A co-worker and former classmate of mine is from China and is a permanent resident of Canada. The first time we talked about citizenship was over ten years ago, and she said that she didn’t want to give up her Chinese citizenship in case they ever switched to having free elections in China. Then a few months ago the subject came up again and now she says she wants to keep her Chinese citizenship so that she can return to China immediately (without needing a visa) in case her elderly father falls ill.
I think sentimental feelings about her home country definitely enter into it, though.
Not in the US, but I’ve been living as a PR for the last 13 years, and probably will be for another 5-10 at least.
I’d repeat what’s been said above about how difficult it is to forsake allegiance to my country of birth. The easiest comparison I could make would be to “divorcing” my parents when I got married.
Adding on to this, my country of origin is far far better for retirement - so I do plan to return.
there is compulsory military service here, although at my age I would get an exemption - so that is not a factor.
Here, there are rather significant financial benefits that I could get if I became a citizen - but the difference is still not enough for me to take that leap and disavow a country that I love dearly.
This is a dilemma I’ll have to wrestle with in about a year, when I’ll be (fingers crossed…) a permanent resident of the UK but a citizen of India, which doesn’t allow dual citizenship. Getting UK citizenship would be possible, but expensive, and it’s also an emotional decision, however much you might think (as I do) that a passport is just a piece of paper and doesn’t really mean anything beyond that.
However, as a Commonwealth citizen, I do have the right to vote in all UK elections - don’t ask, it’s a weird system - so I wouldn’t gain anything on that front. Freedom of movement throughout Europe, on the other hand, is a big carrot for swearing allegiance to her Queeniness. I’m not sure what I’m going to do; this is going to be a pretty difficult decision.
Yes, I’m amazed no one has brought up the tax thing, what with the US being one of the few countries to tax its citizens wherever they choose to live.
I know a US citizen who has been a permanent resident of the UK for 40 years. I think he just can’t see the point of taking British citizenship as it wouldn’t change his situation. He doesn’t like the US and would never move back, so it isn’t sentimental attachment. I think he just can’t be bothered.
My husband lived in the UK for 13 years and has permanent right of abode. We talked about his going for citizenship but he never even countenanced it. He’s Australian and only Australian as far as he’s concerned. It’s a completely emotional issue for him and any practicalities are irrelevant.
Our children have dual citizenship and if and when we make it to Aus I’m vaguely planning to go for Australian citizenship but we’ll see what happens. As I suspect is quite common, I feel more strongly English since becoming an expat myself - right down to the decision of the tattoo I got just before I emigrated! I can see why acquiring another citizenship represents a dilemma for some people - you may not be giving anything up in reality, but that may not be how it feels.
I’m an American citizen who has lived in Germany for more than 17 years now. I’m a permanent resident here and have the right to live and work and even vote for the foreigners’ council. If I wanted to pursue German citizenship, I would need to give up my American citizenship, and that is never going to happen. I’m American. Full stop. If I could have dual citizenship, I’d have to think about whether that would make sense for me, but since I can’t, there you go.
This is a big part of why I’m not sure I’ll bother to go for US citizenship when I’m eligible in a another year or two. I don’t feel right taking an oath and saying things that I don’t actually feel or believe. When I tell people this, they mostly laugh and tell me to lie, since the government can’t read minds (yet) and I just need to say it, not mean it. The thought of doing so is abhorrent to me. I can’t in good conscience say that I no longer give a damn about Canada, even though I know doing so won’t take away my citizenship in my homeland.
That’s the other reason - I don’t see a huge benefit to jumping from Permanent Resident to citizen. Voting would be nice, and I don’t hate the thought of jury duty, but other than those things, I pretty much have all the same rights and responsibilities as a citizen. The cost isn’t the issue, as I still need to renew my permanent resident status every ten years at a significant cost and hassle. It seems easier and cheaper in the long run to just go for citizenship. But I don’t want to. Not right now.
A friend of mine’s Mom was from Brazil and lived and died in the United States without ever becoming a U.S. Citizen. He claimed she got some kind of pension or something, possibly one that was somehow related to her father that she would of had to give up if she became a citizen of the U.S.
Happens in Thailand all the time. Gaining permanent-resident status takes a huge amount of time and money for the benefits gained. Becoming a citizen is exponentially more difficult, but I know a couple of people who have done that. The business tax breaks to citizen businessmen that give a huge edge over foreign competitors is almost the only reason for a Westerner becoming a citizen here. But I know one American physicist who became a Thai citizen because his academic career here could not have advanced further unless he was one, and he’s very committed to Thailand, with a local wife and family.
I have been living in Canada for 45 years. For many years I didn’t become a citizenship because I would automatically lose US citizenship and there were no problems living here permanently. Over the years, many things changed. Canada didn’t ask for renunciation of previous citizenships (I don’t know if they ever did), the US stopped taking citizenship away if you because naturalized elsewhere (I think that was the result of Supreme Court decision) and Canada started requiring a somewhat complicated and expensive procedure of getting immigrant photo IDs to cross the border into Canada and it had to be renewed after five years with the same complicated and expensive procedure. After the second such, my wife and I gave up and became citizens. Even more complicated and much more expensive, but it didn’t have to be renewed every five years. Although passports do. I still use my US passport because it is easier to renew and lasts ten years. That and my citizenship card gets me across the border.
FWIW, my wife’s application for citizenship was a lot less onerous than her application for PR. We prepared her PR app ourselves; it included paperwork declaring me as her sponsor, and when the whole thing was ready for submission it was a thing of beauty, all collated and fringed with colored tabs. I wish we had taken a picture before sending it in. Citizenship? Meh. Much easier.
As for the benefits…yeah, you get to vote, but you can also hold public office (a minor benefit), and you also become eligible for employment with the federal government (a much bigger deal for some folks).
One of my best friends is a Canadian citizen. Been in this country since he was but a wee lad - 45 years later and he still hasn’t bothered with citizenship. Doesn’t bother him, his wife or his kids any.
This is exactly why a good friend of mine who is in the process of immigrating to Canada says she will never become a Canadian citizen - she would have to say she believes in God or somesuch thing she says is in the citizenship oath. No idea whether that’s actually true.
I’m a Canadian with permanent resident status in the US, with no aspirations of citizenship. To me, PR status is “the last work visa”, having passed from TN status, through six years of H1-B status without having been kicked out yet. The US has said, “OK, this guy’s cool – we don’t have to keep checking up on him so much”.
Citizenship, in my mind, is a more social thing. Too important to be changed solely for administrative convenience. I’ll say that I live and work in the US, but that I am a Canadian. Clearly the US government understands the distinction or else “permanent resident alien” would not be a category.