Mailbag: Moving to South America with a felony?

I'm going to start posting "mailbag" questions if the person who has contacted me gives permission. All email will be anonymized (unless they request otherwise) and edited to focus on the main question. Here's a very interesting email from someone who wants to move to South America.

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Hi Curtis,

I just came across your very interesting blog while doing some research and am wondering if I might bother you with a question:

I had a felony conviction for [a nonviolent crime] 20 years ago here in the U.S. I would like to relocate to South America. Is this an impossible dream?

Many thanks,
Bob

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Additional information from our email exchange: the "Bob" in question is a highly skilled professional, but he's an older worker. He's mentioned two countries he is particularly interested in. He probably has another 10 to 20 years of work left. Despite his felony conviction, he does not wish to pursue the Chilean immigration loophole. If he were twenty years younger and had no criminal record, I suspect he would have no trouble moving abroad with his profession.

Dear Bob,

This one is hard, but it's not insurmountable. It is, however, going to take a bit more effort than usual because I assume you want to minimize your chances for failure.

Consider the average person working for the government and processing plenty of work permit/immigrant visa requests. They usually have two things to consider:

• The benefits of your professional skills.
• The drawbacks of your personal situation.

I've been to your Web site and assuming your background can be easily verified, you have strong skills that I assume would be highly desirable. So what are the drawbacks?

• You're close to retirement age.
• You have a felony conviction.

Both of those are pretty serious. So the overworked, underpaid civil servant who evaluates your paperwork may very well glance at your application and say NOPE. They often have plenty of applications to process and the more they get done, the better they look and it's pretty easy to justify saying "no" to a convicted felon.

A twenty-year old non-violent felony is not an automatic bar for many countries, but if you don't work harder to maximize your chances, you're running a real risk of being denied. You have some very positive things on your resume, including suggestions that you benefit the community above and beyond just your normal profession, but all it takes is your application winding up in the hands of the wrong civil servant and you could be sunk.

So what do you do? I recommend a multi-pronged strategy partly aimed at ensuring that your visa application gets more attention than normal rather than a routine assessment by a clerk.

First, if you don't already know the language of your target country, learn it fluently. From the countries you mentioned, it's clear that Spanish is your first choice. If you can communicate effortlessly in your target language, it's a huge benefit. Also, if you have existing clientele with whom you communicate in that language, I would include this information (even if you can't mention who they are) to make it clear that you can hit the ground running.

Second, you live in a large city which is very likely to have cultural groups affiliated with your target countries. Go to those groups, meet the people, make it clear you have a genuine interest in their culture and start making contacts. You never know when you'll run into someone who says "my cousin works for the Director of Immigration for country X". Networking, being honest and open, and helping out where you are able can work wonders. Further, having a demonstrable interest in the culture can help.

Third, research immigration lawyers in your target country. There are two benefits here. The obvious one is that you want solid inside advice on how to enter their country legally. The less obvious one (and this is where strong research will really pay off) is finding one that has contacts. If you can work with a politically-connected lawyer, they can whisper into someone's ear and this can dramatically improve your chances. Yes, this is going to cost you money. It might cost you more money than you are willing to part with. You'll have to judge whether this risk is worth it. Be careful, though, as you could spend a large amount of money on someone who isn't able to help beyond normal legal advice. Even if you don't want to find a politically connected lawyer, make sure you get a lawyer anyway. I have a friend who recently entered the US and due to contacting a lawyer, managed to avoid a huge immigration mess about a particular situation they weren't aware of but the lawyer was.

Fourth, research your target countries like nobody's business. If you wind up chatting with an immigration official and he asks you what you think about the current government, not being able to name the President isn't going to help. You need to be completely reassuring that you're familiar with the culture. Also, if that happens, try to sidestep issues with politics and religion unless they make it very clear what their leanings are (and don't argue against their point of view!) I would probably try refocusing the conversation on how you want to help the country (and given your background, you have some strong assets there).

On a final note, since you've mentioned more than one country as a possible destination, be aware that just because one country turns you down doesn't mean that all of them will. Many countries will occasionally accept people with criminal records and often they will judge based on how long ago the crime occurred (a bonus for you) and the seriousness of the crime. You have an unusually strong strong post-conviction resume that will help tremendously. You're going to have to do a bit more work than usual to make this happen, but if you're determined, I'm sure you can.

Good luck and let me know how it turns out!

Retiring in Ecuador

Basilica de Voto Natcional, Quito, Ecuador
Photo by Rinaldo Wurglitsch

I write a lot about moving abroad when you're young, but what about when it's time to retire? It's not just for adventure; it might be a savvy financial move on a tight retirement check and Ecuador may be your new home. International Living magazine, for several years running, keeps voting Ecuador the number one retirement country.

