What in the North?
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Preliminary
The withdrawal data released by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2024 is like a heavy hammer on the "American Dream" sign. The number of wealthy people who gave up their U.S. citizenship throughout the year reached 4,820, a 48% increase from 3,260 in 2023, setting a record The highest annual value since 2016, ranking third in historical records.
Even more striking is the preliminary statistics of the first quarter of 2025, the number of retirees in the first three months alone will break through 1,500 people, according to this growth rate, the whole year is likely. Set a new historical peak of 6700 people in 2020.
U.S. wealthy people are “abandoned”
This explosive growth trend is becoming increasingly apparent, with only a few hundred people actively saying goodbye to the United States every year before 2009, and only 300 people in the year of the 2008 financial crisis.
After the passing of the Overseas Account Tax Compliance Act in 2010, the number began to rise, and the law officially entered into force in 2014 exceeded 1,000 people, which has grown 20 times in just 15 years.
The US Wealth Report 2025 is even more striking, with more than 30 percent of investment immigration applications submitted by U.S. citizens to date in 2025, almost twice as many as the last five countries combined.
The Alton Capital Survey found that 53 percent of millionaires planned to leave after the election, and 64 percent of young wealthy people aged 18 to 29 have launched a “golden visa” application.
The most ironic is the Trump administration's "reverse operation", signing an executive order in September 2025, introducing a "Golden Card" "Golden Card" double-track visa, individuals spend $ 1 million to take the "Golden Card" residence, and can deal with $ 2 million in bulk.
The $5 million Platinum Card also enjoys 270 days of residence and tax-free privileges for overseas income. Early “reservation”
To know that the previous EB-5 visa required only $ 500,000, the new policy threshold doubled 10 to 20 times, on the one hand, the domestic wealthy in line with retirement, and on the other hand, foreign wealthy money "buy identity", this "one-in-one" counterpart, exposes the value paradox of American identity.
The fundamental reason why the rich escape is the United States 'tax system that is "unique in the world". Only the United States and Eritrea implement "global taxation." As long as you hold a U.S. passport, you need to file a tax return to the IRS no matter where you make money.
This is in sharp contrast to the "territorial taxation" of Canada and Australia. Citizens of those countries basically do not need to pay taxes to their home countries after settling overseas. Germany and France are even more straightforward. Giving up nationality clears tax relationships.
Multiple dilemmas such as taxation
Following the entry into force of the Overseas Account Tax Compliance Act in 2014, the “tax network” is upgraded to the “Skyland network”, and global financial institutions will be charged a 30% penalty advance tax if they do not declare U.S. citizen account information to the IRS.
UBS spends US$20 million per year in compliance costs and simply suspends non-resident services in the United States. Financial institutions in more than 130 countries around the world treat Americans "one size fits all" and refuse to open accounts, loan and other services, making U.S. passports a reality. Financial Island Passport。
The "breakup cost" of withdrawal is even more devastating. The handling fee of $2,350 is the highest in the world. Twenty times more than Canada., you need to prove that there has been no tax arrears for five years, and the application will be rejected once a delay.
Facebook co-founder Saverin paid hundreds of millions of dollars when he withdrew from his country. Some customers even mortgaged their properties to pay taxes, but not all rich people have to pay taxes. David, whose net assets are $10 million, does not need to pay taxes because his assets are all cash. There is no value-added part.
Michelle, who holds $9 million in stocks, has to pay taxes on the value-added amount of $7 million. What's even more, she can't be re-naturalized after withdrawing from citizenship, which can be called a "one-shot deal".
In addition to tax pressure, multiple difficulties have become "assists", with dual nationality restrictions bearing the brunt. Japan, South Korea, and Singapore and other popular resettlement destinations do not allow dual citizenship.
Tokyo multinational enterprise executive Sato Long, because of the promotion of the president of the Asia-Pacific region needs "absolute native identity", after half a year to give up American citizenship, Samsung, modern American Korean-speaking executives, also often face The problem of “nationality and promotion” is the first.
Political divisions and shrinking public services further wiped up the sense of belonging, with 51 percent of those considering abolition in 2024-2025 referring to “unsatisfaction with the U.S. political direction”, a proportion that doubled five years ago.
Safe haven options
Rich people’s “refugees” are mainly concentrated in Europe, Asia and the Caribbean, and play is upgraded to “identity combinations.”
Europe used to be the first choice. Portugal's 500,000 euro home-for-residence policy was once popular, but in March 2025, protests triggered by pushing up Lisbon house prices by 70%, the policy was suspended. The threshold in Greece has been raised from 250,000 euros to 500,000 euros, and is limited to properties outside Athens, which has greatly reduced its appeal.
Antigua buys a house for US$300,000, which can be resold in 5 years and can also be used for four generations of the family. In 2024, the number of applications in Saint Lucia soared by 180%, because its visa-free China attracts a large number of Chinese and American trade businessmen.
Top rich people prefer Malta, 690,000 euros can be invested in EU passports, visa-free 169 countries, no inheritance tax grants, overseas income is basically exempt from tax, in 2024 Maltese citizenship applications accounted for 23% of Americans, compared to double in 2022.
Asia is also popular, Singapore $2.5 million "Global Investor Program", attracting technology upstarts with a low corporate tax of 17%.
China's new K-shaped visa in 2025 will provide convenience for foreign young scientific and technological talents, and many American scientific and technological executives have applied for it to take into account the Chinese market.
Today's popular "identity combination" strategy, Los Angeles real estate owner Michael Zhang's operation is typical, his wife retains American citizenship with his children to attend private school, he takes the residence in Malta to manage European programs to avoid taxes, and to make parents a St. Kitts passport to facilitate travel.
Withdrawal has reflected profound changes, nationality is no longer a “living label”, “flexible citizens” and “global wanderers” have risen, and people have begun to use nationality as a “configurable tool.”
U.S. passports used to be "hard currency". From World War II to 2000, visa-free privileges and high-quality resources attracted the world.
But today its “debt” is over “assets”, tax burdens, financial constraints, political division, holding costs far exceed profits, and giving up is a rational choice.
The essence of this wave is the inevitability of globalization. In the past, countries took the initiative in identity, but now individuals can "make money in the United States, live in Europe, travel in the Caribbean and invest in Asia". The "only answer" of nationality becomes a "multiple-choice question"You are defined by life and planning, not by the passport country.
conclusion
Countries have launched the "identity war", the United States pushed the "golden card" to rob foreign wealthy people, Europe tightened the purchase of housing immigration but eased the talents policy, the Caribbean relying on the "sale of passports" hundreds of millions of dollars annually, and the newly targeted scientific and technological talents, which is behind the global talents and capital redemption.
The future ideal identity is the "combination of fist", career, life, travel identity directors, American passports "fading", is only the beginning of the globalized identity revolution, when more people actively plan identity, An era of diverse and free global talent flow is quietly arriving。