What is a global citizen? And how to become one in 2026

What is a global citizen?

A global citizen is someone who doesn't accept the country they were born in as the only option for where they live, work, bank and pay taxes.

The idea is old. Over 2,000 years ago, the Greek philosopher Diogenes was asked where he came from, and he answered that he was a citizen of the world. That's where the word cosmopolitan comes from.

Today, the term is used in 2 ways:

• The civic meaning. Someone who sees themselves as part of a world community and cares about problems that cross borders. It's the meaning schools and the UN use when they talk about global citizenship education.
• The lifestyle meaning. Someone who spreads the pieces of their life across countries: where they live, where their company sits, where they bank and where they spend their time.

This post is about the second meaning. It's the one I've lived since 2014.

Why more people can become global citizens now

Living across borders used to be for diplomats, executives on assignment and the very rich. The internet changed that.

The creator economy is a big part of why. Goldman Sachs counts about 50 million creators worldwide, and estimates the creator economy could approach $480 billion by 2027. Creators, coaches, consultants and online business owners earn from an audience, not an office, so their income was never tied to one country.

That's how it worked for me. My summits and courses paid the same in Cancún as they did in Stockholm. AI is now pushing that further: one person can run a business that used to need a team, from wherever they choose to live.

Global citizen vs digital nomad

I was a digital nomad before I was a global citizen. They sound alike, but they're not the same thing.

A digital nomad is free to move. A global citizen has also done the paperwork, so that freedom holds up when a visa runs out, a bank asks questions or a country changes its rules.

Most global citizens start as digital nomads. I did.

My path from Stockholm to Panama

I was born in Oskarshamn, Sweden, and grew up in Linköping. My mom is Swedish and my dad is Iranian. I spent a year of high school as an exchange student in Akron, Ohio, then almost 10 years in Stockholm, most of them in law school.

By the end of 2013 I had dropped out and started my blog. In November 2014 I hosted my first virtual summit, The Branding Summit, and quit my job. Here's what happened after that.

2015 to 2016: Mexico, San Diego and Barcelona

In January 2015, I lived in Cabo San Lucas for 3 weeks. It was my first time living somewhere as a nomad, and it's where I realized I really could run my business from anywhere.

Then Cancún, then 1.5 months in San Diego, a business trip to Hong Kong, and back to Cancún. In 2016 I moved to Barcelona, and later that year I was back in Cancún again, in a penthouse on the beach for 6 months.

Cancún kept pulling me back. That told me something: a home base isn't a place you pick from a list. It's the one you keep returning to.

2017: the year I moved too much

In March 2017 I moved to Malta. On paper, it made sense.

In real life, I simply didn't like it there as a home base. I left 4 months later.

Then London, then another flat in London. Moving that often was tiring, and it hurt my routine more than I expected. That's the part of this lifestyle nobody posts about.

2017 to 2020: London

London was my home for almost 3 years, and I ran my business from there, through a UK company.

In January 2018 I flew back to Stockholm for one very important thing: a new passport. As a global citizen, your passport is the one document that everything else depends on.

2019 until today: Panama, and Dubai

In November 2019 I moved to Panama City, started my residency process and got my temporary card. In January 2020 I left London for good and made Panama my home base.

I got my permanent residency in 2020, in the middle of Covid. I was lucky with the timing. I applied under the old Friendly Nations visa, which cost a few thousand dollars. Since 2021, the same visa needs $200,000 in Panamanian real estate, a $200,000 bank deposit or a job in Panama.

Panama is still my main flag today.

Next came Dubai. I set up a free zone company there and paid for my UAE residence visa, which gave me a second place I could legally live.

A free zone is an area of the UAE with its own business rules, where foreigners can own up to 100% of a company. And the UAE has many visa routes besides a company: work, property and the 10-year Golden Visa. Since 2025, Dubai's Golden Visa even has a track for content creators and creative talent, with applications through Creators HQ.

I don't hold that residency right now, and I'm looking at getting it again.

In between, I've kept moving: Bogotá, Medellín, Istanbul, Belgrade, Lisbon, Kuala Lumpur, Bali, Da Nang and more. Venezuela is still my favorite country for raw adventure, and Canaima National Park is the best place I've ever been.

The full list, city by city, is on my AI profile, and every year of the story is on my entrepreneurial timeline.

The flags of a global citizen

The way global citizens think about this is called flag theory. The investment writer Harry Schultz came up with it in the 1960s, with 3 flags, and the writer W.G. Hill later made it 5. The idea: don't let one country hold every part of your life.

