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American interest in secondary passports has been on the rise over the last year — and global citizenship firms have reported another surge since President Donald Trump's re-election.
"We are beyond busy at the moment," Judi Galst, who manages Global citizen firm Henley & Partners' New York office, told Business Insider the day after the election. "The phones and online inquiries are constant since this morning."
The firm said it saw a 392% increase in enquiries from US nationals during election week compared to the week prior. Other migration firms, like Arton Capital, previously told BI that it received between 110 and 120 inquiries in the day following the election. That's about five times its typical number.
Reaz Jafri, the CEO of citizenship consulting firm Dasein said in addition to wanting an option B, clients are wanting to move their assets offshore. He said people are concerned about Trump raising tariffs, and how that will impact the economy and the US dollar.
Leading up to the election, the firm helped a number of clients set up accounts in Europe and move assets offshore, which Jafri said can take about two months.
"It's not to evade taxes or hide their money it's just to keep it out of the reach of the US government," Jafri said, adding that clients want to ensure their wealth isn't held solely in US banks if restrictions are put in place.
Jafri also said the election has raised concerns within the LGBTQ+ community. Since Trump's re-election, Jafri said he's had three same-sex couples reach out to him because of worries about what will happen with same-sex marriage. Another client, he said, had already been considering a secondary passport because he has a transgender child and is concerned about their rights under the new administration.
Galst reported similar concerns from clientele.
"There's been sort of particular trauma in certain conversations with people that are transgender, homosexuals," Galst said, adding that she has not felt that in conversations with clients in the past.
Micha-Rose Emmett, CEO of London based citizenship consultancy firm CS Global Partners, said she's been in the industry for nearly 20 years and has been through a number of US elections. She said every election, especially since 2016, seems to come with "people getting anxious" about which political party is going to win, and searching for alternatives.
"It peaks for a couple of weeks or maybe a couple of months and then everything goes back to normal," Emmett said.
While Trump may have won the election, concerns about a new administration impact people from both sides of the political spectrum.
Leading up to the 2020 election, Jafri said there was an increase in interest from the Republican contingency of his clientele. They were concerned about Elizabeth Warren or a similar candidate coming into the presidency and the impact it would have from "a tax policy point of view," he said.
Emmett said during these surges, some people do end up going through with the application process. However, they've either been thinking about it for a while or there's an investment opportunity that coincides with the political situation, she said.
"For super high net worth individuals it's not purely a political decision," Emmett said. "I think there are a lot of other factors."
Secondary passport applications require extensive paperwork and can cost a minimum of $200,000 per application, with the more expensive locations costing $1 million for a couple. They also don't happen overnight. Some programs can take two years to process applications.
Galst said that many people seeking these passports are thinking about retirement and creating generational opportunity. Others are looking to diversify their assets. She said one client told her he spent $1 million on insurance — and this was another line item.
"I don't agree with the headlines that everyone's leaving the United States," Galst said, adding that 90% of her clients don't want to leave the country, they just want an insurance policy.
Galt said she anticipates a lot of conversations happening over Thanksgiving, especially since these decisions can impact a family.
