As @VeronicaConnor says, it’s not impossible if you can find a job. Permanent Resident status is easier and quicker to get, and carries a lot of the benefits of citizenship, including health care. The downside to this is that you are still a US citizen, and because of the way the US tax system works you may end up paying tax in both countries, as I read it. Veronica, can you confirm or correct me?
9 Likes
It looks like the most likely way out for me is North Rhine-Westphalia, which isn’t really where I want to live but it’s far better than the UK.
12 Likes
Well, you will be required to file taxes in both countries as a US citizen, but you won’t generally have to pay in both. There’s a tax treaty between the two countries so that nobody is double-taxed for doing work in either one. That said, the downside is you may have to pay someone with cross-border tax experience to file those taxes, and depending how complex your income streams are, it may end up being an extra $2-3k per year. The US is the only major country in the world that taxes non-residents. It’s a really bizarre thing to do. They separate “tax citizenship” and “legal citizenship” and for some people with complex tax situations, it can be hard to get rid of the former.
Plus, remaining a US citizen means you’re still exposed to things like conscription for whatever their next war on brown people is, being legally sued in the US, US jury duty, and all sorts of other things. I did a lot of research on this when deciding whether to become a dual citizen, but I decided against it. US citizenship comes with a lot of hooks and costs that are hard to get rid of, and the benefits aren’t really there.
Permanent residents in Canada get all the benefits though, except voting. Even that is changing. Many places now allow PRs to vote in some elections, which I think is great. The trend is heading in the direction of more of this, and why not? You live here, you pay taxes, you should have a say in how things are run.
For a general take on the difference in immigration “feel” between the US and Canada, I can recommend this piece. It mirrors my own experience, even though I was already a citizen when I moved back. I know exactly what she means.
9 Likes
As a US-Japanese dual citizen, I use the cheapest service I can find for taxes (about 300 dollars) and give them as little information as possible. The IRS could audit me, but the first 110k of overseas earnings are tax exempt, so it’d cost them a lot more than it’d cost me.
It would cost me 2,200 dollars to renounce my citizenship, and it would be a whole ordeal.
I would urge any US citizens with opportunities for other citizenship to go for it. The downsides are all things that US citizens already have to deal with.
8 Likes
Definitely. I just realized what I wrote sounds odd, because it’s directed at US citizens, but written from a non-US-citizen perspective. Dual citizenship is all upside if you’re already a US citizen. I would caution against anyone acquiring US citizenship who doesn’t already have it.
Weirdly, that process also doesn’t necessarily renounce your tax citizenship either. There are cases where the IRS still claims a legal hold on you. It’s all very strange.
Paradoxically, I don’t know that I would recommend someone with dual citizenship renouncing US citizenship. That’s a much bigger decision and the downsides there will vary immensely from individual to individual.
Apologies to mods here- we’re pretty far off topic here at this point.
9 Likes
Probably a good subject to continue on in its own thread, though. Very helpful.
4 Likes
doesn’t this violate the First Amendment?
1 Like
Probably, but Republicans seem to believe most of the Bill of Rights (apart from 2nd Amendment) is unconstitutional.
2 Likes
I doubt that they really believe in the second amendment, instead they believe that they alone have the right to own guns. Remember the Mulford Act?
8 Likes
yeah, they just want to shoot their way out of every situation.
They must live in the plot of some western movie (in their minds)
3 Likes
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
