Americans using their ancestry to gain European citizenship - 40% of Americans eligible

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Spouse did it for German citizenship for himself and our kids, via a Jewish grandparent (rest of the family killed in the Holocaust). He had to collect a bunch of paperwork but it was all doable. Took about 2 years from start to finish.

what kind of paperwork? we’re jewish and my grandmother grew up in germany (she’s still alive), she and her parents survived concentration camps and came to the US when she was a teen. I can’t even imagine where to start looking for paperwork or what kind of paperwork I’d need?

This is very weird to me as the descendent of German Jews.

I mean the U.S. has problems yes, but racism and anti-semitism are deeply ingrained in German culture, and the AfD (far right party) which is openly racist and antisemitic is on the rise.

https://www.dw.com/en/antisemitism-deeply-rooted-in-german-society/a-61750177
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2022/country-chapters/germany

+100

As a Jew, I cannot overlook the horrors of the recent past just to get a passport of convenience from the country that perpetrated genocide on my family.

Same here. My mom has no living relatives due to the Holocaust. None. Antisemitism has been on the rise for at least 12 years. Germans are still very anti-Semitic. I can't believe the things they say in front of me before they find out I'm Jewish. I'm not happy with the polarization of both political parties here in the U.S. and I'm very concerned about abortion rights, but I'll take that over the people who killed my family and still think we had it coming.

[Anonymous]

I hold dual citizenship and split my time between the US and France for family reasons. Americans who think Europe is somehow economically and socially better off than the US are naïve or misinformed, and are in for a rude shock. Frankly, if I had to pick where I'd spend 100% of my time, I would choose the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ha!

Don't let the door hit you in the way out. UK is in shambles and will continue to collapse. Germany has rolling blackouts and will limit energy during the dead of winter. Italy just elected the far right, a trend that is taking hold all over Europe. Oh, and what a fantastic idea to move into the mouth of the lion right next to Russia who'll be causing problems for the continent for the foreseeable future. Europe's economy and future outlook is so anemic, and don't fool yourselves into thinking you'll get paid the same. Salaries in the EU are often very, veryyyyy low.

I think this is about options, not that people are going to move there now.

Also, salaries are low, but so are college costs, healthcare, childcare, not to mention you get a long maternity leave.

It's six or half dozen or the other. Unless you are pretty wealthy and have great insurance, life in the US can be pretty hard, too, for many. People there don't worry about saving massive amounts for college or retirement. They don't worry about having to work just to have healthcare. I could retire right now with a few million (I'm in my 50s) if it wasn't for the fact that healthcare here is ridiculously expensive. Some young person could have my six figure job where I get to wfh. But nope. Gotta work to pay for healthcare and the out of control college costs, too. When people in Europe find out how much we pay for having a baby, and college costs, they are incredulous.

How realistic is it that you'll use those options? You're talking about spending your working life in the US, so you're not leveraging their maternity leave. You won't be there in time for your kids to qualify for free or low cost college, and you're still paying for health insurance while you're here. So are you talking about retiring there? Would your grown kids stay in the US or would you want them to move there just in time to start their careers with low salaries and no friends or career network?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do people do this? To move to the EU?

Because the US is becoming an oppressive oligarchy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtkPacTl64I

To us, it's the political landscape. It has turned very ugly.

My spouse is a dual citizen with the UK, and so are our kids. We have started looking into moving there for a few years at some point after the kids finish college. For my spouse, it started with GWB, and then went completely downhill with Trump.

This just gives us options, which I'm very grateful for.

I never thought 1/6 would ever happen, but it did. 1/6 and the current climate of Rs questioning and threatening the foundation of our democracy just shows me how unstable our democracy really is.

And I used to be a R.

Are you paying attention to what's goin on in the UK?

absolutely. That turmoil isn't going to last 4 years. In any case, even with the turmoil they are in now, you don't see insurrectionists trying to overthrow the government. You don't see groups like the Oath Keepers, with their massive stash of guns, ready to do their cult leader's bidding instituting martial law.

No matter how bad the UK is politically at the moment, nothing in the UK compares to what happened on 1/6 at the Capitol, and what continues to be pushed by the #stopthesteal crowd. These events, if unchecked, will lead to the downfall of our democracy. I want to make sure that we have an out.

