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?
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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.
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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.
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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).
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Most of the people i knew were either co-workers or friends i met at various clubs while i was in Southeast Asia. I don't have an exact count, but i would guess i've known close to 50 people who have changed citizenship. They gave various reasons, including trying to avoid criminal charges back home, tax reasons, marriage issues, trying not to lose their kids during divorces with local women, etc. Most of them seemed relatively happy with their decision, but keep in mind that almost all of them were choosing the lesser of two evils, and most of them had only made the decision within the past 5-10 years (i knew one guy who had changed citizenship 40 years prior and he was bitter). Of course, this is a small sample size. I'm not trying to convince you that it is a good or bad decision... my only point is that with money, it can be done.
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