the countries that allows people to become a citizen through cash, right?
00:26:40.020I'm a huge fan of what's been happening in El Salvador.
00:26:42.560I've been there many times over the last five years, and you can see the country's trajectory.
00:26:47.960It is truly up and up and it is the country to watch. Definitely. There is a huge Canadian community, expat community in El Salvador these days. And just like you mentioned, the countries want capital and talent. Those are the two most important things that the countries want to attract.
00:27:08.040Canada was always a big magnet for talent, right?
00:27:11.340You know, there's big immigration programs for talented people, highly skilled professionals.
00:27:17.740Even today on Twitter, I was scrolling my feed and I see a Canadian official government account posting,
00:27:24.900we're looking for healthcare workers, check out our immigration policy.
00:27:28.820So Canada is still trying to attract that talent.
00:27:31.680But how do you attract talent capital?
00:27:33.720Well, with policy, with lifestyle, and if it's not going in the right direction in Canada these days, well, they're going to play the opposite card.
00:27:43.640They're going to start losing capital and start losing talent.
00:27:47.000And that's what's been happening in the UK very much.
00:27:49.540There's been brain drain and there's been capital exodus.
00:27:54.880And seems like this is what's starting currently in Canada.
00:27:57.520I don't want to be, how do you say, doomer in a way, but it's definitely a trend that I've noticed within my clientele.
00:28:07.560They want to relocate their capital because of asset seizures you already mentioned.
00:28:11.980They want to make sure they jurisdictionally protect their family and their money.
00:28:17.360Yeah, very interesting. And that's the thing is, I mean, I talked to so many Canadians who their entire identity as a Canadian was shook by the invocation of the Emergencies Act.
00:28:30.420When you see your own cabinet ministers talking about sending in tanks, and that was the conversation with Marco Mendotino and Chrystia Freeland.
00:28:40.360And I don't know if they were serious or not, but they seized bank accounts.
00:28:56.580I think that's an island, if I'm not mistaken.
00:28:58.760the thing about having a passport and that's one of the more economical ones is it's a place where
00:29:04.520you can go and they will let you in because you are a citizen and have all the rights of a citizen
00:29:10.560it really is your living breathing escape path it's yeah it's your plan b if everything goes
00:29:18.740to hell isn't it you're absolutely right south to me is actually one of the most popular options
00:29:23.820right now for Canadians and precisely for those Canadians that are not willing to leave
00:29:29.160yet, but they want to have this escape hatch.
00:29:31.720So what they do is they get Sao Tomean principist citizenship without ever visiting the country.
00:29:38.440And then they get a residency somewhere in Latin America where they actually like the
00:29:42.860lifestyle, let's say Costa Rica, Panama, or El Salvador, and they have this perfect triangle.
00:29:48.580So Sautamae Passport basically prevents them from being in a position of having their Canadian passport revoked, being unable to leave the country, being unable to travel, and then Latin American residency basically makes sure that they have this plan B lifestyle waiting for them and their families, a safe haven for them to relocate to in case of emergency.
00:30:11.720So this triangle is kind of like the perfect strategy that Canadian clients have been implementing with us.
00:30:22.520It's an island nation, Portuguese-speaking island nation, right on the equator on the west coast of Africa.
00:30:28.500Most of my clients will never visit this island.
00:30:30.980But because they have this citizenship by investment program that allows you to become a citizen for $105,000 or $111 for the whole family,
00:30:39.380they just pull that trigger sleep better at night and make sure that they have this plan b passport
00:30:45.560in place you know a lot i know a lot of canadians who've retired to mexico costa rica there's all
00:30:51.820sorts of enclaves i was talking to a friend the other day was in baja california in a little
00:30:56.600in cabo actually there was a lot of uh canadians there so you're saying they could live there
00:31:02.940have the canadian passport as their primary one but god forbid something goes wrong they have
00:31:10.320that passport to south tome again not necessarily to to go there but to be able to move around is
00:31:16.360that what you're saying exactly you want to have passport outside of your home country government
00:31:22.000control because they're the ones who have the strongest claim on you on your taxes on your
00:31:27.500mobilization in case of civil unrest or geopolitical instability. So you want to have
00:31:32.940a second very strong document, like citizenship is the strongest instrument in your flag theory
00:31:39.660toolbox. So you want to have a second citizenship outside of your home country. And then let's say
00:31:44.940you're relocated to Mexico. Well, it's going to take you six years to get citizenship there.
