- Trump’s victory is prompting some Americans to consider taking other residences.
- Concerns include anti-Semitism, LGBTQ+ rights and future stability for children.
- Residency firms said they received an increase in inquiries, particularly from Democratic-leaning states.
As Donald Trump prepares his return to the White House, some Americans are plotting their exit strategies.
Given the positions of his party and allies on issues including abortion, immigration, the environment and LGBTQ+ rights, some Americans feel their safety and stability are at risk and want the option to move abroad.
This week, US Google searches for dual citizenship hit a five-year high.
Business Insider spoke to three residency and citizenship consultants about what they heard in the 48 hours after the election was announced. They have been busy, receiving dozens more inquiries than on a typical day.
Arton Capital
Armand Arton is the CEO of Arton Capital, a global citizenship and residency firm based in Montreal. He has been working in migration services for 20 years.
He said the company submitted five times its typical daily volume of claims on Wednesday.
The firm received between 110 and 120 requests that day. They usually get about 20 questions a day.
While not all inquiries will become clients, he said he is seeing an unusual sense of urgency among those considering alternative residences.
“Americans normally take an average of three to four weeks to review documents before they sign anything,” Arton said.
This time it is different: “They are signing the same day”.
Most of the firm’s requests come from Democratic strongholds like New York, Connecticut and California.
“All the red states are going to think they run the world for the next five years. So they’re not going anywhere,” Arton said.
Henley & Partners
Judi Galst, a managing director at Henley & Partners in New York, said the firm has received nonstop inquiries for obtaining a reserve residence since the announcement of the elections. She was on the phone all Wednesday.
“Literally, back to back, there’s no time to even go to the bathroom,” Galst said.
The London-based company, which opened its US office two years ago, first saw a big spike in demand for its services from US citizens in 2020, when the pandemic limited mobility.
Demand has remained high ever since. As worries about the pandemic have faded, they have been replaced by fears about who might be elected, Galst said.
Most of the company’s clients do not want to leave the US immediately. But concerns about the direction the country is going make them want an option to move, she said.
US searches for 2024 have already surpassed the 2023 total by 7%, according to data compiled by the company. US citizens currently make up the bulk of the firm’s applications.
As demand has steadily increased, Galst said the tone of customers this week took on a particular urgency – they’re no longer just looking for options. Some people seem to regret not starting the process sooner, as the compliance process takes time.
“In the last 24 hours, I’ve heard a real urgency,” Galst said. “Before, sometimes people would be like maybe I’m crazy; I can’t believe I’m even thinking that. But for some people, their worst fear has come true.”
Galst said anti-Semitism concerns have come up in about a third of her recent calls. There has been a surge of anti-Semitic sentiment in the country following Israel’s military action against Gaza following the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
“I think especially for people who lost family in the Holocaust, it’s in their DNA,” she said. They don’t want to see history repeat itself, they want to be prepared.”
Other requests came from same-sex couples, a family with a transgender child and Democratic donors concerned about punishment.
Galst said the company has seen an increase in interest in investment migration, which unlocks destinations such as Portugal and the Caribbean for high-net-worth individuals. It has also seen an influx of people seeking to acquire foreign-born citizenship, which is an option for those with family ties to Ireland, Germany, Austria and Poland, among other countries.
The mare Terra
Pela Terra, a Portugal-based investment citizenship service, has been tracking dual citizenship requests since 2011. A spokesman said the company prepared for increased post-election requests.
Unlike Henley & Partners, which saw a lot of interest from Democratic-leaning states, Pela Terra received many inquiries from Florida, which voted Republican.
Other searcher demographics included people from California and those from the LGBTQ+ community.
A recent call came from a retired lesbian couple living in a Central American state who are worried about their future in the US – and much more worried about their grown daughter and her children.
“They feel that their rights are likely to be increasingly restricted in the coming years and potentially beyond, and want to offer them the chance to escape for a second passport in liberal Europe,” the spokesman said.