I’ve known a few Mexican immigrants who are legal permanent residents with long-term established jobs and homes here but say getting full US citizenship would cause issues with property ownership back in Mexico (where they own homes that still have family in them). I can’t speak for the details, just what they said when I asked.
My wife is a Canadian Citizen with permanent resident status here in the U.S. She originally came to the US to work under TN Status, was charmed by yours truly, and has remained ever since. She is however a fiercely loyal Canadian and subject of the Queen :rolleyes: and has no interest whatsoever in pursuing U.S. Citizenship, has no family here, and we might even end up moving to Canada at some point, at which I will remain a fiercely loyal American with no interest in becoming a subject of the Queen 
Nitpick, but Canadians are not subjects of anybody, much less the Queen. The term “subject” was done away with when Parliament passed the Canadian Citizenship Act 1946. After the Act’s coming into force in early 1947, Canadians were no longer “subjects of the Queen” or “British subjects”; they were (and are) simply “Canadian citizens.”
It was a joke, hence the :rolleyes: and ;). And IIRC, Canadian’s are still Commonwealth Citizens as of 1977 and HMQEII is still the Queen of the Commonwealth, so…
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I know many expats who are not citizens and it seems to me that the general feeling is “nothing to gain on it, nothing to lose on it, so why bother?”
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In the U.S., a citizen is nearly undeportable while a resident alien isn’t. The list of crimes that render a legal, even permanent-resident, alien deportable is mindboggling, including crimes that are probationable in many states! :eek:
I’m sure most people think they aren’t going to commit a crime, and I’m sure most don’t. But I’m also sure lots of permanent residents have been deported for crimes where the state courts gave them a relatively short prison term or even probation.
My SO is Japanese and has permanent residency status for something like 40 years. He has lived in the US that entire time (we have been together about 22 years). He has no interest in changing his citizenship, but he won’t say much about why. I surmise that it is because going back to Japan if he becomes for any reason alone and broke is still his last resort. As the honored uncle or great-uncle he will at least be taken care of.
The last time we came back into the country from Japan, he was pulled aside and taken into a room and questioned about this very thing (presumably it raises some kind of security flag, even if the other country is Japan). He said “I guess I’m just stupid,” and that seemed to do the trick. (I got very panicky during this episode, since I went right through my citizens’ line and got to baggage claim and he was nowhere to be seen. I would have had no rights of any kind if he had been detained. This is another reason we have to get married asap.)
Roddy
I recently became a US citizen and renounced my Japanese citizenship so I could work for the federal government. (Japan does not permit dual citizenship.) It was a hard decision though; I gave up all claims to social security payments in Japan, and if I ever want to move to Japan I’d have to apply for a visa. If it weren’t for my work situation, I probably wouldn’t have done it, at least not yet.
My aunt and her husband have been living in the US for 30+ years. They are still Japanese citizens, and have no intention of becoming US citizens. I think mainly they want to leave open the option of retiring to Japan.
I was a permanent resident of the U.S. for 9 years, and probably could have become a U.S. citizen. However, I knew that I’d be returning to Australia when I retired, and I didn’t want to have to pay U.S. taxes on my Australian income for the rest of my life. (For the same reason, I formally abandoned my green card at the U.S. consulate in Sydney as soon I returned t Australia.) It doesn’t work the other way: Australia doesn’t make citizens pay tax on their worldwide income if they don’t reside in Australia,
My wife has permanent NZ residency and has lived here for more than 10 years. She’s not really interested in becoming a citizen. Her viewpoint is: why should she? She lives here, but she still loves Japan.
No, there is no such position as Queen of the Commonwealth. If there were, the republican commonwealth countries would not want to belong.
The Queen is “Head of the Commonwealth” and does not have any sovereignty over the citizens of commonwealth countries as a result of that title, so those citizens are not her subjects by virtue of belonging to the Commonwealth.
My friend is married to a Danish guy. He never got citizenship, partly so that he and their kids can have access to free health care and Denmark’s universities.
I know a Norwegian citizen who was born and raised in Sweden. His wife is Thai and their children were born in the USA, which leads to an interesting mix of nationalities in the family.
A friend of mine is British but moved to South Africa when he was a small child. He would be easily eligible for citizenship here, but says that it’s not worth the effort, since functionally the only difference is that he doesn’t get to vote and couldn’t stand for elected office.
This year Canada introduced new passports that have a 10 year expiration.
I have permanent residency in Japan (although we live in Taiwan now) but never considered becoming a Japanese citizen. I only know of a very few Westerners who go through the process, although there are more East Asians who do. It makes more since for them, since they can look Japanese, where we never can.
I don’t know many New Zealanders here in Australia who hold dual citizenship. My family (including my wife) do, but everyone else I’ve met from NZ hasn’t bothered.
Admittedly, it is more trouble than it’s worth (mostly) for NZers to become Australian citizens, but they have automatic right of entry and a form of permanent residency anyway so I understand why they don’t bother (except they’re not eligible for social security, mostly).
However, until about 10 years ago, it was ludicrously easy for NZers to get citizenship in Australia - just live here two years, pay $120 to the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, fill in a form and then show up at a citizenship ceremony a few months later.
Australia allows dual citizenship and actively encourages permanent residents to become citizens, too.
Bit late to the thread, but thought I’d throw in my two pence worth. I’m a permanent resident with “Indefinite Leave to Remain” (ILR) in the UK, but don’t intend to seek citizenship. One reason is expense, as it would be another big chunk of money on top of what it cost to get my fiancee visa, Further Leave to Remain (FLR) and then finally the ILR. But the main reason is that I’m already a dual citizen – American by birth, Canadian by choice, British by marriage. As a citizen of the Commonwealth, I am allowed to vote here, so there’s not much that a British citizenship would grant me on top of that, other than access to living and working in the EU. Since that’s not a big priority for me, it’s unlikely that I’ll undergo the hassle, expense and possible brouhaha from the US that would ensue if I pursued a third citizenship. I don’t think Canada would mind so much, but I bet the US would get stroppy about it.
I thought there was some sort of transfer payments between NZ and Aus - at least as regards retirement benefits? That Kiwis could get our super ann paid in Australia?
Another reason not to take the leap to citizenship in some countries might be a reluctance to pledge even nominal allegiance to a monarch. Myself, I’m a strong anti-royalist, and that would grate on me even if it were a monarch I actually liked such as Queen Elizabeth.
I think there might be but I’m not sure on the details. I do know that NZers aren’t eligible for the dole or disability pensions etc from the Australian Government, but I think there might be something in place so they can claim it from New Zealand for a limited time after moving here.