I began communicating with a potential client who lived in Zurich and he wanted to disappear with his wife and children. They both had three children each from a prior marriage. It was like the Swiss Family Brady Bunch.
Children Services in their city received an anonymous call reporting the apartment the family lived in was not suitable for eight people and that potential abuse was happening. When the authorities arrived, a confrontation occurred and the parents were hauled off to the police station and Family Services took the children. The reason the parents lived in the small apartment is they were saving money to buy a house.
A lawyer was hired and it took several months for vindication to come way of the parents. Not long after the children’s return, family services showed up again to discuss another anonymous call.
A few months passed with several more visits from family services but there was never any evidence of abuse. It became obvious to the parents that someone had a vendetta and they believed it was a family member.
It appeared that all was quiet but the family had a sour taste for the town and its local law enforcement. They desired a new start and so they purchased a home in a neighboring country.
Three months into their new home the local police arrived at their door and requested, they come to the police station for an interview. Further inquiry revealed that an anonymous call was received which divulged the investigations from their home country. The parents explained that they were cleared of any wrongdoings, but the local police still had a job to do. The situation was terrifying and the fear of losing their children in a foreign country was overwhelming. They packed what they needed and left their home.
The Swiss Family Brady Bunch contacted me and asked if I could help them disappear. All of the information they provided came through phone conversation and email. Due diligence is important when deciding to work with a new client. I was adamant that if they wanted my help I had to meet them and review all original documents. The next day I was on a plane to the land of chocolate and fine watches.
This is where the chapter takes a bit of a detour. When I landed in Zurich Airport, I had to go to the ticket counter and speak with a booking agent. While I was waiting in line there was an extremely unhappy American in between two police officers at a window. I overheard the ticket agent telling the police officers that she is trying to contact his airline to put him on the next outbound flight.
From what I gathered, the American was nervous about entering Switzerland with a felony conviction and decided to be honest with the border agent. His honesty got him denied entry into the country.
All fairness to Switzerland, I have no clue what the felony was for, and they have the right to refuse anyone entry into their country.
The instant access of information has turned our big world into a small pond. Traveling internationally use to be a piece of cake, even if you were socially undesirable with a felony conviction. Many countries have lifted the drawbridge to particular elements of society.
Even big bad Martha Stewart did not step into the UK because of her criminal conviction and she only lied about a phone call. I am not saying that countries should allow drunks and criminals on to their soil; I am just saying it sucks if you are one of the unwanted.
What always concerned me when crossing borders is a customs agent typing my name online and discovering the type of business I have. I do not do anything illegal but people tend to assume the negative about the disappearing business.
Eventually my paranoia began getting the best of me. I began to assume that my number would soon be up and someday I would become an international undesirable. I know it is crazy but things like this run through my mind. Since my paranoia was not leaving me, alone I figured I would get my dual citizenship.
I am fortunate that my grandparents were born in Ireland, which made me eligible for Irish citizenship through, decent. The process is pretty simple and strait forward, however, not in the world of Frank M. Ahearn. There are certain documents required like grandparent’s birth records and marriage certificate.
I ran into a huge snag trying to obtain their marriage certificate, it turns out none was to be found. I contacted the local church and was able to have someone hand search for proof of marriage and there it was.
I sent in my application to the Irish consulate and received a quick rejection. On the long form of my birth certificate there happens to be a typo in my mother’s maiden name. This was a super headache. I had to go to the city that issued my birth certificate and show proof of my mother’s maiden name. The next step was to send the papers to the state for their review and correction. The funny thing is they did not send me a new birth certificate with my mother’s maiden spelled correctly. No, they crossed out the old name and hand wrote the new name accompanied by someone’s initials and the seal of NY. It looked like a forgery.
With great anticipation, I sent my application back to the Irish consulate. A few weeks later, an envelope arrived and I ripped it open. The letter read in Gaelic “LEABHAR TAIFEADTA BREITHEANNA COIGRICHE” which means Foreign Births Entry Book Certificate.
Yes Sir!
You should search the country where your people come from. You may be eligible for foreign birthright. Here is a list of some countries that offer citizenship through descent.
After I received my Irish citizenship, I began preparing for the next step in my virtual existence. I applied for my Irish passport. Then something seriously strange happened. An employee from the Irish Consulate contacted me and explained there was a mistake with the serial number on my Irish birth certificate. They asked me to return my Irish birth certificate and they would reissue a corrected birth certificate.
