In an increasingly interconnected world, the ability to move, work, and thrive across borders has never been more pivotal. Nicole Vilaca, a luminary in the realm of global citizenship, stands at the forefront of this dynamic field. As the CEO and Founder of Work, Wealth & Travel, Nicole has carved a niche as a Residency and Citizenship Expert, guiding individuals and families towards achieving their global living aspirations.
In this feature, we delve into Nicole’s journey, her visionary approach to global citizenship, and how Work, Wealth & Travel is reshaping the narrative of global mobility and lifestyle design.
1. Nicole, could you elaborate on your journey to becoming the CEO & Founder of Work, Wealth & Travel, a consultancy focusing on global citizenship, residency, and diversity?
My journey to becoming the CEO and Founder of Work, Wealth and Travel has been years in the making. Almost a decade ago I left my home country in search of a different lifestyle. I moved to China, and after a few years of living in China, I moved abroad again, becoming a global citizen. Since then, I've lived in four different countries and traveled to over 40 countries.
Throughout my years of navigating residency in other countries, gaining residency and tax residency elsewhere, along with banking in 10+ countries, I have accumulated knowledge that assists my clients to move abroad and create an aligned lifestyle for themselves as well.
Whether that looks like helping with citizenship, residencies, banking options or tax optimisation, we assist with all of this in over 20 countries globally.
2. Could you walk us through your role as a Global Citizen Strategist and its responsibilities?
As a global citizen strategist, my day looks different each day.
The two most important aspects of my work are content creation and client work. Content creation consists of creating new content to assist new clients, and also to have education for those who are looking to create their global citizen lifestyle abroad and who are seeking those first steps of the journey.
Client work takes up a majority of most of my days, between calls, emails and messages between clients, lawyers and accountants on the ground in the countries that we serve.
3. In your opinion, what are the primary challenges individuals face when seeking citizenship, especially women, and what advice would you offer them?
There are various challenges when looking to obtain an additional citizenship or residency abroad. Some of the main challenges that I see in the day to day are legal eligibility, meaning if your passport country requires a visa for you to enter a country to obtain residency.
I also see many women who struggle with the confidence that they can successfully move abroad for the long term. Cultural and language requirements, along with safety, are important pieces of the puzzle for all women, including myself.
However, this is exactly what I assist women in… helping them to move abroad and be confident in their decision, as well as being safe throughout the process. As I've traveled most of Latin America and Asia, I understand the challenges that can come with traveling as a female and navigating new friendships and a new lifestyle abroad.
4. As a Global Citizen yourself, could you share insights into your life and the lessons you’ve learned from residing in diverse cultures?
While there are many lessons I've learned from residing in diverse cultures around the globe, some of the key lessons include understanding different cultures. And by traveling you gain a deeper understanding of different cultures, customs, traditions and ways of life. This fosters more empathy and respect for the culture and the people within that culture.
Communication is also a key aspect when you are living in a culture that has a language that is not your native tongue. Likely there will be misunderstandings and phrases that you will not understand. Being open minded and not taking yourself too seriously is a key piece of thriving and having a successful life abroad. You'll get there eventually, but things happen in baby steps, not all at once!
5. What are your top relocation tips for individuals considering moving to a new location?
There are many factors that come into play when considering a relocation abroad, especially if it's for the long term. My recommendation if you are considering a move abroad is to travel to the countries that you're interested in first. Many countries that I expected to absolutely adore were much different in theory on the ground.
Then, of course, there were quite a few countries where I didn't expect to enjoy the country, the culture, the people and the food nearly as much as I did. While you can YouTube and Google your life away doing research, you will never have the true experience of the country unless you live there, even for a short period of time.
6. How do you define global diversification, and why do you believe it’s crucial?
Global diversification to me looks different than what most people may think, because of the line of work that I am in.
In my opinion, it means to have options. Gone are the days when having one country's passport, residency, and being in their tax system is enough. I recommend having a minimum of two to three passports and residencies. This can allow for business optimisation and tax optimisation, and of course, lifestyle optimisation, where you have access to permanently reside and live and potentially work in a country.
You're not only limited to one country, and this is becoming increasingly important, as many people are looking to leave their home country and have living options in a different country and culture that is different from where they were born.
7. What strategies do you utilise to assist individuals or organisations in achieving global diversification?
Some of the strategies that are utilised to assist individuals and businesses in achieving global diversification include asset allocation. Through this, we ensure that our clients achieve diversity and have their money invested across different global markets. This can be in stocks, bonds or real investments, such as residential or commercial real estate, in various countries around the globe.
Of course, we also assist with banking, and I highly recommend that clients have at least bank accounts in three or four different countries globally. Yes, this is completely legal and looks different for Americans than most of the rest of the world, but it is still possible and completely legally compliant.
8. Can you provide some success stories or case studies of individuals or companies you’ve assisted in this regard?
We've had many success stories of our clients successfully moving abroad, obtaining residencies, and some of those residencies even leading to citizenship down the line through naturalisation.
All of our clients are happy due to the ease of service that we provide when they work with us. We handle the documentation, translation, and the process from A to Z while answering any tax or accounting questions that they may have.
9. When advising clients, how do you navigate cultural differences and regulatory complexities effectively?
This can look different for each client. Regarding cultural differences, this really comes into play from a lifestyle perspective. What lifestyle is the client looking for? Are they looking for something completely different from what they know and the country they were born in? Or are they looking for a culture that is closer to what they may know, especially if they're starting out on their global journey?
We assist in this process, and this is a large component of moving abroad. But of course, we also deal with the regulatory complexities. This looks different for every client's case, as clients are coming and going to different countries and have their businesses set up in various different countries.
We deal with this on a case-by-case basis, but we have teams of accountant and lawyers in over 20 countries around the globe. Many of these countries are attractive clients due to their tax, residency and citizenship options.
10. How do you ensure you stay informed about global trends and developments to better serve your clients?
Staying informed of global trends and developments to better serve our clients is a day in day out task in this field. Regulations and compliance is constantly changing. Our teams on the ground in each country help keep us well acquainted with the various different regulations that are occurring in these countries.
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