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So my story is as follows, I am an expat working in China (but soon will be returning to the UK and will be back in China once the borders are opened up again) and am a dual citizen of both the UK and Peru, UK is the country I was born in and my dad's country and Peru is my mum's country and I have full citizenship and rights of Peru as a 'natural born' citizen, what that means is that as I am not a naturalised citizen, it cannot be took off me and I can do anything a Peruvian born in Peru with two Peruvian parents can do - run for office, join the police, the army etc.
So, I am coming to that age where I have more than one option of where to retire to, it won't be rainy, cold England and it will probably be Peru which I am very happy about - a country with great food, weather, things to do and a lot of my family are there and they cannot kick me out nor do I have to keep renewing tiresome retirement visas. Another option is Spain, not been made as easy as it was with Brexit but still rather do-able, I need about 60000 dollars spare to go through the retirement visa process but I will have that money spare once I get to that age (if I do that is! You can't rule anything out in this life...) but no doubt by the time I get to that age, we will be back in the EU and it will be game on!
Anyway, my following questions are as follows
1) Do you have dual citizenship?
2) If you do, where will you end up retiring to?
3) If you don't have dual citizenship, would you like to have it?
4) If so, which country?
If I didn't have dual citizenship, Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile would head my list in South America and in Asia - the Philippines (which is like a Latin American country in a lot of ways) Malaysia (I love that place!) and Thailand would be contenders but the only thing about those countries is that the visa process for retirement are annual renewals - something I thankfully don't have to put up with if I decide on Peru.
I'm a US citizen, but don't feel like I need citizenship of another country to reside in many places outside the US as a non-working retiree. Thinking about citizenship before living for several years in another specific country is putting the cart before the horse.
The first assumption is the retiree has a good, verifiable monthly retirement income so that the governing authorities can see you will spend money in their country (helps their economy) and won't be a social burden on them. That will open the path to getting a residency permit in a long list of countries, provided you meet a few other basic criteria - having an adequate health insurance plan for country where you will live, proper identity documents, and no criminal history.
As a Peru citizen, OP is already in a favorable position to live in any of the Mercosur countries of South America - Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia. You can simply apply for a temporary resident card for 2 years, then apply for a permanent resident card after that. What more would you need? The only requirement is a background check - no income stipulations.
I'm a US citizen, but don't feel like I need citizenship of another country to reside in many places outside the US as a non-working retiree. Thinking about citizenship before living for several years in another specific country is putting the cart before the horse.
The first assumption is the retiree has a good, verifiable monthly retirement income so that the governing authorities can see you will spend money in their country (helps their economy) and won't be a social burden on them. That will open the path to getting a residency permit in a long list of countries, provided you meet a few other basic criteria - having an adequate health insurance plan for country where you will live, proper identity documents, and no criminal history.
As a Peru citizen, OP is already in a favorable position to live in any of the Mercosur countries of South America - Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia. You can simply apply for a temporary resident card for 2 years, then apply for a permanent resident card after that. What more would you need? The only requirement is a background check - no income stipulations.
Indeed and a good point well made! There is also CAN (The Andean Community) freedom of movement which means I can go and live in Ecuador, Colombia and Bolivia with just a DNI card. Another advantage is Spanish citizenship in two years instead of ten years for people outside of what was the former Spanish Empire if I so choose. It's a pretty good passport to have.
I have dual citizenship with the U.S. and Rep of San Marino. My father was born there and his ancestry is from there. I was born in the U.S.
Most people in the U.S. have never heard of San Marino and if they have, they don't know it's an independent country. I have a passport from there, not the U.S.
The entire country only has about 36,000 citizens and it's the oldest constitutional republic in the world, so in that way I feel like I'm part of a privileged few. It has recently celebrated 1700 years since its founding. San Marino remained neutral during both World Wars and even Napoleon left it alone when he invaded Italy because it was one of the only republics in the world. It's extremely difficult for someone without ancestry to live there or become a citizen. San Marino is very independent and not part of the EU, although it has treaties with the EU and with Italy. Because I'm a citizen of San Marino, I can also live anywhere I wish within Italy as well.
San Marino is the only city-state on the Italian peninsula to be given a choice to join Italy as part of that country or remain independent when Italy united.
Regarding San Marino, I have full rights there just like any other citizen. I spent a good part of my childhood and early adult years there. I can vote, buy property and live there as long as I wish but I choose to remain in the U.S. for various reasons including the fact that it's very expensive to buy property and live there. If someone were to give me a house there, I would consider living there the rest of my life, although now I'd know very few people. Relatives and friends I care about have all passed on so I have little incentive to move and retire there.
Even though I'm very happy where I am, if I could go back in time 30-40 years, I would establish myself there by buying property when it was affordable and finding work there, setting myself up for retirement in that country.
Last edited by marino760; 05-28-2022 at 03:08 AM..
I don't have it, but I'm actually eligible through my Italian direct descendancy. A cousin who isn't eligible even provided me with all the paperwork I would need, so I could easily apply if I didn't mind spending the money for an attorney and waiting the (now) years it would take to get it, and I do think seriously about doing it. I could then live anywhere in the EU, and that is very tempting! But first I need to get over my ignorance/fear of travel which I've only just realized is an impediment.
Last edited by otterhere; 05-28-2022 at 08:49 AM..
My wife and I both have dual US/Canada citizenship (she also has UK), but retired in the US as I have many more options for my time and money. If the US gets much more politically toxic so that it affects me directly, I'd consider moving to Canada.
Off the top of my head, you can go to any country that will admit you as a resident. And you are entitled to all retirement benefits you earned, in all countries.
I receive retirement benefits from US and Canada, even while living in a third country.
One sticky poin about getting new citizenship at advance, mos countries require language proficiency.
Off the top of my head, you can go to any country that will admit you as a resident. And you are entitled to all retirement benefits you earned, in all countries.
I receive retirement benefits from US and Canada, even while living in a third country.
One sticky poin about getting new citizenship at advance, mos countries require language proficiency.
And a hefty bank account. Many require proof that you can financially support yourself.
Off the top of my head, you can go to any country that will admit you as a resident. And you are entitled to all retirement benefits you earned, in all countries.
I receive retirement benefits from US and Canada, even while living in a third country.
One sticky poin about getting new citizenship at advance, mos countries require language proficiency.
Mostly agree with you, based on living outside the US as a retiree for about half the time since 2018. However, one big retirement benefit we earned and paid for for decades in the USA doesn't cover outside the USA and its territories - Medicare. That's why I pay a bit over 600 Euro ($640 US dollars) for private health insurance from a German health insurance company. It is required in order for me to reside here, since I never worked here, never entered the state-sponsored health insurance system or an employer-based health plan here.
All my US retirement earnings (private pension, IRA distributions) show up as monthly deposits in my USA bank account. I can go to an ATM here and withdraw cash from my USA bank account, and then deposit cash to my German bank account and there are zero transaction fees involved, plus it is done at the official exchange rate - I don't lose money to a lousy exchange rate.
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There is also CAN (The Andean Community) freedom of movement which means I can go and live in Ecuador, Colombia and Bolivia with just a DNI card. Another advantage is Spanish citizenship in two years instead of ten years for people outside of what was the former Spanish Empire if I so choose. It's a pretty good passport to have. 