00:31:49.020You're going to go through temporary, then permanent residency, then you have to pass the
00:31:53.200naturalization exam and pass the language exam. So while you're working and paying with time for
00:32:00.240your next citizenship, you already executed your affordable option with Sao Tome. Right. So what
00:32:06.860you're saying is this is a quick route and it's a certain route to another passport. So you may not
00:32:14.060even want to apply for your Mexican citizenship as long as you have that other passport in your
00:32:20.300pocket yeah exactly that's basically what what our clients doing these days and um another thing
00:32:28.240that all Canadians definitely need to do is look at their ancestry because that second citizenship
00:32:34.280may already be yours you just don't know it yet you may be eligible for Italian Slovak Polish
00:32:41.240citizenship just based on your ancestral ties if your grandparents or great-grandparents came from
00:32:47.680europe most likely you're eligible so i always say first things first we look into your lineage
00:32:54.580we look into your family tree and see if there is a passport there so i i guess it depends on which
00:33:01.720country they have different rules but in my own case uh some of my family came from ukraine and
00:33:09.160one of my ancestors came from london um just off the top of your head i know i'm i'm surprising
00:33:15.340you with these two countries rule of thumb would i have any claim to those citizenships uh even if
00:33:22.960they're my great grandparents or is that too far away great grandparents is not far away at all
00:33:30.460with the uk it would be one generation too far but with eastern europe some countries do not
00:33:36.640have generational limit at all we just need to make sure that the lineage has not been broken
00:33:42.080Obviously, Ukraine is currently part of the conflict, so you would need to make sure that you want this citizenship at the moment.
00:33:48.960They might recruit me into the war, God forbid, and I'm not making fun.
00:33:52.400I mean, that's an example of where you probably don't want an additional passport.
00:34:19.080So as you mentioned, it would have to be primary place of residence, right?
00:34:22.680Because there is concept of citizenship.
00:34:24.640There is concept of residency on paper, like permanent or temporary.
00:34:28.560And there is concept of tax residency.
00:34:31.600And that one is triggered by your ties to the country, by the amount of time you spend in each country.
00:34:36.760So you can have 10 passports, but if you spend over 180 days in Canada, you're definitely going to be filing and paying taxes there.
00:34:45.660Now let's say you're actually willing to relocate, leave Canada behind, pay sort of exit tax, which people believe Canada doesn't have, but it does in a way.
00:34:58.080So make sure you sort everything out with Canada.
00:35:00.880Cut all your financial ties with Canada, not utilize whatever benefits you could utilize before and fully relocate to El Salvador.
00:35:09.420Well, currently, El Salvador has a lot of great tax policies that do attract capital and talent.
00:35:15.900For example, zero capital gains tax on Bitcoin.
00:35:18.840That's a big one because they made Bitcoin a legal tender in a country.
00:35:23.420You can literally pay your immigration fee in Bitcoin.
00:35:26.700You can buy coconuts on the beach from a six-year-old lady with Lightning Wallet.
00:36:48.120that's probably how most people think of this yes absolutely and in my global view this is the way
00:36:55.820my philosophy works this is why i started this company to begin with basically if more people
00:37:02.000play this game of jurisdictional arbitrage then the countries the nation states actually have
00:37:06.900an incentive to be better to provide better service at a better price this is a free market
00:37:12.700capitalism so now there are two driving factors the quality race up and the price race to the
00:37:19.300bottom right so by doing that we incentivize nation states all around the world to actually
00:37:25.540compete for citizens their capital and their talent so in a in a long run this is my view
00:37:31.920that we will bring this free market competition for nation states and actually become customers
00:37:38.500hmm now can you let's say someone's watching this and is really interested and i know there
00:37:44.700will be because i have had personal conversations with so many people about moving their money out
00:37:51.480of canada after the bank seizures i don't know if we'll ever find out how much people took out
00:37:58.860of the country but it's got to be in the billions and people just their complete faith in the system
00:38:06.200was shaken so let's say there's someone who has some means their life savings is let's say i mean
00:38:13.560these days it's not rare to be in the millions given that housing prices alone are so expensive
00:38:19.620so if someone had a few million dollars they're in their 60s they've saved all their life and
00:38:25.740they're looking to do this plan b through your company citizen x how would they even start
00:38:33.180absolutely so for that they need to look at two things they need to protect their capital
00:38:38.700and they need to protect their identity so we get them a second citizenship we set up a trust
00:38:44.440structure somewhere outside of canada for their capital they should probably also look into
00:38:50.340bitcoin because that's the only self-custody asset there is to protect it from a third-party
00:38:56.780seizures. So schedule a free call with me. I will be the one brainstorming with you on what is the
00:39:03.440best jurisdiction for you. How can we structure those asset protection strategies and what will
00:39:09.260work for you and your family? So to begin with this strategy formation, create an account on
00:39:15.460CitizenX and schedule a free call with me. I will personally be happy to brainstorm with you on what
00:39:21.620is the best jurisdiction for you and protecting your capital. So we would probably consider
00:39:26.800what is a good jurisdiction for you and your family safety-wise. Then we would consider what
00:39:31.680is a good trust structure to consider which assets you can put into that. You should probably look
00:39:37.440into Bitcoin as well, because that's the only asset that you can truly have self-custody off
00:39:41.880of. And considering all that, we will build a good strategy and execute it for you.