A mistake on my US birth certificate and now a mistake on my Irish birth certificate, somewhat Kafkaesque. Being paranoid, I wondered if this were some sort of BIG BROTHER conspiracy. I did not want to send back the birth certificate I was sure it was some type of ploy to recall my citizenship. Although, I knew I had to return the birth certificate, it was useless paper. I reluctantly adhered.
A few days later, I received a message from my mail drop that there is an envelope from the Irish Consulate. I figured this was my Irish Dear John letter shuffling me off to non-Ireland Buffalo or something. I was wrong the envelope had my corrected birth certificate. I was an official Irish citizen. Woohoo!
Important to know not all countries allow their citizens to hold dual citizenship. I suggest you do some deep research so not to jeopardize your current citizenship.
After I received my Irish birth certificate, I applied for my Irish passport. Within a few weeks, a package arrived with my shiny red passport sporting a gold harp on the cover. Wow! The passport took me to an odd place in my head where I realized I no longer needed to serve one Cesar but could choose the Cesar that best fits me. Besides the global plus of the citizenship and passport, I felt proud to be an actual Irish citizen.
For those you who are unable to obtain citizenship though descent there are other ways to obtain a citizenship or second passport. If you type in a search engine “second passport”, you will find pages and pages of companies that assist in getting you a second passport. Most of the sites looked the same and offered the same basic information. They all offer promises, promises and more promises.
I would not use an online company to obtain something as important as a citizenship or second passport. Most of the websites kicked out the same names of countries such as Paraguay, Cambodia, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominican Republic, Cyprus, Belize and Panama. You can search government websites directly and determine if such programs are available and if you are eligible. Your biggest obstacle is language but your Third Party Assistant can help.
A few companies out there offer Diplomatic Passports from a variety of nations. A Diplomatic
Passport is the Holy Grail of passports, however, not easy to obtain.
There is a fascinating documentary titled The Ambassador with Mads Brügger who poses as a diplomat in central Africa and secretly films his wheeling and dealing. It is a great film and I suggest you check it out.
Websites and how to books should be used as roadmaps to your journey not a bible cover to cover.
Do it Thy Self
Back to Zurich airport and the American felon. While the airline employee looked into my travel details, I overheard the other airline employee tell the police officers that a plane has arrived and the felon can board. Bummer
For all I know the felon could have been a degenerate horse molester. Even BIG SWISS BROTHER has a right to deny entry to such miscreants. The moral of this sad story is the doorway to countries can slam on you. All because of past mistakes, perhaps now is the time to do something about it, such as dual citizenship. I watched as they carted the American away and one final thought came to mind, more Swiss chocolate for me.
Onward!
The next day I met the Swiss Family Brady Bunch in
a hotel room, rug rats and all. The parents tell me their story, it sounds sane, and they appear to be normal people. I could not find any red flags or reasons why I should not help them. They provided me with all of the documents I requested, not that I could read them, since they were in a foreign language. Six hours later the family left the hotel room. By the way, I would never invite a client to my actual hotel room; I was sleeping on the other side of the city.
After I redacted the identifiers on the legal documents, I met a lawyer who interpreted everything. From the lawyers point of view everything the Swiss Family Brady Bunch explained appeared to true.
The parents wanted a secure location where they could exist somewhat off the grid, a place where they did not need to register their children for school or deal with intrusive family members. Originally, they considered moving to the US and joining an Amish and community. However, they chose to move to a commune in a Latin America. The commune was more suited to their personals needs. The Swiss Family Brady Bunch is long gone. I wish them the best!
Adios Swiss Family Brady Bunch!
When I began working on this book I mentioned the title to different people, they assumed that only criminals needed to disappear from BIG BROTHER.
Again, it is the mentality, that if you do nothing wrong you have nothing to worry about. This is so far from the truth.
Persecution is nothing new to government and when it trickles down to a local level, it can be rather dangerous if one does not have the means to combat. The Swiss Family Brady Bunch found themselves the victims of what they believed was government persecution. They lost all faith in law enforcement and the system and believed it was better to exist outside of society. This is quite unfortunate but sometimes the only remedy is to disappear.