In a case that should have the Founders of the USA spinning in their graves, The Intercept has got hold of documents relating to Peter Thiel's NZ citizenship. These documents reveal that Thiel would not normally qualify for citizenship, which requires the holder to actually reside in New Zealand. NZ law provides for citizenship under "exceptional circumstances and public interest" for people who don't plan to live in NZ.
Thiel's extreme wealth was the exceptional circumstance that allowed for citizenship and which in turn allowed Thiel to avoid certain administrative protocols that a non-citizen would have had to follow relating to the purchase of his large estate in NZ.
As part of taking up citizenship, Thiel had to pledge an oath of loyalty to HM Queen Elizabeth II (in her role as Queen of New Zealand), which certainly raises questions about either his sincerity or his fitness to be an advisor to the President.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 06 2017, @07:46AM
yes, yes, yes there are corner cases
but complaining about this is like complaining about having to pay rent
you can skip rent and live in the forest but you'll still have to pay for showers and a sleeping bag
you can opt out of paying for obamacare, its only a couple of hundred bucks penalty
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday February 06 2017, @04:13PM
You have never been truly poor, have you? When you can't afford bus fare a couple hundred bucks penalty is all the money in the world.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by captain normal on Monday February 06 2017, @06:56PM
Sorry, Phoenix, under the ACA, if one is that poor, medical care is free. As well it should be.
When life isn't going right, go left.