# why do expat americans never go 'back home'? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 29, 2013, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-expat-americans-never-go-back-home/669921 "2013-09-29T14:55:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-expat-americans-never-go-back-home/669921/121 "2013-10-06T02:55:17Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > It’s also part of maintaining the fiction that he still lives there so he can still get his government pension. Not sure what he does while there, but I guess he puts in appearances at appropriate places. Which is what I’ll likely to to get my social security from Japan. > [@](#): > > Your bank account is apparently being reported to the US IRS for you now, no matter where you live. Have you heard of the new law called [Fatca](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FATCA)? It just took effect recently and has caused a stir among American expats in Thailand. It requires foreign banks to report the holdings of any American customers or face penalties in any dealings with the US. Heavy penalties. Now some banks here won’t even accept any new American customers because of the hassle. Which is my our money is in my wife’s name. ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-expat-americans-never-go-back-home/669921/122 "2013-10-06T03:02:39Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Your bank account is apparently being reported to the US IRS for you now, no matter where you live. Have you heard of the new law called [Fatca](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FATCA)? It just took effect recently and has caused a stir among American expats in Thailand. It requires foreign banks to report the holdings of any American customers or face penalties in any dealings with the US. Heavy penalties. Now some banks here won’t even accept any new American customers because of the hassle. My bank would have no idea of my nationality. I’m also an Australian citizen (although I wasn’t when I opened the account). They have my Australian tax file number, and my Australian drivers licence was used as part of my ID, along with my medicare card and my electric bill to make up my 100 points. They never asked about any other natiionality. So I’d be really surprised if they are reporting it. My husband is first on the account and added me when we got married in any case. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-expat-americans-never-go-back-home/669921/123 "2013-10-06T07:00:36Z")
> [@Gleena](#): > > My bank would have no idea of my nationality. I’m also an Australian citizen (although I wasn’t when I opened the account). They have my Australian tax file number, and my Australian drivers licence was used as part of my ID, along with my medicare card and my electric bill to make up my 100 points. They never asked about any other natiionality. So I’d be really surprised if they are reporting it. > > My husband is first on the account and added me when we got married in any case. Passports have place of birth on them, even non-USA ones. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-expat-americans-never-go-back-home/669921/124 "2013-10-06T08:29:36Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Passports have place of birth on them, even non-USA ones. Good thing I was born in Israel. (Even if I wasn’t, do you really think that bank clerks are willing to take the initiative to launch an investigation as to whether a customer might happen to have a U.S. citizenship? Seems like a lot of hassle and paperwork for no reward). ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-expat-americans-never-go-back-home/669921/125 "2013-10-06T10:42:58Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Good thing I was born in Israel. > > (Even if I wasn’t, do you really think that bank clerks are willing to take the initiative to launch an investigation as to whether a customer might happen to have a U.S. citizenship? Seems like a lot of hassle and paperwork for no reward). _Shrug_ I dunno, I was just pointing out that if your passport lists your place of birth as the USA there is a good chance you have citizenship in the USA. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-expat-americans-never-go-back-home/669921/126 "2013-10-06T11:30:06Z")
FATCA requires you to report account details over every account held in a foreign financial institution over which you have signatory control _even if the money is not yours._ If an American ex-pat has power of attorney over his elderly father-in-law’s affairs, the American may have to report the fil’s account details to the IRS in the States. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-expat-americans-never-go-back-home/669921/127 "2013-10-06T15:52:22Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Good thing I was born in Israel. > > (Even if I wasn’t, do you really think that bank clerks are willing to take the initiative to launch an investigation as to whether a customer might happen to have a U.S. citizenship? Seems like a lot of hassle and paperwork for no reward). I don’t know about other countries, but banks here copy the passports of all foreign customers. They record your nationality from the get-go. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-expat-americans-never-go-back-home/669921/128 "2013-10-06T17:37:55Z")
I’ve never shown the bank my passport. ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-expat-americans-never-go-back-home/669921/129 "2013-10-06T17:49:22Z")
I’m not an American, but probably for the same reason as expats from the UK and Australasia- WAYYYYYYYYY too much PC, aggressive women and divorce laws biased against men, and regulation run amuk in their own countries. I know that many western men are also staying in their adopted countries because they enjoy life so much more in them, and especially in Thailand, the women are far less antagonistic to men. ---
**Author:** ![Doggo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/87869e/32.png) [@Doggo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doggo)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-expat-americans-never-go-back-home/669921/130 "2013-10-06T17:52:17Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I’ve never shown the bank my passport. In Thailand, foreigners that have Thai bank accounts are required to show their passports every time they make a transaction, unless they have a Thai driver’s licence, and they have to show their passport to get one of those. ---
**Author:** ![Glazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e57/32.png) [@Glazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glazer)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-expat-americans-never-go-back-home/669921/131 "2013-10-06T17:54:33Z")
You wont go home because you can’t deal with women on an equal footing? ☹ ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-expat-americans-never-go-back-home/669921/132 "2013-10-06T18:19:04Z")
