That doesn’t seem easy. I’d rather be Austrian, life in France and have full broadband. And much better poultry and cheese.
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And this may hit on why I could leave – my grandparents were immigrants who fled when their countries became intolerable (what with the pogroms and all). My family, on both sides, has a history of leaving when things turn to shit. Not only did their kids have the opportunity to flourish in their new home, but had they not left they almost certainly would have all died during WWII. For them, leaving was the right call.
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Except that this article isn’t actually about emmigrating but just being an ex-pat, which is different.
For those interested in actually immigrating to Canada, here’s the government website. Australia is another country that may be a good option for skilled workers.
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Do you have to change your name to Hemsworth?
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One thing not mentioned here are recent changes to US law around banking and beneficial ownership of companies - an American friend here in New Zealand is thinking of giving up his US citizenship because of the compliance costs of dealing with the US IRS over his NZ consulting company, its bank accounts and his personal NZ bank accounts … he’s forced to spend many thousands of dollars a year doing obtuse filings that result in him paying no tax just to keep the IRS happy.
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Unfortunately, it’s mostly people of means and not your typical low wage earner. To get out of this country it’s one of hell of a ride even if it’s just to get permanent residence somewhere else for one reason or another. Then there’s the issue of renouncing citizenship on top of all that. Uncle Sam hates it when people leave and does its damnest to keep them here.
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No, but you do have to know all the words to The Blackfly Song.
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I’m not aware of any EU country except Ireland (and Germany for those that were fleeing the Nazi regime) that will give you citizenship on the basis of your ancestors if your parents weren’t citizens at the time of your birth and registered you as a citizen.
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Machinist is on the skills shortage list for New Zealand immigration
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Sorry - my deleted reply ignored your “except Ireland”
It is possible there on the basis of grandparents being Irish. it is a few paragraphs down this page,
https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving_country/irish_citizenship/irish_citizenship_through_birth_or_descent.html
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Yeah, I’m aware of that due to Brexit news. Lots of British people are currently using that avenue to keep an EU passport. And good for them if they weren’t Brexit voters. Those that were, though, are hypocritical arseholes that have voted to take away the rights from others that they themselves have the option to retain.
Sorry, that rant doesn’t help you with your decision-making. As I said, unfortunately Ireland is the exception there, due to its unique history with emigration. I’m afraid ancestry doesn’t help in the immigration process in the rest of Europe.
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Sounds like a great solution for him. It should be relatively easy for him to parlay a work visa like that into permanent residency and then to citizenship. In the period before he renounces his U.S. citizenship he’s covered by the tax treaty between the two countries.
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I don’t have a decision to make. No Irish grandparents, sadly, so stuck with my soon to be blue (black) British passport.
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As I understand it (from talking with an expat friend living in Germany)the US tax isn’t necessarily bad. According to him as long as you make less than $100k/yr you basically just file a form that tells the IRS “I made less than $100k, come bother me next year” and that’s all.
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Yeah, sorry, I meant @RandomDude’s decision. Got mixed up with orange-ish brown avatar pictures there.
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Yeah, the treaties between the U.S. and other OECD countries are pretty straightforward. As long as you’re not making over six figures, in general (and oversimplifying things) the IRS leaves you alone as long as you fill out the form and pay income taxes in the country where you’re resident (where the rates tend to be slightly higher anyhow, but that’s the price of social democratic civilisation).
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Thank you for this.
It’s a solid heads-up for those of us chewing on… things… since at least July 2019.
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