00:39:47.600Well, that's very exciting. It sounds like you have clients from all around the world. Where do Canadians tend to want to go? So you've obviously talked to people from a variety of backgrounds, but what would you say the average Canadian does to give themselves a diversity of passports?
00:40:10.740yeah i would say for canadians there are two routes first of all many of canadian citizens
00:40:17.620are eligible for citizenship by descent and that would be obviously lots of french slovak and
00:40:23.740polish citizens as well as irish so these are the top four jurisdiction on citizenship by descent
00:40:29.940side that and the way it works with us you basically give us the information of your
00:40:35.360ancestor to the best of your knowledge. We can do genealogical research to find out where precisely
00:40:41.400were they born, what is the date of birth, and then we will actually guide you through the whole
00:40:46.360process. We will collect all the birth certificates we need for the process and execute that for you.
00:40:53.020On the citizenship by investment side, I'd say there are three jurisdictions that people are
00:40:56.900interested in. It would be St. Kitts, Sao Tome, and El Salvador. Those are the three most popular ones.
00:41:03.000And then for actual relocation, it would be Panama, Mexico, Costa Rica, and El Salvador.
00:41:09.340Now, the United States, of course, is considered one of the freest places in the world.
00:41:14.860They still, I believe, respect their Bill of Rights.
00:41:18.340And a lot of people like it because it's so culturally similar to Canada.
00:41:23.140I mean, heck, every Canadian has been to the States.
00:41:26.120Is that one of the countries on your list, or is it too different?
00:41:30.720I mean, they don't. I mean, Donald Trump, I think, talked about selling a golden visa for five million bucks or something.
00:41:37.480Is the United States a pathway on this program, too?
00:41:41.040Or is it just too long and expensive to be treated as a extra passport?
00:41:47.360Yeah, I actually predicted Trump card a few weeks before they launched it.
00:41:51.820I precisely outlined how it's going to work on Twitter.
00:41:54.640and three weeks later i thought it was uh the peak of my career because how could i so perfectly
00:42:00.260to to the dollar price i specifically said five million dollars um and they announced it but it's
00:42:06.460been over a year and the program is still not truly life really and that's part of the reason
00:42:11.160checks and balances in the u.s like there is slow change to the government and sometimes it's good
00:42:17.960and sometimes it's bad so they have been unable to truly launch this program yet and i think
00:42:24.320one of the options would be $1 million for a green card to actually relocate to the US. And I think
00:42:31.800that would be a pretty popular program out there. Right now, immigration policies in the US are
00:42:39.540being rewritten weekly. And it's been really hard to navigate current immigration because Trump
00:42:45.900administration is putting lots of reforms out there. But there are still really good immigration
00:42:51.200programs for canadians to come to the u.s work and live here full time uh this is not something
00:42:56.620we do at citizen x you would need to find a good immigration lawyer in the u.s got it so people
00:43:02.100when they think of your company citizen x it's not necessarily i want to live in the states or
00:43:08.100even i want to live anywhere in particular it's i want that second passport as an insurance policy
00:43:14.500as a plan b in case things go to hell as they did with the martial law so it's not hey where do you
00:43:21.860want to retire it's hey where do you want your escape pod am i thinking about it correctly
00:43:27.540for canadians yeah for canadians definitely but let's say a ukrainian citizen comes to us
00:43:33.160they obviously have very different needs they have we care passport they are also being mobilized
00:43:39.800actively right now so they're escaping a different sort of scenario russian citizens are they can't
00:43:45.740travel anywhere just like indian citizens so they're just looking for a better mobility being
00:43:50.500able to fly through europe without getting a visa so i guess thousand dollars on that okay so i mean
00:43:58.000i forgot about that this isn't just an escape hatch it's a way to move around so if you had
00:44:04.260a passport from St. Kitts and Nevis or from El Salvador,
00:44:07.860you could use that to get on a plane and travel somewhere, obviously.