just a question i was wondering about. If one felt the need to leave american (for instance out of fear of the political/social situation here being somthing i dont wish my children to grow up in.)
im not jewish ( isreal is out) 35 almost finished with a almost usless 4 year degree and 4 years in tv production experience my wife is 24 highschool level with one year of university with a ccna( computer networking degree). we have no children about 60 to 80 k in cash.
we are both liberals/socialist types but far far from treehugger level for instance i am a desert storm 1 vet. gun owner
i ask because i have a friend who wanted to move to austrailia but the immigration laws were just basicly stay out. you needed a technical degree of cirtain type or large ( 400k i think) amount of cash.
is there any country in the world who wants people? english is a big plus but spanish would be workable.
thanks for any help in advance
I’d think an English requirement would put you out of the running there, partner, given that OP.
Seriously, though, there are a couple of places which would be delighted to have you as a citizen–especially if they can use you as a propoganda bit. North Korea and Cuba come to mind right off the bat. If you’re not interested in going to a communist country, perhaps you could emigrate to Israel (the Law of Return is for automatic {for the most part} granting of citizenship to Jewish returnees).
If you’re looking for almost America but not America, you could always check the requirements for the Federated States of Micronesia.
Belize, Costa Rica, Mexico maybe. Supposedly you can live fairly well on 10K per year, that would let you get established and then start a business helping other ex-pat Americans do the same thing.
Ireland seems to have it’s own set of troubles but I’ve never been so I’ll not comment further.
This is areally crappy time but Qatar and Bah’rain are easy to get jobs in and English is widely spoken.
There was a thread a couple of weeks ago that was pretty similar. About moving to Europe and basically getting a job from the US first to get a work visa and moving that way. It would help with the cultural acclimation and probably offset some of the moving expenses.
Mexico is cheap to live but to use TV production you’d have to probably move to Mexico city.
Some of the western Slavic countries are very culturally friendly to Americans (and just about anyone else with money) like Slovenia and Croatia and are beautiful countries but I am not familiar with their iimmigration laws.
Do you want to immigrate? Or just move and avoid paying US taxes?
Well, except that I think the General Question here is “which countries are taking new immigrants?”
In other words, Belize (just to pick an example) may very well be a paradise on earth with lots of TV production jobs, but if the OP shows up at the airport and says, “here I am, I want to be a Belizer (Belizian?),” will they hand him a form and tell him to get started or will they say no thanks, try another country?
raise children become a “X” ian citizen ect.
America has been good to me I am just sick of the mean america the place is becoming. I dont believe i can cause change in a peacfull manner and im not a criminal. so exit stage left while im still young.
costa rica - have heard its nice know almost nothing but in jurrasic park they said it was a nice place lol.
new zealand - sounds wonderful but just a little lookin makes it seem like 200k ( if its nzd im close acutualy ) or no dice. im looking more tho.
isreal - sorry im not jewish and have several issues with their politics
canada - probly the most realistic didnt find any requirments in a quick search.
i have a french step father wonder if that would count as family for imigration.
Singapore? Very cosmopolitan, English widely spoken, good standard of living and I’m almost sure you would find a job there - unemployment seemed low when I was there. Can’t advise on current immigration requirements but could be worth checking out.
On a related note, does the U.S. require a citizen to renounce his citizenship in order for that person to become a citizen of another country?
I get fed up with U.S. politics and attitudes as much as anyone else, but I can’t help being an American. I’d like to live in Canada, Ireland, England, France, Australia, or wherever; but renouncing one’s citizenship is a serious thing.
You might want to consider San Miguel in central Mexico. I have friends who have just been blown away with it. For a thousand dollars a month you can live quite reasonably. For two thousand dollars a month you can live affluently. Many ex-patriates live there and are part of the 5,000 English speaking people who do.
I think the best approach would be to move slowly. It would be stupid to move and say “I renounce”.
I think the best would be to move, become a working resident alien, learn their local politics. If after a few years it better suits the person… then renounce and become citizen there.
I know where Toaad is coming from. The USA is moving in a very strange direction and I can see how it might be hard to agree to their politics these days. I can see why they might be thinking of getting out.
There have been reports of many (like five-fold increases) in Americans, usually with families applying for citizenship and buying land in New Zealand for the last 1 1/2 years now.
I don’t know what it’s like at the moment, but we can’t expect a drop-off.
As to actual immigration, we’re not hiring specifically apart from super-specialist professions - which you may find here
Plenty enough natural citizens are returning from chasing the dollars overseas - whcih has definately capped what we used to call the brain-drain.
And yes, a slice of green doesn’t come cheap.
PS,
And I know you didn’t mean it that way, but my gut reaction was ‘we don’t need any more grumpy Americans’ but quickly decided that ‘dissatisfied’ does not neccessarily imply grumpy.
FWIW I am attempting to settle out of the country for totally unrelated reasons. If I had a family though, I would certainly head that direction.