Each flag is a piece of your life you place in the country that treats it best.

My own flags today:

• Citizenship: Swedish.
• Residency: Panama, permanent.
• Business base: a US LLC, which I've had for years. Along the way, companies in the UK, Dubai and Hong Kong too.
• Playground: Latin America and Southeast Asia, from Cancún and Bogotá to Da Nang.

You don't need every flag on day 1. Most people start with 2: income that works from anywhere, and one residency outside their home country.

How taxes work when you live across borders

This is the part most people get wrong, so here's the simple version. It's not tax advice. Talk to a tax advisor in each country before you move anything.

Countries tax people in 3 main ways:

• Worldwide. You pay tax on everything you earn, wherever it comes from, as long as you live there. Sweden works this way, like most countries.
• Territorial. You only pay tax on income earned inside the country. Panama, Paraguay and Hong Kong work this way.
• No personal income tax. The UAE doesn't tax personal income. Companies there pay 9% corporate tax on profits above AED 375,000 since 2023.

And 2 exceptions catch a lot of people:

• The US taxes its citizens wherever they live. Moving abroad doesn't end it. Giving up the citizenship does.
• Leaving your home country isn't automatic. Sweden, for example, can keep treating you as a tax resident after you move. For the first 5 years, it's on you to show you no longer have an essential connection to Sweden, like a home, family or major assets there.

This is why the flags matter. Your residency decides most of your tax. Your citizenship decides whether you can ever fully leave a tax system.

How to become a global citizen in 6 steps

This is the order I'd do it in again.

1. Build income that works from anywhere

Everything starts here. Without income that doesn't depend on where you sit, you're not choosing a country. You're just traveling.

For me, it was virtual summits and online courses. The day I quit my job, I made over $5,000 from my summit's all-access pass. If you're not there yet, start with how to make money online or how to host a virtual summit.

2. Try a place before you move there

Live somewhere for 3 weeks or a month before you sign anything. That's what Cabo San Lucas and San Diego were for me.

A month tells you more than any list of the best countries. You find out if you can train, eat well and work deeply there. Those are the 3 things I look for everywhere I go.

3. Pick a home base that feels like home

Malta looked good on paper. Cancún felt like home. Pick the place you want to return to, not the one that wins on a spreadsheet.

And move less than you think you want to. After 2017, I know how much every move costs your routine.

4. Get your first residency

Look for a country with a clear residency route and a tax system that fits your income. Many countries now have digital nomad visas, and others have investor or retiree programs.

The options change fast, as my Panama story shows. Right now, Paraguay is one of the few affordable options left. Its temporary residency has no income or investment requirement, you can make it permanent after 2 years, and it doesn't tax income you earn abroad. The UAE is another, with routes from a free zone company to the Golden Visa.

Whatever you pick, work with a local lawyer and check the current requirements before you apply.

5. Put your company where it fits

A company where you live makes sense while you live there. That's why my business ran through a UK company during my London years.

When you move, check that your company still fits your life. Many online businesses run through a US LLC, and others use hubs like Dubai or Hong Kong. Get advice before you set one up, because a company in the wrong place can cost you more than it saves.

6. Keep your paperwork boring

Renew your passport early. Keep a record of the days you spend in each country. Close things properly in the country you leave.

It isn't exciting. It's what lets the exciting part keep going.

How AI makes it easier than when I started

When I left Sweden, I ran every part of my business myself, from a laptop. Today, AI does a big part of that work.

• Research. AI can compare residency programs, costs of living and tax systems in minutes. Treat it as a starting point, then confirm every detail with a lawyer.
• Running the business. With an AI OS, your content, email, research and admin run from one system, wherever you are that month. It's how I run mine.
• Language. A lease or a government form in Spanish or Arabic is much less scary when AI translates it first. Have a person check anything you sign.

I share the exact setup in how I use AI.

For ways to turn AI into income from anywhere, read how to make money with AI.

Final thoughts on becoming a global citizen

Becoming a global citizen didn't happen in one move for me. It was a string of small decisions: quit the job, leave Sweden, try Mexico, leave Malta, choose Panama.

Each one gave me a little more freedom. None of them required me to be rich when I made it.

Start with the first flag, income that works from anywhere. Then pick one country to try for a month. The rest gets easier from there.

Where would you live if the choice were fully yours? DM me on X or Instagram and tell me.