This is wild to me. This was one event and if it hadn’t been on the news, 99.9999% of Americans wouldn’t have even known about it. Meaning there is absolutely no effect on your daily life. There are many problems in the US but 1/6 really isn’t something to dwell on.

Is this a joke? Seems like you are unaware of their failed mission, the people behind it, and the fact that these people still exist and will continue to undermine democracy every chance they get.

If the Rs win the house we are f-ed. This is an ongoing threat.

[Anonymous]

Is NZ taking people?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m one of those whose European ancestors came far too early to qualify for anything. From what I understand, my husband could regain citizenship in the non-European country of his birth without too much hassle, but he’s not super interested.

Is it India?

No, Vietnam

[Anonymous]

I think most Americans would very quickly move back to the US if they lived abroad for a while. Not because the USA is objectively better, but because it’s home to them. Living in a foreign country indefinitely is hard.

[Anonymous]

I looked into this. My grandfather was born in Krakow, emigrated to Germany in his teens, and left in 1933 due to rise of Hitler and became a US citizen in the 1940s. Unfortunately for us to get a Polish passport he had to have stayed until the 1950s/not gotten us citizenship. The rest of my grandparents were all first generation immigrants--ukraine, germany/switzerland ireland, but I think too far back for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wouldn't the residents of these EU countries resent it if so many Americans started using their low cost universities and healthcare without having paid into the system first?
Just a thought.

Go ahead and flame me, but with their low birthrates, they should want immigrants who are of their ethnic origin there to help preserve their cultures rather than immigrants who are of vastly different cultures who won’t carry on the traditions they have been building for over 1,000 years.

DP.. sort of, yes. Several countries like Italy and Portugal have a declining birth rate.

Portugal has the golden visa program, but it has become so popular that they had to up the financial threshold.

Years back when Syrians were fleeing the war there, Portugal wanted some refugees to settle in some places in there.

There are Italian towns that will pay people to move there.

But, yea, I'm sure there would be a tipping point where they wouldn't want anymore foreigners. Mexico is going through that now with "Americans go home" due to so many American retirees moving there.. How's that for some irony.

Don’t assume that for every country, citizenship will entitle you to full benefits. You need to do some research. For example, my British citizen kids would be charged the international tuition rate if they went to university in the UK unless they were resident there for at least 2 (?) years beforehand. I understand in the Netherlands, you are legally required to take out standard health insurance. Every country is different. In addition, some European countries still have mandatory military service for 18yo males.

PP here. Thanks, but we've already researched all of this.

I would have to pay something like $4000 for 3 yrs of NHS coverage, if I wanted NHS. If we don't go that route, private insurance is much much cheaper than here. Heck, even paying out of pocket, cash is much much cheaper than here. My IL works in the medical industry in the UK and has told us how much things costs if paid privately. IL was shocked at how much things cost here, even with insurance.

College costs would be international if DC were to go directly from HS here to college there. More than likely we will have kids go to college here. But, our younger DC is only in 9th grade so if we were to move now, they'd get residency rates for college.

I know absolutely that the UK is not a paradise, especially now. But, the US seems to be spiraling, too. Who knows what both countries will look like in 5 years. So, we like that we have options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do people do this? To move to the EU?

Because the US is becoming an oppressive oligarchy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtkPacTl64I

To us, it's the political landscape. It has turned very ugly.

My spouse is a dual citizen with the UK, and so are our kids. We have started looking into moving there for a few years at some point after the kids finish college. For my spouse, it started with GWB, and then went completely downhill with Trump.

This just gives us options, which I'm very grateful for.

I never thought 1/6 would ever happen, but it did. 1/6 and the current climate of Rs questioning and threatening the foundation of our democracy just shows me how unstable our democracy really is.

And I used to be a R.

Are you paying attention to what's goin on in the UK?

absolutely. That turmoil isn't going to last 4 years. In any case, even with the turmoil they are in now, you don't see insurrectionists trying to overthrow the government. You don't see groups like the Oath Keepers, with their massive stash of guns, ready to do their cult leader's bidding instituting martial law.

