“The bottom line is that anyone
can be ISIS. We therefore need an approach to securing civilized societies that
doesn't allow individuals to hide behind the cloak of Western passports… The
time has come for a "global passport," a parallel digital certification
of a person's identity, background, criminal record, travel history, and other
details. The digital record would be regularly updated based on databases from
airlines, customs agencies, banks and other sources, and could be managed by an
independent international authority.”
“The people
can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to
do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of
patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any
country.”
Over one billion
people presently cross borders each year. In addition, there are over 250
million people who are expatriates – living outside their home country. These
numbers are higher than ever before in history and growing. As The Great
Unravelling progresses, we will witness a dramatic increase in both statistics.
Along the way, we can expect the more restrictive governments, particularly
those of the EU and US, to institute limitations on travel for their citizens,
in order to keep them captive at home.
So, we can
therefore anticipate changes in the issuance of passports. There are two concepts afoot with regard to the future of
passports, and they’re direct opposites to each other. The first is for a Global
Passport, that all countries would issue and all would share computer
information on all passport holders. The other is a proliferation of passports created
by an easing of citizenship requirements in small countries, resulting in each
individual having the ability to possess several passports, thus diminishing
his “ownership” by his home country.
These
two concepts are both almost certain
to develop considerably in the coming years and for the same reason. As stated,
the more restrictive countries are likely to push for a global passport – an
Orwellian document that says, “No matter where you are, you travel on our
document. We have all your information and we own you.” The more this trend
increases in prominence, the more the second trend will increase, in direct
reaction. More and more countries will offer citizenship to non-nationals, as
the demand for freedom increases amongst oppressed people.
Most
of the countries that presently offer “Citizenship by Investment” are small
countries – Malta and Cyprus in the Mediterranean, plus five island nations in
the Caribbean – Grenada, Antigua &
Barbuda, St. Kitts & Nevis, Dominica and, recently, St. Lucia.
A
visit to any of the small Caribbean countries will reveal that, since the
decline of the sugar industry, they have had few choices with regard to future
prosperity. Quaint small towns and villages and nice beaches attract a certain
amount of tourism, but something greater is needed to support an entire
population. Decades ago, St. Kitts & Nevis decided to try Citizenship by
Investment. At first, the takers were few, but, in recent years, with much of
the world imploding, the programme has attracted greater interest.
The
way it works is that an applicant can either buy citizenship (approval takes
only a month or two) for $250,000, or he can buy into a real estate project for
$400,000 or more. Due to recent success, other island nations have jumped on
board, offering their own programmes… and here’s where it gets interesting.
As
soon as eight or ten island nations are offering similar programmes, it will
become a citizenship norm for the Caribbean. And, of course, that will mean
competition will develop. With many countries to choose from, prices will need
to drop. At some point, national leaders will seek to increase gross sales by
lowering the sale price. Although $400,000 is out of reach to most who dream of
buying an alternate passport, there will be far more takers at $200,000 or even
$100,000, but I believe the magic price-point to be $50,000. At that price,
hundreds of thousands of second-passport seekers will jump on board. Indeed,
many will purchase passports from several islands. (If one backup-passport is
good, multiple backup-passports are better.)
But,
why are “bargain” passports not already available? From my own experience, as a
West Indian, this is due to the fact that our political leaders often fear a
dramatic influx of new voters. They feel safer appealing to natives than
outsiders and worry that the electorate balance may be upset and cost them
their seats in future elections.
Yet,
many West Indian countries already have laws that limit the rights of new
citizens (with particular regard to the right to run for public office). To
date, none of these countries has figured out that citizenship without the right to vote is an easy
solution. Once they twig onto this new category of citizenship, we may see a
major drop in citizenship cost and a dramatic increase in the number of
applicants.
At
present, the passport schemes have attracted Russians, Canadians,
Middle-Easterners, Chinese and, increasingly, Americans. At present, the US is
the foremost objector to Citizenship by Investment, describing its purpose to
be “to provide cover for financial crimes.” However, over one hundred other
countries, including most of Europe accept the passports and the US is very
much in the minority here.
This
is an issue to be watched closely. Historically, whenever governments have put
the squeeze on their citizens’ freedoms, citizens have reacted by trying to
wriggle out. The squeeze in many countries is presently at its zenith and many,
many people are voting with their
feet. There will always be takers in the world when this occurs and, in the
Caribbean, opportunities for increased freedom are very much on the increase.
Jeff Thomas
