Questions & Answers for New Atlantis

Ask me anything, Principal Balanov says. © Kiril Konstantinov.

Question: Is the application for New Atlantis paid?

Answer: “Anyone who applied for a citizenship before 1 of october, 2015, has become a citizen free of charge. After that we will start our Indiegogo campaign aiming at funding the development of the electronic register of the virtual country.

Balanov himself decided to offer this gesture as a gift to the hundreds of people that helped him in founding the Principality; those that were ready to bravely take the plunge, joining an unprecedented endeavor.

The electronic application form is already online and will be directly connected to the principality’s administration system.

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Question: “I would like to apply for citizenship,“ what do I have to do, Samir Sami asks.

Answer: All you have to do is go to the principality's website,  and fill in the application form.

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Question: “I am a citizen of a country that does not allow for a dual citizenship. Does this mean that I cannot apply for a citizenship of New Atlantis?”, asks a Bulgarian that lives abroad.

Answer: The Republic of Bulgaria allows for a dual citizenship. However, the New Atlantis project will also incorporate Bulgarian and foreign citizens that come from countries where a dual citizenship is not allowed. The Principal Balanov is giving them the chance to join the social network IQ140 and become shareholders in the economic project.

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Question: “When was the country founded?”, asks a Bulgarian from Canada.

Answer: On May 22, 2015 the Principal Balanov legalized the constitution in the notary Bogdanov’s office. This is considered to be the birth date of the Principality. The full Constitution is available on New Atlantis’ website.

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Question: “I am ready to pack my backs and move to New Atlantis, what do I have to do?”, asks a Bulgarian from London.

Answer: The island is uninhabited and the idea is not to populate it, but to exploit the potential of its territorial waters within a radius of 12 miles and the economic zone within 200 nautical miles, all owned by the Principality.

New Atlantis is a monarchy, a political and economical project, and most of all, a virtual community. This means that the citizens of New Atlantis will continue to live in their current location and will participate virtually in the social network www.iq140.eu and the joint-stock company.

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Question: “Is it true that the island is floating, carried by the winds and currents? Are there any life forms on it, or just lava?”, Stephan Krushev asks, a financial specialist and owner of a company in Zurich and a co-working space called “Biz Labs” in Plovdiv. “Many people find this idea crazy. Even Columbus’ expedition was viewed as such. However, decades and hundreds of years later, it will all make sense.”

Answer: “There is no lava, the island is made of pumice and is not populated, though this might become possible in the future. Its movement is negligible and it affects in no way the exclusive 200 miles of economic zone. The territorial waters will be the major focus of exploitation. Anything located In a radius of 12 miles such as fish, resources, oil, gas, etc., is a property of the country. These riches amount to a territory of 780 thousand square miles, equal to 1.5 times the territory of the Black Sea, or  that of France and England combined. So the slight displacement is insignificant for such a big area.”

“What matters is the exact location of the island in the moment of New Atlantis’s registration. This happened on May 22, 2015, when the Principal Balanov legalized the Constitution in the notary Bogdanov’s office. This is de facto the birth date of the New Atlantis country. In that moment its precise coordinates were 38 degrees south and 168 degrees and 16 minutes east. The above-mentioned economic zone is defined with respect to this location. It is obvious that the island’s movement is trifling against such a huge water territory of 780 thousand square meters.”

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Question: “Since the people that have successfully taken the Mensa test (with a score higher than 148 points) have a special status, is it possible to receive equal prerogatives if we take the test and earn the required score at a later time?”, friends of the New Atlantis project inquire.

Answer: “In the country of beautiful minds all people that have earned a score higher than 148 points on the “Mensa” test and all Nobel laureates have a special status and certain prerogatives. Also, all people coming from Bulgaria and the rest of the world that have a minimum of a high school diploma and have not been convicted can become citizens of New Atlantis.”

“In the case where someone has already become a citizen and subsequently takes the test, earning the required score, he will automatically be transferred in the privileged group, thus becoming entitled to three times as many shares. I hope that nobody would feel neglected, after all, we are creating the country of beautiful minds,” Balanov reminds.

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Question: “What is the exact location of the YNJI island in the Pacific Ocean”, friends of the New Atlantis project ask.

Answer: The island of YNJI is in the Pacific Ocean. The Principal Vladimir Balanov conquered it in accordance with all Law of the Sea regulations, namely, an expedition, flag-planting, footage, legalization by a notary, creation and legalization of a Constitution, which ultimately signifies the beginning of a new country, called New Atlantis. On May 22, 2015, the de facto birth date of New Atlantis and the moment in which Balanov legalized the Constitution with a notary, the precise coordinates of the island were 38 degrees south and 168 degrees and 16 minutes east.

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Question: “Will ex-”Mensa” members be entitled to any priority or special status?”, Radostin Dzheliov from Britain asks. (It turns out that some people have ceased to be members due to unpaid membership fees.)

Answer: Since Principal Balanov is inviting the beautiful minds from Bulgaria and the rest of the world to become members of the brand new country, what he really cares about is the score from the “Mensa” test. All people that have successfully taken the test, earning a minimum of 148 points, will receive a special status regardless of whether they are current members or not. It is only necessary to present the respective certificate for their score.