Second Citizenships, Residencies, and/or Temporary Relocation • Hacker News Board

Re: Second Citizenships, Residencies, and/or Temporary Relocation

#151

Post by ghaff » Sun, Feb 21, 2021, 2:27 PM UTC

mdasen wrote: post #85

1996 wrote: post #31

The mention of Puerto Rico giving citizenship after 1 year is funny. I thought it was part of the US! I wonder what the conditions are for PR citizenship!

Spain offers an easier pathway to citizenship for citizens of Ibero-American countries (basically Latin America) and that includes Puerto Rico. The idea is that, if you're an American, you could get PR citizenship status with one year and then Spain would give you citizenship with only two years. You might consider the PR citizenship to not actually be a "citizenship" but merely a residency status (like how you might…

It's really about being a resident of a state rather than a "citizen."

But it can lead to various edge cases, some of which are being spotlighted at the moment as people move around to get out of cities.

Basically you have this somewhat odd situation where you have free movement within the country and the federal government doesn't actually care where you spend your time. But you essentially need to be a state resident for purposes of things like a driver's license and paying state taxes and some states really want your money if you spend more than a bare minimum of days in the state. So there sort of a disconnect between federal rules and state rules.

Re: Second Citizenships, Residencies, and/or Temporary Relocation

#152

Post by cpursley » Sun, Feb 21, 2021, 2:38 PM UTC

SlavikCA wrote: post #111

I was born in Russia. That's my red passport. My parent moved with us to USA, when I was 18. That's my dark blue passport. When I was working as Software engineer in California, our company got aquired and they asked us to relocate to Canada. I got PR here and soon will have light blue passport here. Personal thoughts: USA citizenship gives me best opportunities and access to best job market. Canada citizenship gives…

I'm doing the opposite. I'm an American now living in Russia and will apply for long term residency then may apply for citizenship at some point once my language skills are better. I joke with my wife that in return for the green card I helped her earn, she helps me get a red card.

Russia has very low taxes for contractors, so that combined with the American foreign earned income tax credit results in tremendous tax savings. Also, I'm on the Black Sea so the weather is better than the rest of Russia. Downside is the political situation, obviously.

Re: Second Citizenships, Residencies, and/or Temporary Relocation

#153

Post by blackbear_ » Sun, Feb 21, 2021, 2:48 PM UTC

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #133

vecinu wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for sharing. I spent some time in Europe albeit that was a long time ago and I feel like I was too young to experience the hardships of life I'm facing in the US. I know the safety nets you're referring to, they're there for health care, unemployment and worker rights. Things that don't really exist for most people in the US if they're unemployed or in a regular job. I'm lucky to be in a well paid, high lucrat…

>One of my friends just left Munich for Colorado, he said houses are still too expensive in major German cities and salaries too low. Thanks for pointing this out as it is very important information to have vs. everything we hear about Germany being "the best place in the world" and "you don't need to buy property as everyone here rents" .

If you need another data point, my partner and I only pay about 25% of our combined after-tax salary in rent, living in a "major German city" (both employed in STEM). Factor in an additional 10/15% for living costs and we are left with significant disposable income, in my eyes.

Re: Second Citizenships, Residencies, and/or Temporary Relocation

#154

Post by S53Vflnr4n » Sun, Feb 21, 2021, 2:56 PM UTC

gamekathu wrote: post #63

klipt wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US a student visa never leads to naturalization, you need a green card first. I think that's the case in most countries. I heard of someone from Haiti getting Canadian citizenship while going to grad school in Quebec but that seems more an exception than the rule.

My point was mainly directed at both PR and naturalization aspects of Canada that was mentioned in this post. Even if you are not a student, the road to PR in Quebec is long if you do not have meet the language requirement. Typically you apply for Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ) which is a pre-requirement for PR. This pre-requirement also has a pre-requirement nowadays, which is getting an invitation to apply for…

People choosing Quebec to immigrate must be either fluent in French or stupid. Quebec immigration is perhaps one of the most arcane system and politically influenced. To compare it only takes 4 or 6 months to get a PR in rest of Canada if you have the right skills. In Quebec, even if you have the right skills and speaks French, it takes a minimum of 2 years if the red tape allows. If you do not know French with the right skills 3 to 4 years.

Re: Second Citizenships, Residencies, and/or Temporary Relocation

#155

Post by jacobr1 » Sun, Feb 21, 2021, 3:10 PM UTC

frosted-flakes wrote: post #80

davchana wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Technically, by law, return is required for any income over $0.50, no taxes till world wide $12000(US+NonUS) or $107000 Foreign/NonUS income, but still, IRS expects a return filed. In practice, yes, not much problem.

There are advantages to filing even when it's not required. Oddly enough, the US government still paid me $1200 + $600 of COVID economic relief (auto-deposited to my US bank account) even though I haven't lived in the US for many years. I didn't think I'd be eligible, but apparently I am (just in case, I haven't spent the money yet). It's weird that they gave the money so freely.

