Friday, April 13, 2012

Four Steps to Take Now for a Future Quick Get Away from the United States


By Michael Reps

There is quite a bit of discussion on the net about a topic that 5 years ago would have been relegated to a handful of short tempered movie stars and manufacturers of smart phone components. That topic, Leaving America, has now taken on a much different tone. It’s no longer a passing threat; it’s slowly becoming a solution for many Americans who feel that as difficult as emigrating from the US must be, it may be a better option than sticking around.

I have an interesting perspective on this topic because I help Americans leave the US for New Zealand.


From my experience, a quick guide that can put you ahead of the line can be invaluable. To give you an example, between New Zealand and Australia; the two countries only take about 160,000 new entrants per year or 0.005% of the US Population. When Fukashima hit there was a 7 day waiting list just to get through and talk to the Immigration Office here due to the flood of interest from Japan.

So with these factors in mind, the easiest solution would be to follow this checklist of 4 things you can do right now that prepares you and your family for a possible quick departure should you then decide to leave America. By no means are these 4 things inclusive of everything required. They are a starting point that you can build on over time. In the event you decide to pull the plug or pull the trigger, however you want to phrase it. You will thank yourself for having done these 4 things.

#1 Get everyone in your family an up to date passport. It takes between a few weeks to a couple of months to get one currently, there are rush services out there that can shorten this time-line, but one thing is for certain; if there is an increase in people heading for the exits, it is unlikely that Uncle Sam will accommodate this expatriation of wealth and resources by staffing the exit window in order to meet this demand. It may take closer to 3 to 6 months with various strings attached which could be a game changer. Imagine how you would respond if told that the earliest your application for your passport to be approved was 6 months out. Remember that we are talking about a country that is going through enough of a material change to warrant a large exodus. Don’t underestimate the possibilities for obstacles to be placed in front of you. Check this link for your closest passport office Passports.

#2 Obtain original copies of all important documents an immigration officer may require such as birth certificates, marriage certificates , adoption certificates, school transcripts, advanced degrees, skills qualifications, proof of work experiences, child vaccinations, doctors notes should you have a particular ailment.

This information, coupled with your passport will allow you possible extended stays or possible residency in many countries. Once you’ve entered the country, you can then lodge your application while a visitor. Your main focus should turn on obtaining a work visa which simply gives you the right to work in that country. If you are self sufficient then consider a tourist or business visa as a way to stay there. Lets hope we never have to ponder obtaining a refugee status visa.

If you need some help on where to turn while in this new country, just look for other Americans who may have moved there, or go to a sports bar on Superbowl Sunday.

#3 Open a bank account outside of the US in a jurisdiction where you feel counter-party risk will not bury your bank via some massive credit event. We’ve been doing this for years for our clients and it’s the one tool that proves to be the most useful for those undecided about emigrating. I’d stay away from the large multinationals that have branches everywhere simply because they may prove no more beneficial at hedging risk than your existing US Bank account. Here is a list of the top 20 safest banks in the world
Safe Banks

The major benefits to having a bank account outside of the US Banking system is not for bank secrecy or tax avoidance, it is so that if a credit event originates in the US you are outside of it for the time being. The other benefit is that a modern day bank run does not involve a physical presence outside of the teller window. It’s an online function and most overseas banks will allow you to roll into another currency very quickly should you decide. You can also use the account to buy yourself airline tickets or supplies should there be an interruption in the US banking system.

#4 And most importantly, prepare yourself mentally to live in another universe. Understand that you could pull the plug at anytime. You may own a home you are not prepared to sell, have a pet you are not prepared to abandon, or an ailing parent you can not leave alone for too long. Do you have a close friend or family that can fill some of these gaps, does your pet need certain vaccinations and quarantine; will the welcoming country welcome your parent(s)? This mental preparation is here to provide you with more questions than answers. However, it is the last and most important part of How to Leave America. It will get you focused on which country to enter, when to possibly enter that country and how you would go about the entry process.

Hopefully this information will offer some order to the chaotic thought of having to leave ones country. From these 4 steps you should be well ahead of the pack.

Michael Reps is director of New Zeland based Yield Qwest NZ Ltd. You can visit his web site here.

22 comments:

  1. I understand the sentiment. But our forefathers deserve people who will stand and fight considering they gave their lives, fortunes and sacred honor.

    Stand and Fight. Tear down the GOP establishment and the Soros corruption.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Really the GOP establishment? I believe Obama and his liberal cronies are the ones trying to take away your guns and ammo.

      Delete
  2. The men with guns who claim the moral authority to kill me will do so if I attempt to leave. So I have no choice but to stay and fight. If they want me gone, they'll have to throw me out.

