Renouncing US Citizenship
 

This is a serious question, I've done a little research without much in the way of promising results. Let's say I want to renounce US Citizenship because I strongly dislike the government. My grandparents were all born in the US, my great grandparents who I don't know and don't have records of were born in Russia except for one who was Polish. I'm Jewish but would rather another place not Israel.

As far as I can see, the first step to renouncing US citizenship is being a citizen elsewhere. But to be a citizen elsewhere I need to have parents or maybe grandparents born there, without that it's really hard to do it. Even in random poor 3rd world countries (example Costa Rica, Thailand), it is just as hard to become a citizen. Advice, what options do I have?

Re: Renouncing US Citizenship
 

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But to be a citizen elsewhere I need to have parents or maybe grandparents born there,

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That's not always true. Many countries have much less stringent requirements.

Just out of curiosity, is it the current people in the government you don't like, or the overall structure of the government (e.g. republic) you don't like?

Re: Renouncing US Citizenship
 

I've kind of thought about doing this, but in my limitted research it's very difficult to get a citizenship somewhere that you would want to have citizenship (like in the EU for example).

Re: Renouncing US Citizenship
 

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But to be a citizen elsewhere I need to have parents or maybe grandparents born there,

[/ QUOTE ]
That's not always true. Many countries have much less stringent requirements.

Just out of curiosity, is it the current people in the government you don't like, or the overall structure of the government (e.g. republic) you don't like?

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Ganjasaurus Rex do you have any examples of those less stringent examples? After a quick look at the EU countries, Costa Rica, Thailand and China didn't see anything like what you are referring to.

Edit: what I don't like is that the government uses so much of my money (I believe around 50% now) to go to war and war like things.

Re: Renouncing US Citizenship
 

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I've kind of thought about doing this, but in my limitted research it's very difficult to get a citizenship somewhere that you would want to have citizenship (like in the EU for example).

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Yup, what I saw too. Hopefully some people here can give us ideas! What was the reason you were thinking of doing it? It's a pretty big decision to make.

Re: Renouncing US Citizenship
 

I barely looked into this a while ago, but I think I remember reading somewhere that after you renounce your US citizenship, there's a chance you could never legally come back in the US, not even to visit. does anyone know if this is true?

Re: Renouncing US Citizenship
 

I've got a basic plan in place to acquire EU citizenship in 5 years after I decide to go through with it. I haven't yet decided if I am going to end up going through with it and I haven't fleshed every detail out yet. If/when I decide to do it, I'll post details here.

Getting EU citizenship doesn't necessarily mean I'll give up my USA citizenship, however. I am undecided in that regard but would like EU citizenship for other obvious reasons.

Re: Renouncing US Citizenship
 

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But to be a citizen elsewhere I need to have parents or maybe grandparents born there,

[/ QUOTE ]
That's not always true. Many countries have much less stringent requirements.

Just out of curiosity, is it the current people in the government you don't like, or the overall structure of the government (e.g. republic) you don't like?

[/ QUOTE ]

Ganjasaurus Rex do you have any examples of those less stringent examples? After a quick look at the EU countries, Costa Rica, Thailand and China didn't see anything like what you are referring to.

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EU countries will be more difficult, for obvious reasons. They don't want more immigrants. China is the same way.

However, there are many countries that will take people and give them citizenship if you pay for it. Countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, etc, all have "rules" about how to go about it, and those "rules" may seem onerous, but you can bypass those "rules" with money placed in the right spots. During my time in Southeast Asia, i've known many people to change citizenship (most of them because they couldn't go back to the US or Canada for one reason or the other). Grease the right hands, and you get what you want.

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Edit: what I don't like is that the government uses so much of my money (I believe around 50% now) to go to war and war like things.

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Fair enough, but why make a lifetime commitment when this policy could change within your lifetime? It might even change with the next president. You never know. Once you denounce your US citizenship, then you're gone and no coming back.

Re: Renouncing US Citizenship
 

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[ QUOTE ]
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But to be a citizen elsewhere I need to have parents or maybe grandparents born there,

[/ QUOTE ]
That's not always true. Many countries have much less stringent requirements.

Just out of curiosity, is it the current people in the government you don't like, or the overall structure of the government (e.g. republic) you don't like?

[/ QUOTE ]

Ganjasaurus Rex do you have any examples of those less stringent examples? After a quick look at the EU countries, Costa Rica, Thailand and China didn't see anything like what you are referring to.

[/ QUOTE ]
EU countries will be more difficult, for obvious reasons. They don't want more immigrants. China is the same way.

However, there are many countries that will take people and give them citizenship if you pay for it. Countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, etc, all have "rules" about how to go about it, and those "rules" may seem onerous, but you can bypass those "rules" with money placed in the right spots. During my time in Southeast Asia, i've known many people to change citizenship (most of them because they couldn't go back to the US or Canada for one reason or the other). Grease the right hands, and you get what you want.

[ QUOTE ]
Edit: what I don't like is that the government uses so much of my money (I believe around 50% now) to go to war and war like things.

[/ QUOTE ]
Fair enough, but why make a lifetime commitment when this policy could change within your lifetime? It might even change with the next president. You never know. Once you denounce your US citizenship, then you're gone and no coming back.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey Rex that is interesting, I'm interested in more details, like about what context you knew thoes people, how their lives went after making such a radical change? To respond to your point that the US government can change, throughout history all institutions (countries, also I'd say the same about people) that have had power, use their power to their advantage and do what they want to less powerful places. A change in government won't change anything. If I got out of the system it wouldn't change much admittedly, but I would be able to feel better about myself (i think).

Re: Renouncing US Citizenship
 

You still have to pay taxes for 10 years if you ever want to visit again. I could imagine not living in the US again, but NEVER being able to go back to visit family, friends, Vegas, would be terrible. There are perks to being a US citizen abroad. If you get into trouble other than smuggling drugs or something, the government will help you out. If a war breaks out or there's a natural disaster, the US is focused on getting US citizens out of those areas. There are many countries where you can get a visa on arrival as a US citizen. I imagine it would be harder to get visas as a citizen of the Cayman Islands or something and you would have to get one every time you traveled.

It's difficult to got citizenship in a decent country without getting married. Australia, for example, loves immigrants, but first you have to be a permanent resident for 5 years, living in Australia, I believe, for 11 months of the year.