First European to visit was Christopher Columbus himself in 1493. Under French control since 1635, except for a few periods in British hands, and one stint 1813-1814 under Swedish rule! How did that happen?
There was indeed unrest during the early Spring of 2009, with demands for increased minimum wage. The tourism business was shut down for a couple of weeks, but the turmoil now seems to have dissipated. I read a couple of very positive travel reviews. I think Guadeloupe just bumped Belize off the top of my list of places I'd like to visit during late winter.
I found a nice page with travel info. Looks like Delta has the only nonstop flight from the US (Atlanta). American Airlines do have flights, but they have a connection in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with a pretty long layover. The airline code is PTP (Pointe A Pitre, the biggest city). The distance from MIA (Miami International Airport) to PTP is 2216 km / 1377 mi. From Europe, it's an eight hour flight from Paris.
It does seem like all EU law applies, including immigration legislation, so an EU passport should indeed allow you to work and live there permanently.
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon however, DOES require a visa for EU citizens who stay more than 30 days. So in summary, it looks like only Guadeloupe and Martinique meet the criteria of i) being close to the US and ii) letting an EU citizen work and stay permanently with no other documents required than an EU passport. Guadeloupe and Martinique seem similar (islands in the Caribbean, between 1,000 and 2,000 square kilometers of land area, populations just north of 400,000), but it seems the former has slightly better connections by air. You'll probably need to know French if you really want to live there though. Sounds like English is mostly spoken by those in the tourism industry.
A couple of the islands in the Netherlands Antilles might also move toward closer ties with the EU, perhaps even close enough to meet the criteria above in a couple of years?
Sorry for the font problems in this post, I can't make blogger not screw it up...
Saturday, June 13, 2009
EU territories close to the US
Here's a silly thought I had some time ago. Given how hard it is to get a green card to work and live permanently in the US, how close to the US could you move if you all you have is an EU passport? That is, which places close to the US would let an EU citizen immigrate with no other documents than an EU passport?
Staying within the next two time zones east of US Eastern Time Zone, and going from north to south, here's what I found so far.
Greenland is an autonomous province of the Kingdom of Denmark, but left the EU in 1982 to keep EU fishing vessels away from its waters. The only EU citizens who can work and permanently live in Greenland, without first getting work and residence permits, are those from Denmark, Finland and Sweden. Oh, well. Nice, big piece of real estate, but it's pretty far from the US anyway. The currency is Danish krone and the time is two hours ahead of Eastern Time.
French overseas collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon is the last remaining part of New France. If you have an EU passport, you MIGHT be able to permanently join the just over 6,000 fishermen, descendants of Bretons and Basques, on their 242 square kilometer archipelago, off the southern coast of Newfoundland. Saint-Pierre and Miquelon is as French as "metropolitan" France (a.k.a. the Hexagon, the European part of France), with one seat each in the French National Assembly and the French Senate, and the currency is Euro. However, to the best of my understanding, overseas collectivities can restrict immigration, and I haven't figured out if Saint-Pierre and Miquelon has. Looks like there's a nonstop flight to Montreal, as well as boat to Newfoundland. The time is two hours ahead of Eastern Time.
In the Caribbean there are two overseas departments of France, Guadeloupe and Martinique. Being overseas departments of France make Guadeloupe and Martinique two of seven "outermost regions" of the EU, where all EU laws should apply. Overseas departments are therefore supposed to have the same immigration laws as "metropolitan" France and the rest of the EU, but do ask for a second opinion before buying a one-way ticket! They both have the Euro as currency and are one hour ahead of Eastern Time.
The Guadeloupe archipelago has almost seven times more dry land than Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, 1,628 square kilometers and a population of over 400,000, mostly of African descent. Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy split off in 2007, with each of them now being an overseas collectivity, allowing them to restrict immigration. Martinique has slightly smaller land area than Guadeloupe, but roughly the same population. I need to learn more about Guadeloupe and Martinique. Where are they on a scale from Haiti to St. Bart? I do remember hearing about social unrest on Guadeloupe fairly recently. I also have no clue what the flight schedule to the US and France looks like.
So how about the two other former colonial powers in the Caribbean, the UK and the Netherlands?
Well, there are several British overseas territories, but it seems their immigration policies vary, but tend to be restrictive. More like the French overseas collectivities than departments. I did learn that some British overseas territories won't let you stay permanently even if you have a British passport! There's an odd asymmetry here, because all their inhabitants are full British citizens and are free to immigrate in the UK.
Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea are autonomous regions of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but NOT part of the EU. Again some asymmetry, the inhabitants are full Dutch citizens, and therefore EU citizens. Aruba has a dry climate and almost no hurricanes. The land area is 193 square kilometers, with a bit above 100,000 population. Good connections to the US, with nonstop flights to several destinations in the south and
east of the US. The archipelago of Netherlands Antilles have a total land area of roughly 800 square kilometers, and a population of 183,000. Unfortunately Aruba is restrictive on immigration, not even allowing all Dutch citizens permanent residency. The different islands of the Netherlands Antilles seem to be moving apart politically, some toward full independence and others perhaps even toward becoming outermost regions of the EU, which would allow all EU citizens to immigrate.
So what I managed to find out tonight was that it looks like Guadeloupe and Martinique might be the two closest places to the US where you can live permanently with no other documents than an EU passport. I might do a follow-up some night I have nothing better do, or at least am too tired to do something more useful.
Staying within the next two time zones east of US Eastern Time Zone, and going from north to south, here's what I found so far.
Greenland is an autonomous province of the Kingdom of Denmark, but left the EU in 1982 to keep EU fishing vessels away from its waters. The only EU citizens who can work and permanently live in Greenland, without first getting work and residence permits, are those from Denmark, Finland and Sweden. Oh, well. Nice, big piece of real estate, but it's pretty far from the US anyway. The currency is Danish krone and the time is two hours ahead of Eastern Time.
French overseas collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon is the last remaining part of New France. If you have an EU passport, you MIGHT be able to permanently join the just over 6,000 fishermen, descendants of Bretons and Basques, on their 242 square kilometer archipelago, off the southern coast of Newfoundland. Saint-Pierre and Miquelon is as French as "metropolitan" France (a.k.a. the Hexagon, the European part of France), with one seat each in the French National Assembly and the French Senate, and the currency is Euro. However, to the best of my understanding, overseas collectivities can restrict immigration, and I haven't figured out if Saint-Pierre and Miquelon has. Looks like there's a nonstop flight to Montreal, as well as boat to Newfoundland. The time is two hours ahead of Eastern Time.
In the Caribbean there are two overseas departments of France, Guadeloupe and Martinique. Being overseas departments of France make Guadeloupe and Martinique two of seven "outermost regions" of the EU, where all EU laws should apply. Overseas departments are therefore supposed to have the same immigration laws as "metropolitan" France and the rest of the EU, but do ask for a second opinion before buying a one-way ticket! They both have the Euro as currency and are one hour ahead of Eastern Time.
The Guadeloupe archipelago has almost seven times more dry land than Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, 1,628 square kilometers and a population of over 400,000, mostly of African descent. Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy split off in 2007, with each of them now being an overseas collectivity, allowing them to restrict immigration. Martinique has slightly smaller land area than Guadeloupe, but roughly the same population. I need to learn more about Guadeloupe and Martinique. Where are they on a scale from Haiti to St. Bart? I do remember hearing about social unrest on Guadeloupe fairly recently. I also have no clue what the flight schedule to the US and France looks like.
So how about the two other former colonial powers in the Caribbean, the UK and the Netherlands?
Well, there are several British overseas territories, but it seems their immigration policies vary, but tend to be restrictive. More like the French overseas collectivities than departments. I did learn that some British overseas territories won't let you stay permanently even if you have a British passport! There's an odd asymmetry here, because all their inhabitants are full British citizens and are free to immigrate in the UK.
Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea are autonomous regions of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, but NOT part of the EU. Again some asymmetry, the inhabitants are full Dutch citizens, and therefore EU citizens. Aruba has a dry climate and almost no hurricanes. The land area is 193 square kilometers, with a bit above 100,000 population. Good connections to the US, with nonstop flights to several destinations in the south and
east of the US. The archipelago of Netherlands Antilles have a total land area of roughly 800 square kilometers, and a population of 183,000. Unfortunately Aruba is restrictive on immigration, not even allowing all Dutch citizens permanent residency. The different islands of the Netherlands Antilles seem to be moving apart politically, some toward full independence and others perhaps even toward becoming outermost regions of the EU, which would allow all EU citizens to immigrate.
So what I managed to find out tonight was that it looks like Guadeloupe and Martinique might be the two closest places to the US where you can live permanently with no other documents than an EU passport. I might do a follow-up some night I have nothing better do, or at least am too tired to do something more useful.
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