In fact, the city of Cuenca, Ecuador, has a thriving American community. Imagine lovely fully-furnished apartments for $300 to $400 a month, utilities included.

You'll need the 9-I Pensioner Visa. The main requirement for the Ecuador 9-I Pensioner visa is demonstrating a stable $800 a month income (PDF from the Ecuadorian Interior Ministry). If you don't have that income, you can deposit five years worth of that income ($48,000) with their central bank or demonstrate that you already have a trust with that amount in it.

You'll find Ecuadorian Expat boards very busy and not just filled with retirees.





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The weather's great, the country is stable, the cost of living is cheap, and they welcome immigrants. You won't have a hard time meeting English speakers (largely other immigrants), but speaking Spanish is a definite plus. If you're near retirement age, start taking a look down south.

Here's a description of how to retire to Cotacachi, Ecuador, on $1,000 a month.

Update: this is my second entry on this topic. I keep getting bombarded with information about this that I didn't realize it.

Romania is making it harder to get a work permit

Romania, Bucarest, Ostello Manuc
Wikimedia Commons

Romania is tightening their education requirements for work permits. You must have a full academic transcript for every university-level degree and you must submit every degree ever earned, including a high school diploma, with an apostille (sort of like a international notarization) or other legalization.

Romania has also set tight 2012 work permit quotas, though they are allowing the European Blue Card. As long as the economic malaise lasts, expect many countries to restrict immigration.

Singapore: a bad time for expats?

Singapore's financial district

We've had a few posts about Singapore in this blog. There's been discussion of Singapore being the "soft landing" in Asia and how to get a passport in Singapore. This is because Singapore is a hot destination for expats. The cnngo.com Web site has a great discussion of five reasons expats love Singapore. All things considered, it's a very attractive destination for those seeking another country.

Unfortunately, Singapore is trying o make itself a touch less attractive. In a Telegraph article, Singapore becoming 'less attractive' for expats, three recent changes targeting expats are covered:

1. Added 10 per cent hike in stamp duty for any foreigner wanting to buy property in the city
2. Ended a program that let graduates of foreign universities stay in Singapore for one year while they look for work
3. Due to a strong Singapore dollar, Singapore is now more expensive for expats than Hong Kong

Obviously, Singapore can't necessarily control how expensive it is relative to other expat destinations, but points 1 and 2 are clearly aimed at expats. For those who stay, more money will be extracted. Otherwise, it may be a slightly less attractive option compared to other destinations (were it not for my family and great job, I'd be tempted).

Expats aren't experiencing fewer options on where they can go, but those options are changing, particularly as the popular destinations tighten their borders a bit. So stop with your excuses and just go!

Le Pen and the Fear in France

The results from the first round of the French Presidential Election are in, with Sarkozy and Hollande making it to the second round. Polls invariably show Hollande, a socialist, beating Sarkozy handily in the May 6th final round.

Vive la France, pas le racisme!
Photo by François Schnell

Just a quick recap: in France, the first round of voting for Presidential candidates was yesterday. Since none of the 10 candidates won more than 50% of the vote, the top two candidates, Sarkozy and Hollande, will face on on May 6th. At the present time, barring Hollande getting caught with a live boy or a dead girl (old US political joke, sorry) it looks like the next French president will be a Socialist. I can't say that Hollande makes me particularly happy and I hope that there will be enough power in the government to put the brakes on some of his more radical ideas.

What worries me, though, is Marine Le Pen, the leader of the National Front. She took 18% of the vote with more than 80% of the French people voting. There is simply no way that Sarkozy can win without courting her voters and he's quite ready to do so. From the article:

Sarkozy had run a rightwing campaign from the outset, chasing voters on the extreme right by focusing on immigration, saying there were too many foreigners in France and following Le Pen's lead in claiming unlabelled halal meat was a key concern of French voters. He had recently stressed conservative family values and the Christian heritage of France. His strategists will now have to decide whether he lurches even further to the right.

At this point, there's really no choice for Le Pen's supporters, but I'm curious to see Hollande's response. He's already made anti-immigration comments and I suspect that just a few more well-chosen comments here and there might pull enough Le Pen supporters to his side of the line to seal Sarkozy's fate. Will he go there? I seriously doubt that he will be as blatant as Sarkozy has been, but there will be hints of it in the next couple of weeks.