The money was given out pretty indiscriminately (on purpose, they didn't want vetting to slow down the process). There has been massive fraud, but on the otherhand the benefits made a real difference to a lot of people at a time when that mattered. I think keeping the money "in escrow" is a good idea. I know I'm above the income limits for some of the benefits, but still got them. I expect I'll need to pay them back just as part of normal tax fillings.

Re: Second Citizenships, Residencies, and/or Temporary Relocation

#156

Post by audiometry » Sun, Feb 21, 2021, 3:11 PM UTC

benhurmarcel wrote: post #125

audiometry wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being a us dual citizen has the disadvantage of continuing to owe income tax to the USA even while living in Europe. Also many international banks cringe at opening accounts with “us persons” because it exposes them to a lot of onerous requirements. Can make banking somewhat a pain.

> Also many international banks cringe at opening accounts with “us persons” A lot of banks just straight out refuse it. Especially the ones with the lowest fees.

Yes, this is my experience. Especially for things like investment accounts.

Re: Second Citizenships, Residencies, and/or Temporary Relocation

#157

Post by emteycz » Sun, Feb 21, 2021, 3:13 PM UTC

ThePowerOfFuet wrote: post #137

vecinu wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But, it is way, way, less stressful living here, just in general. Americans have no idea. The taxes are worth the peace of mind along with the stability it gives society. Can you please go on with this point and provide some 1-1 examples you've personally seen? I keep dreaming and have, for the last 5 years, about leaving the US and living in Europe but I feel like I'm throwing away an enormous economic opportunity…

> I have accumulated and will continue accumulating wealth that would be impossible to accumulate in any European country in my lifetime. "Some people are so poor that all they have is money."

Don't act like you don't need a lot of money in Europe.

Re: Second Citizenships, Residencies, and/or Temporary Relocation

#158

Post by ploika » Sun, Feb 21, 2021, 3:17 PM UTC

josephg wrote: post #132

disabled wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The European Union member states subscribe to multiple fundamental ideas, one of which is the principle of solidarity. This means that there is a strong social safety net, and we take care of the vulnerable. I do not have to worry about the cost of my medical care or other social needs. I pay my taxes, do my part as a citizen, and I know I will be taken care of. Essentially, because of this I do not have to live in f…

Can you talk more about what it’s like in the tech sector in Ireland? Is pay decent? Is there a lot of work? I’m eligible to work anywhere in the EU but the pay in continental Europe seems much worse than what I could earn working remotely for a US company.

The pandemic has thrown everything up in the air but there's still plenty of work in tech, mostly but by no means exclusively in Dublin.

You've got recognisable names like Microsoft, Amazon, Stripe etc, but also a large amount of tech jobs in staid banks and insurance companies, as well as a fairly healthy amount of startups and other small and medium sized enterprises.

Pay is good. Assuming your housing situation is ok, you can have a decent career and a stereotypical comfortable middle class existence - mortgage, car, a foreign holiday every year (with 20-something days of annual leave per year) and the possibility of putting your kids through college without either loans or maintenance grants.

Beyond pay, and not getting too far into social safety nets and GINI coefficients etc, it appears to be common to get fired with no notice in the USA. That level of insecurity is rare in Ireland, and pretty much unheard of in any office job.

Re: Second Citizenships, Residencies, and/or Temporary Relocation

#159

Post by DC1350 » Sun, Feb 21, 2021, 3:24 PM UTC

tenpies wrote: post #8

Causality1 wrote: post #2

Multiple-citizenship has always been fascinating to me. For example, most countries oaths of citizenship are worded in such a way that preclude loyalty split between them and another, yet they don't prevent or punish their citizens for holding dual citizenship.

The Canadians citizenship ceremony to me was fascinating, because it begins with an aboriginal land acknowledgement. The statement is quite literally "the very ground we're standing on doesn't even belong to us, but here we are saying that you are a citizen of . . . clearly not the land". Their demographic experiment is also very interesting. About 10% of all Canadians don't actually live in Canada - that is an extre…

Canada is barely a real country anyway. There’s no such thing as Canadian culture (it’s racist to imply there should be). All that’s left holding the people together is an economy that isn’t working for anyone who doesn’t already own a house. I can’t imagine it staying intact for the rest of the century

Re: Second Citizenships, Residencies, and/or Temporary Relocation

#160

Post by gamekathu » Sun, Feb 21, 2021, 3:26 PM UTC

moltar wrote: post #82

gamekathu wrote: post #48

The post glosses over Canada by not mentioning Quebec. If you are in Quebec, chances of your getting a Permanent Residency is close to slim if you do not have French language proficiency. Thus, while living in Quebec for 5 years now, being a grad student, I neither qualify for PR nor citizenship by naturalization.

But can’t you just move to Ontario and apply there? Canada has freedom of movement.

While being a student, I can’t. Also, if your intention is to move to Quebec you are technically not eligible for PR in Ontario. However, many folks these days opt of this path though - apply for PR in Ontario from outside Canada using Express Entry, land in Ontario and stay for 6 months and then move to Quebec.