Gaoling97 wrote:Was planning to move to Germany in a few years (where it would actually be relatively easy to get citizenship), but I am not so sure anymore.
Hi Gaoling, I can't really tell your nationality, and you say you're not sure, but I'd really like to clarify a point if I may:
I'm not sure what treaty Germany has with Britain since Brexit, so I don't know how easy it is for Brits to become German citizens. For EU citizens it's probably not too bureaucratic, BUT for any US citizen contemplating a change to German citizenship it's really tough.
You can be a German citizen if one or both of your parents are German (the ol' Blutrecht, but I don't think they like to call it that anymore! The updated law is here:
https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/suche/das-staatsangehoerigkeitsrecht-456726 For people like me, who don't have German parents, it would be almost impossible to acquire German citizenship. I would have to give up my US citizenship first, before applying for German citizenship. That would take a year or more, I'd wager. The US does NOT make it easy to just renounce citizenship. It takes time, and it's very expensive. During the processing time I would be stateless. Who knows if I would have the same consular services guaranteed to me as a US citizen. Otherwise, I would be happy to give up the blue book! If anyone has seen that the law has changed, please show me! But as far as I know the bilateral agreement bet. US-DE still stands.
If I had one reason to choose from it would be the reporting. I haven't lived in the US for over 20 years and I still have to report to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FICEN) all of the bank accounts of my entire family. They treat all US expats as tax dodgers. I have to report the income I make in Germany -- to the US. I have a tax advisor for Germany and a US CPA even though I make a nurse's income and I don't own a house. It's nuts. Am I the only expat that finds the US laws annoying?
For all intents and purposes I'm German. My kids are German (double citizenship because their father is German-American). I know life in Germany better than in the US. I just don't have a German ID. I use my Aufenthaltsgenehmigung which is permanent. And I can't vote here. I miss that!