Le Pen may have lost the first round of the Presidency, but her quiet message of hate is working its way through the country. It's fashionable to express concerns about Muslims. It's fashionable to talk about cracking down on immigration. It's fashionable to pick an external enemy to rally internal support. And while Marine Le Pen may have toned down her father's pro-Nazi rhetoric (he has stated that the Nazi occupation of France wasn't particularly inhumane and has referred to the Nazi gas chambers as a mere detail of history), she is still running as the candidate for his party.

To my knowledge, Marine Le Pen has never publicly repudiated her father. She's even been courting Israel, apparently thinking that in having a common enemy withe Muslims, the Israelis might forget her past. In fact, I think they might actually be cautiously optimistic about her, but it's hard to know. All I know is that there are two types of people who are voting for her: those who vote out of fear and try to ignore the bad signs and those who know exactly what they are voting for. Either way, it's a disgrace.

Lest you be smug and think "it can't happen here", I submit that it can happen anywhere.  It's the structure of the French Presidential election system that allows people to initially vote for "third party" candidates without fear that they'll throw the election to the enemy. Currently, the rallying cry is against Muslims, against immigration, a "law and order" crackdown with little thought as to right or wrong or examination of root causes. We see this in many political parties, not just Le Pen's National Front. We see this in many countries, not just France. As long as the economic climate remains bleak and cultural tensions are high, there will always be opportunists ready to prey on those who give in to fear. This is a human thing, not a French thing.

What worries me is that Le Pen's failure to make it to the second round might actually be worse than the alternative. A long, slow rise in the polls with a careful cultivation of support is what she's looking for here. Getting to the second round and being decisively defeated may have focused too much attention on her and ended her chances of making another serious run. Now she has credibility and a future. Don't count her out.

Pictures from my walk to work.

Today I am running late and have little to say. Thus, you get pictures from my walk to work here in Paris. I also did this last year for my walk to work in Amsterdam.

Rue de Jourdain

Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Belleville

A small grocer near our offices

A fromagerie. The French do love their cheese

Lilly-Rose enjoying our back garden (back in February)

The French Presidential Election

Most of you are doubtless unfamiliar with France and French politics. You've perhaps heard of Nicolas Sarkozy, but that's probably about it. On April 22nd, the first round of voting in the French Presidential election will begin. It's going to be very interesting.

The French Presidential election is a direct vote (they abandoned the electoral college in 1962). The people vote for candidates who qualified for the election and, if no candidate receives a majority, a run-off occurs between the two candidates who received the highest percentage of the votes.

The Contenders
Nicolas Sarkozy, the current President of France, despite trailing in many early polls, has now pulled into a slight lead, polling at 28% of voters staying him as a preference. He leads the UMP, France's center-right party. He's not terribly popular, but then, there aren't many terribly popular candidates in this election

François Hollande is the primary contender. Polling at 27%, he was nominated for the Presidency by the French Socialist and Radical Left (who are, curiously, moderate center-left) parties. Unlike some other countries I could name, being "left" is France is normal and people have no problem with the idea that others may have different points of view. Hollande's major problem is that he's somewhat perceived as the Mitt Romney of France: he's so boring that paint watches him dry.

The Spoilers

Moving back to the right, we have Marine Le Pen, who has desperately tried to hide her neo-Nazi credentials. She's been successful enough that she's now polling at 16%. You may recall that her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, made it to the second round of the French Presidential election in 2002. This led to the curious situation of even socialists campaigning for the right-wing candidate, Jacques Chirac. Chirac won with 82% of the vote, the largest Presidential electoral win in the history of the French Fifth Republic.

	And finally on the left, we have Jean-Luc Mélenchon, trailing at 13%. The candidate of the Left Party, he's possibly doing better than one might have expected. He appears to be one of the more electrifying speakers on the campaign and he's getting very interesting press. I suspect he's going to a force in French politics.
Along with: Nathalie Arthaud 1%, François Bayrou 10%, Jacques Cheminade 0%, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan 1%, Eva Joly 3%, Philippe Poutou 1%

For quite some time, people said that Hollande was going to be the next President of France. The polls, however, have now tipped slightly in Sarkozy's favor, but well within the margin of error. In fact, enough people report themselves as undecided that this race is very much in the air. In particular, many French have expressed a concern over a repeat of the 2002 debacle, where the left candidate ran such a weak campaign that Jean-Marie Le Pen managed to make it to the second round. This wasn't because he French liked Le Pen, but because they were protest voting the major candidates.

If, somehow, Marine Le Pen made it to the second round, she would get trounced by her opponent. After all, pretty hate-mongers are still hate-mongers. However, she's toned down some of the hate speech, is trying to make friends with Israel, is rallying French around Islamaphobia and an anti-immigrant platform. Unfortunately, people often turn to extremists in times of crisis. There's less than a week to find out if France is going to shame itself on the international stage again.