Overview
- Quartz, citing the Wall Street Journal, reports a record rise in American citizens relocating overseas last year.
- Analysts rely on estimates and proxies because the U.S. has no official tally of residents who permanently move abroad.
- The Department of Homeland Security reported 675,000 deportations and 2.2 million “self-deportations” last year, figures that complicate parsing voluntary departures.
- Applications by Americans for British citizenship hit their highest rate since 2004, including roughly 6,600 in the first quarter of last year, and estimated Irish passport applications rose to about 40,000 from 32,000 a year earlier.
- Destinations and motives are varied, with notable pockets in Dublin and an influx of U.S. seniors to Mexico for lower-cost care, plus moves driven by safety, finances, and politics dubbed the “Donald Dash,” as some countries tout incentives such as a year of tax-free living in Albania.