    ReplyDelete
  3. @PolitiJim,

    What then is your take on our forefathers who bailed out of their European homelands to start anew in America? What would you have said to them?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha! I was thinking the same exact thing. It isn't like the "forefathers" emerged out of the ether and started a new nation. They left a tyrannical regime in Europe to found another tyrannical regime in America (albeit, less tyrannical in theory). Also, I hate when people use the term "forefathers" as if it is some homogeneous glob of beliefs/people/philosophies. The truth is that a lot of those guys were pretty fucked up in real life. Sure, there are a lot of things to be envious of, but there are also a lot of things to be embarrassed of, regarding the "forefathers".

      I personally have not a single ounce of patriotism and/or nationalism in my bones, war has already taken it out of me. All I care about is liberty, and this applies to all of humanity equally.

      Delete
    2. Most of the forefathers were born here in the " colonies" they didn't flee any country.

      Delete
    3. Well, if you want to be technical, the colonies were considered part of England. However, you can play the 'ol regression game and conclude that our forefathers' forefathers fled England. In either case, what they did then has no relevance upon what happens to me or your today. Those guys are all dead, and the government that they created has been usurped. While moving to a more constitutional government would certainly be an improvement, it is quite clear that the constitutional republic experiment has been a complete failure-- every state will always be usurped, because that's where the power lies.

      Delete
  4. your safe bank link is broken.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Try this


      http://fleur-hupston.suite101.com/safest-places-in-the-world-to-bank-money-a122802

      Delete
    2. The safe bank link is broken, and the suggested correction is not working for me.

      Delete
  5. As sad it may sound, US in terms of not being robbed blind by the powers-that-are is still ahead of the vast majority of countries there. (And those which are better like Singapore are brittle, and can turn despotic virtually overnight).

    You do have a social support network (friends, family, etc) in US which will be absent in other countries. You have tons of local knowledge which will take years to re-acquire. You are not conspicuous and so don't present an easy and obvious target for pogroms or government thugs in search of an easy shake-down.

    Emigration is a hard thing to do. Forced emigration is doubly so. A lot of people got broken by it, just read any account of Russian "white" emigration.

    Having a plan B is a good thing (all members of my family living in US have multiple citizenships), but don't take it lightly... usually you'd be better off just sitting tight and waiting for the turmoil to wash over.

    In case of US, it's going to be the failure of the federal government - it will cause a lot of unrest within the parasite classes (government unions and such) and a lot of uncertainty, but for the most of us it will bring fantastic opportunities - just imagine the size of the economic boom which will follow the removal of the 50% taxation burden and de-facto removal (by the virtue of non-enforcement) of the whole body of the federal restraint of trade.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I would like to say that it really won't matter what country you live in, for the coming-- and that's not to say immanently-- crucible of world history will make it so. We are probably entering a change within the 4th gentile empire (Babylonian, Persian, Helenistic, Roman), according to the Bible. The Roman Empire has gone through various stages, from its united stage to its east-west division, and now- probably-- to its one world govt status, because Rome never conquered the whole world before this. The final two are the 10 world regions and a final world dictator. The momentum is already leaving the US and it will be found in the future in the middle east, the city of Babylon, Iraq to be exact. This will eventually become the economic center of the world within an already evil system, that will be super-evil, trafficing in things that would make America blush.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm staying. If the Republic falls...what makes you think that other nations will stand? Besides...New Zealand? They're socialists. Seriously...go down there?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thankfully only the enlightened US Citizens will make the journey leaving out the narrowminded rest. Read up on New Zealand before making such a ridiculous statement.

      Delete
  8. Interesting that the Passport Office locator (State Dept) does not work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I knowjusttrieditfromVirginia.

      Delete
  9. New Zealand,Australia?! Oh, my! If you let the s#*t hit the fan here in the US, there will be no place to run on this Earth.Mongolia will probably be a safer bet than NZ, that is of course, if you can get to Cleveland first.

    ReplyDelete
  10. If you are older than 54 New Zealand won't even take an application for immigration. If you don't have proper job skills Singapore is shut off also. Australia, same age limitation as New Zealand. The only real options that I've found are the European long stay Visas which are relatively easy to get and maintain, that of course is if you can deal with the Euro. Leaving Thailand as perhaps the best bet out there for affordable high quality healthcare, a reasonably stable political/social environment in spite of last years fiasco and beautiful women of course.
    I don't know what country Barak Obama and Mitt Romney live in but all I see is an increasingly totalitarian American state, where Imprisonment, Impoverishment and Invasion of Privacy are the total focus of a corrupt and incompetent two party system that has plundered the country for its own benefit.

    ReplyDelete
  11. The U.S. is not the country I was born into back in 1939. Fortunately the idea of freedom is portable - those of us who understand this should carry the idea of freedom where it can be nurtured and preserved.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I wonder if anyone here has actually lived in New Zealand? If you have, what was it like? Would you recommend it for a retired American senior citizen?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Ha anyone here lived in New Zealand? Would you recommend it for an American senior citizen?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Not one of our forefathers i.e. signers of the Constitution, was born in the United States; since the Declaration of Independence basically created the United States.

    ReplyDelete