Embark Beyond has just launched a Dual Citizenship Program, facilitating foreign citizenship and second passports for 15 European Union countries.
“The polarized political atmosphere and pandemic-related travel bans have been a wake-up call to many Americans,” said Jack Ezon, founder and managing partner of Embark Beyond, in an email to Luxury Travel Advisor. “Our clients, in particular, have been extremely frustrated with a feeling of claustrophobia, coupled with a startling realization that America is no longer the center of the world. Our clients are not used to being held back. They are not used to being told ‘no’—especially when it’s related to going to a familiar destination like Italy or London. Feeling like a pariah of the world, they’ve told us loud and clear that they want more options.”
Enter the second passport: Embark Beyond has partnered with local firms across the world to facilitate a turnkey process procuring all necessary certified documents and even assisting with genealogy research for proving an ancestors’ citizenship or naturalization.
Why a second passport? Here’s some of the top drivers of interest, according to Ezon, thus far:
- Work abroad: Having an E.U. passport enables you to work in the European Union without any visa requirements, something especially important as the U.S. remains banned from visiting the bloc.
- Global Access: Second passport opens up the scope of countries you are permitted to travel where an American passport may be limited or restricted.
- Visa-Free: You can travel to many countries without a visa or stay in the E.U. longer than 90 days without a visa.
- Broader Options: A second passport gives you options that you may not ordinarily have to live abroad. Who knows what the next situation is going to be? Who knows if you are not thrilled with the direction of this country and want to move abroad—whether temporarily or permanently?
- Connect to Your Heritage: Many clients are looking to connect to their ancestry in a deeper way as a way to manifest identify and steer direction.
While Embark is only facilitating with citizenship that does not require any residency or legal intervention, the process is a bit complicated as it often requires getting documents, having them notarized, certified and then getting a seal called an “Apostille.” Embark’s trained advisors can take all the stress of bureaucratic paperwork, while partnering with local experts to file applications and advocate on clients’ behalf should something not be “just right,” Ezon says.
Strong client interest: Exon tells us, “We knew this would be a ‘big thing’ when we surveyed our clients and their friends (or random friends of friends!) called us to jump on the bandwagon—so much so that we have a waitlist of almost 100 people pre-launch, with an average of four requests per family. We even have a client that wants to gift this for the holidays.”