No matter how bad the UK is politically at the moment, nothing in the UK compares to what happened on 1/6 at the Capitol, and what continues to be pushed by the #stopthesteal crowd. These events, if unchecked, will lead to the downfall of our democracy. I want to make sure that we have an out.

This is wild to me. This was one event and if it hadn’t been on the news, 99.9999% of Americans wouldn’t have even known about it. Meaning there is absolutely no effect on your daily life. There are many problems in the US but 1/6 really isn’t something to dwell on.

and this is how the Nazis came to power, because people weren't paying attention to what was really happening.

Nope. 1/6 and even now shows us that certain parts of the country are hellbent on destroying our democracy by questioning the integrity of our elections. If you ignore what happened on 1/6, you are putting your head in the sand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the benefit of doing this? You aren't going to move to Europe.

Why do you assume they wouldn’t? My kids have German passports in addition to their US passports, which we got in significant part so they would have an option to live/work there as adults. My college student is seriously considering it for after graduation.

Don't be crazy. College kids make grandiose plans. Your kid isn't moving to Germany. People move to North America from Europe not the other way around. My parents were born in Croatia. I grew up around lots of Croatians. Nobody's kids moved there if they were not born there. Would be extremely rare.

You are wrong on a few accounts. Firstly, while kids in your circle may not study abroad, American kids do go and study in Europe. Why do you think there are so many posts on this site about kids going to St Andrews in Scotland? My kid is at Washington International School and so I can tell you this is a fact. Secondly, I grew up in Australia and my father was Croatian. Many dual nationals go back and forth. My Croatian cousin-in-law's sister moved back from Sydney. This isn't just the case for Croatians. People return to their home country because of their family and cultural ties.

People are not returning for family and cultural ties if they were horned and raised out of that country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think getting another nationality is wonderful if you want to have options to work throughout Europe or at least ensure your kids do, live there for some period or have strong connections to a particular country. However, there is a certain naivete in this thread. Firstly, the standard of healthcare might not be what many Americans are accustomed to. Secondly, without local language skills, job options may be limited in many countries and professional skills may not be recognised. Thirdly, you might be trying to escape civil rights infringements here but not realise that many European countries have their own restrictions that you don't agree with (eg abortion law).

For those seeing retirement in Europe as some sort of long term financial panacea, keep in mind that nobody has a crystal ball that shows what things will be like in the future. Health systems are increasingly overwhelmed by aging populations, the economic fortunes of countries change, and the world is unpredictable. Exchange rates move in mysterious ways. For example, if I moved to the US on an Australian pension equal to US$150,000 per year in 2001, by 2011 that was worth $75,000. Impossible to predict that was going to happen. If you sell up your US assets and buy a house in another country, just keep in mind that, even if their property market keeps increasing, you can end up with a lot less money if you have to sell up and move back to the US.

Finally someone with a brain replied.
Yes there is major naivete if people think they are just going to move to Europe. I have lived in Europe, it's not better. Otherwise, why are are so many people leaving?
The health care sucks. Good jobs are hard to find.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the benefit of doing this? You aren't going to move to Europe.

Why do you assume they wouldn’t? My kids have German passports in addition to their US passports, which we got in significant part so they would have an option to live/work there as adults. My college student is seriously considering it for after graduation.

Don't be crazy. College kids make grandiose plans. Your kid isn't moving to Germany. People move to North America from Europe not the other way around. My parents were born in Croatia. I grew up around lots of Croatians. Nobody's kids moved there if they were not born there. Would be extremely rare.

You are wrong on a few accounts. Firstly, while kids in your circle may not study abroad, American kids do go and study in Europe. Why do you think there are so many posts on this site about kids going to St Andrews in Scotland? My kid is at Washington International School and so I can tell you this is a fact. Secondly, I grew up in Australia and my father was Croatian. Many dual nationals go back and forth. My Croatian cousin-in-law's sister moved back from Sydney. This isn't just the case for Croatians. People return to their home country because of their family and cultural ties.

People are not returning for family and cultural ties if they were horned and raised out of that country.

*born
Not horned

[Anonymous]

These countries had communism in my parent's generation and you think life is so great there. You wouldn't last a year.

[Anonymous]

My maternal grandparents emigrated from Scotland. My grandmother remained a GB / UK citizen. She has passed on. Would that help me in seeking UK citizenship?