First of all, if you’re moving because of the war-imperialist thing (you never really told us) New Zealand is one of the U.S.'s most ardent supporters in this war - why bother leaving the U.S. for a similar place?
Were any of your grandparents or great-grandparents citizens of another country? Pursuing citizenship via that route is the easiest.
On another note, it doesn’t matter what country you move to, technically once you accept another citizenship, the U.S. will not allow you to keep U.S. citizenship, at least that’s the way I understand it. Of course the gov’t has to find out about it. If the country you want to naturalize to asks you to renounce previous citizenships, I believe they will make you give them your passport and turn it over to U.S. officials.
Just because nobody from NZ has picked up on this yet, I might point out that NZ is definitely not a strong supporter of Gulf War II. They have made it very clear that they don’t support the war but will help with humanitarian aid and rebuilding. Copy of Prime Minister Helen Clark’s statement to Parliament here
Generally speaking, the answer to your question is no. The US Government cannot compel you to renounce your US citizenship if your intent is to keep it and seek dual citizenship with another country. Before I embarked on the step to become a dual citizen with Australia I spent considerable time researching the topic. If your choice is to become adopted by another country, so to speak, while still retaining the privileges and responsibilities of your American birth – within reasonable grounds – dual citizenship may be your choice.
However, best you spend your own time doing the homework, especially with your choice country in mind. Since Australia does not require immigrants ready to become Australian citizens to renounce their original citizenship, in this case it’s no sweat. I cannot speak for other countries, and as expected here, YMMV.
It is important to understand the US State Department has its own vested interests in interpreting citizenship, and especially dual citizenship of Americans so be wary. At the time I applied to renew my US Passport overseas, the State Department had a deliberately convoluted passport application form and addendum papers especially for dual-citz. If you completed the form honestly and with true intent to remain an American citizen, the form was set up to actually renounce your citizenship. At the time one’s best bet was to take said form, cross out each page with a big X and just state your true intentions in your cover letter when renewing one’s passport (which I did). Since the form was not mandatory – you never would have guessed that by the form’s instructions – the State Department lost it’s own game. It is my understanding this was just one of the tactics used that caused the State Department to gets its hand slapped. More than once, too.
Times have changed and several Supreme Court decisions and Congressional Acts have clarified the topic, strengthening the argument that American citizens (by birth) have a Constitutional right to dual citizenship if they so choose.
Notice I said American citizens by birth. Again it is my understanding that Court interpretations and the laws view dual citizenship differently for citizens by birth seeking dual citizenship with another country vs immigrants naturalized as American citizens seeking dual citizenship.
Finally for this portion (on dual citizenship) this also means upholding your responsibilities of your birth citizenship while leaving somewhere else. If seeking dual citizenship is a means to avoid paying US taxes, striking up a discord with the government as your personal protest, forget it. You cannot have your cake and eat it, too. Uncle Sam will eventually nail your butt to the wall, notwithstanding the current Administration’s “if you’re not with us you’re against us” rhetoric. (Mods - That last statement was a political observation, but it is based more on fact than the current prevailing political climate.)
Why did I seek dual citizenship with Australia? Simple really. Having been in the country for several years (thus being eligible in the first place) I wanted more of a say in how my taxes were being spent, I wanted to “legitimize” my stay in Australia (At the time too many American “experts” were arriving, staying a while and telling Australians how to best redo their country, check please, thankyouverymuch, and back to LA LA Land. Aussies really resented that.), I fell in love with the country, increase employment opportunities in my field, and I wanted to avoid Immigration (at all cost) if I had to travel back to the USA on short notice. In the latter case, as a permanent resident returning to the USA, say for a family emergency, I would have had to have an immigrant return exit visa, justify my reasons for leaving and returning, give exact dates of my departure and return to Oz, and a host of other hurdles to jump. Typical bureaucratic bull, IMHO. Dual citizenship afforded me the right to leave at a moment’s notice without requesting permission and all the ensuing red tape, and return just as easily.
If you plan to live as a citizen of a different country and renounce your American citizenship, take a really long hard look before taking the plunge. As much as you may have strong issues with your government (now), are you ready to go through a one-way door? Coming back to America, for any reason, will not be easy, and depending upon unknown future circumstances, personal, political, as well as potentially changing US government policies, it could be impossible. Think hard on this one, especially if you have, or will have elderly parents or other loved ones back home and you might have to return at a moment’s notice. Your call.
Finally, whatever decision(s) you may make on this path, no matter how long you live in your new country and become absorbed by it (undefined) keep in mind a subtle overriding, critical point. In the eyes of many in your new country, you were born an American and you are forever an American. Your new found personal friends will take the time to know you, support you, and appreciate the steps you took to do what you did. But the average person on the street will forever see you as a Yank living in their country and nothing will ever change their mind about that. So while you left America because of of what you believe America has become that you no longer support, you will still be an outsider in your new country.