> [@Glazer](#): > > You wont go home because you can’t deal with women on an equal footing? ☹ Not at all uncommon. While the stereotype of the “submissive Asian” woman is rarely true in practice, what you can find abroad is desperately poor women whom you can enjoy an unequal relationship with. ---
**Author:** ![Glazer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e57/32.png) [@Glazer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glazer)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-expat-americans-never-go-back-home/669921/133 "2013-10-06T18:22:05Z")
I have a dog for a pet. I want a woman for a partner. Silly me. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-expat-americans-never-go-back-home/669921/134 "2013-10-06T18:54:40Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Your bank account is apparently being reported to the US IRS for you now, no matter where you live. Have you heard of the new law called [Fatca](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FATCA)? It just took effect recently and has caused a stir among American expats in Thailand. It requires foreign banks to report the holdings of any American customers or face penalties in any dealings with the US. Heavy penalties. Now some banks here won’t even accept any new American customers because of the hassle. Last time I was in the UK, I went into the bank with both of my passports. The citizenship on my account had been listed as “American.” I showed them my Canadian passport and asked them to change it, and they did. The place of birth was irrelevant to them, and their computer database was only set up to record a single nationality. My Canadian bank accounts are likewise only aware of me as a Canadian citizen. I do file taxes every year, but partly because I still have some US income. It is a right royal pain. I’m not planning to ever go back but I do want to keep my options open, because you never know. ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-expat-americans-never-go-back-home/669921/135 "2013-10-07T00:19:09Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I’ve never shown the bank my passport. Me either. Never been asked my place of birth. My bank thinks I’m as Australian by birth as my husband. **Doggo** you need a puppy, not a woman. Ick. ---
**Author:** ![Gleena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b3f665/32.png) [@Gleena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gleena)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-expat-americans-never-go-back-home/669921/136 "2013-10-07T00:25:23Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Passports have place of birth on them, even non-USA ones. Heh. And you even quoted the bit where I said I used my drivers licence. Look, I’m probably not going to go out of my way to avoid it, even if they do - somehow - work it out. Realistically, the amount in my bank account(s) at any given time isn’t going to be enough to get the IRS to red flag it, do the work to extradite me or use the Tax Treaty to get me to pay up. If it someday means I can’t go to the US, well, no great loss. It’s the invasion of privacy that gets me, and the more the US government wants to hold on to me as an expat, the less I’m inclined to ever go back. The posturing when the FB guy claimed his Singaporean nationality was disgusting. I’m just not inclined to play ball. I almost want to file the five years of back taxers required to renounce my citizenship, but I’m still to attached to the place to do that yet. If it gets more intrusive, though, I probably will. But it remains one of the reasons I won’t go back. To much hassle, too much paperwork and too much invasion of my privacy. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-expat-americans-never-go-back-home/669921/137 "2013-10-07T00:43:22Z")
My wife and I left the US in 2002 and moved to the Republic of Georgia, then to Prague and Dubai with long stints in Thailand and New Zealand. We now split time between the US and Prague so have come back some, but I don’t think we will ever come all the way back. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-expat-americans-never-go-back-home/669921/138 "2013-10-07T05:07:31Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I’ve never shown the bank my passport. > [@Gleena](#): > > Me either. Never been asked my place of birth. My bank thinks I’m as Australian by birth as my husband. Fine. But plenty of countries do require it. I’m not sure if most will or most won’t, but it’s just something to keep in mind. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-expat-americans-never-go-back-home/669921/139 "2013-10-07T05:44:33Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > If you live permanently abroad…you may not have to _pay_ any income tax, but you still are required by American law to _file_ income tax forms. > A 1040 form. And a TDF90 form. And a 2550 Form. > Every year of your life. That is NOT true. Read the thread. ---
**Author:** ![truthSeeker2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7cd45c/32.png) [@truthSeeker2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/truthSeeker2)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-expat-americans-never-go-back-home/669921/140 "2013-10-07T06:07:31Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > One thing I find amusing is people who live in a country for years, have no intention of going back, but still think of themselves as “ex-pats”. Dude… you’re not an ex-pat. You’re an immigrant. > [@Alessan](#): > > I disagree - I think it’s nothing more than unconscious racism. “I’m an _American_, not some dirty immigrant.” Good point you raise on expat/immigrant usage. Its less about unconscious racism I’d say, but there would be that in some cases. The general rule would be that you’ve moved for a “better life” you’re an immigrant. There is also the issue of language and culture, English language being spoken universally and American(and other 1st world) culture being better than other cultures in different aspects. so them not wanting to be assimilated by other cultures and calling themselves expat rather than immigrant. Then there is the issue of other countries themselves not taking in first world-ers as they’d like to. While its easier for an India/chinese to integrate into US and Europe. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-expat-americans-never-go-back-home/669921.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-expat-americans-never-go-back-home/669921.md?page=8)