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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Particularly if you want to heat your home or apartment this winter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

But can you see a specialist in the UK? You have to lobby a board (and wait 9 months to do so), to change your gastro doc.

[Anonymous]

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.

lol comparing germany to Croatia from 30 years ago. I am of Pakistani origin and we used to make fun of Pakistanis who immigrated to germany as the underclass but in the past 5 years that has changed and the diaspora is moving to EU over the US. We work with UNHCR and refugees all wanted to move to US or canada. no longer and I've traveled through Europe and xenophobia and racism on the ground is being vastly over reported in the media and I cant 'pass' for white like my spouse and kids but europeans in big cities aren't any more or less racist than americans. UK s different, white people there, especially in smaller areas are very much fed up of foreigners but its better to be South Asian than eastern europeans and I suspect they also dont like americans... these are old people though, there aren't any English living in London and Surrey and other nearby areas anymore anyways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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?

I don't think so. I don't think the UK has the same generous citizenship rule that Ireland has.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

But can you see a specialist in the UK? You have to lobby a board (and wait 9 months to do so), to change your gastro doc.

If you pay cash, you don't need to lobby a board. And paying cash is still much cheaper there. An MRI scan costs about 500gbp there if you pay for private. I spend $1300/month on a high deductible plan here, and then I pay about $300 for my MRI on top of that due to the deductible.

You can see a specialist on your own if you pay cash (again, still cheaper than here).

I am not saying that their system is perfect, but unless you have some serious health issues, paying for private healthcare in the UK is cheaper than paying for private insurance here.

Even so, thank goodness we have ACA now. If we didn't have ACA, we would probably have more reason to move to the UK because we don't have employer sponsored insurance, and preACA, you could not get medical insurance if you had pre-existing conditions, which as we get older, we now do.

[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.

lol comparing germany to Croatia from 30 years ago. I am of Pakistani origin and we used to make fun of Pakistanis who immigrated to germany as the underclass but in the past 5 years that has changed and the diaspora is moving to EU over the US. We work with UNHCR and refugees all wanted to move to US or canada. no longer and I've traveled through Europe and xenophobia and racism on the ground is being vastly over reported in the media and I cant 'pass' for white like my spouse and kids but europeans in big cities aren't any more or less racist than americans. UK s different, white people there, especially in smaller areas are very much fed up of foreigners but its better to be South Asian than eastern europeans and I suspect they also dont like americans... these are old people though, there aren't any English living in London and Surrey and other nearby areas anymore anyways.

I have not put the discrimination in the same way, but many people in the US 100% do not believe that Eastern Europeans are discriminated against in Western Europe and sometimes (often?) treated as non-white or at least other. Eastern European migrant workers in UK are treated like Mexican/central Americans in the US. Former East Germans get the side-eye too in Germany. My understanding is that my cousins did better socially working in Germany than in the UK. Funny that so many people think discrimination and racism are solely an American thing. It is just different in different countries. And yes, the right seems to be growing more powerful everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

I don't think so. I don't think the UK has the same generous citizenship rule that Ireland has.

Curious — when did grandma immigrate to the US and when did UK recognize women’s citizenry independent of their father/husband? Timing matters as far as the laws go. For instance because two great-grandmother never became US citizens (their husbands did) and Poland established citizenship only for those basically living within its borders during WWI, they became stateless. They also became permanent (non-citizen) US residents (ie, permanent resident aliens).

[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.

You are being naive. 1/6 was a trial run. The World Trade Center was bombed a few years before OBL took down the twin towers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

I don't think so. I don't think the UK has the same generous citizenship rule that Ireland has.

Curious — when did grandma immigrate to the US and when did UK recognize women’s citizenry independent of their father/husband? Timing matters as far as the laws go. For instance because two great-grandmother never became US citizens (their husbands did) and Poland established citizenship only for those basically living within its borders during WWI, they became stateless. They also became permanent (non-citizen) US residents (ie, permanent resident aliens).

My grandmother immigrated to US in early 1930s.

I was looking at the UK passport site. It looks like my mother could qualify for UK citizenship (she’s US citizen living in US), based on her father being UK citizen at time of her birth, and her parents being married at that time. So if my mother got dual citizenship, I wonder if I could then seek dual US/UK citizenship after that? Admittedly, this seems a bit tenuous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

I don't think so. I don't think the UK has the same generous citizenship rule that Ireland has.

Curious — when did grandma immigrate to the US and when did UK recognize women’s citizenry independent of their father/husband? Timing matters as far as the laws go. For instance because two great-grandmother never became US citizens (their husbands did) and Poland established citizenship only for those basically living within its borders during WWI, they became stateless. They also became permanent (non-citizen) US residents (ie, permanent resident aliens).

My grandmother immigrated to US in early 1930s.

I was looking at the UK passport site. It looks like my mother could qualify for UK citizenship (she’s US citizen living in US), based on her father being UK citizen at time of her birth, and her parents being married at that time. So if my mother got dual citizenship, I wonder if I could then seek dual US/UK citizenship after that? Admittedly, this seems a bit tenuous.

Did her dad become a US citizen while she was a minor?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

You are being naive. 1/6 was a trial run. The World Trade Center was bombed a few years before OBL took down the twin towers.

I am afraid that this is more likely. Unfortunately, I am apparently stuck here in the US (everyone emigrated pre 1800) so will have to stay and fight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Particularly if you want to heat your home or apartment this winter.

try paying for college and private insurance here in the US. No one in Europe would want the US system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

I don't think so. I don't think the UK has the same generous citizenship rule that Ireland has.

Curious — when did grandma immigrate to the US and when did UK recognize women’s citizenry independent of their father/husband? Timing matters as far as the laws go. For instance because two great-grandmother never became US citizens (their husbands did) and Poland established citizenship only for those basically living within its borders during WWI, they became stateless. They also became permanent (non-citizen) US residents (ie, permanent resident aliens).

My grandmother immigrated to US in early 1930s.

I was looking at the UK passport site. It looks like my mother could qualify for UK citizenship (she’s US citizen living in US), based on her father being UK citizen at time of her birth, and her parents being married at that time. So if my mother got dual citizenship, I wonder if I could then seek dual US/UK citizenship after that? Admittedly, this seems a bit tenuous.

I doubt you could get it.

My spouse was born in the UK, and immigrated to the US. Our kids were born in the US, never lived in the UK. They got dual citizenship through my spouse.

But, our kids would not be able to give their kids British citizenship unless they went and lived there for some time. I think they only give it to one generation, then after that, you have to live there to get it.

[Anonymous]

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

Ireland and Italy had communism in the 40s/50s?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

Ireland and Italy had communism in the 40s/50s?

well, Italy had Mussolini, but yea, Ireland, UK, France, Portugal ..? Weird.

Actually a lot of Americans are going to Portugal, Spain.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-20/americans-moving-to-europe-housing-prices-and-strong-dollar-fuel-relocations