How? It's not like people can just decide to move to another country and they will say "sure, come on in!" right?
Are they getting visas from work or a spouse or something? Surely that does not account for a vast majority of cases?
Are they getting visas from work or a spouse or something? Surely that does not account for a vast majority of cases?
Resources:
https://relocateme.substack.com/
https://old.reddit.com/r/AmerExit/comments/urwlbr/a_guide_fo...
https://old.reddit.com/user/Shufflebuzz/comments/1iv4dud/shu...
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/se... (Canadian citizenship by descent)
https://lookerstudio.google.com/reporting/b58914ce-b98d-4330... from https://pancakeonastick.substack.com/ (Digital Nomad Visa Map)
1. US is one of only a few countries where children emigrating with parents don't officially declare intent to immigrate, they do it automatically with their parents. This means that your grandfather (whether he was aware or not) was still German, since German law says you only give it up if you "take action to immigrate" or something like that. Likewise every child since then (your mother and you) were born as US citizens "involuntarily" (as in you didn't choose) so you also retained your citizenship.
2. In 2021 Section 5 of the StAG law was updated to say that people born to German mothers between 1949-1975 are now eligible, it was updated since male only was seen as discriminatory. So theoretically say grandfather -> mother (born to male) -> you (post 1949). Not an expert so double check this.
Im not an expert but my understanding of your case would be that you are not even needing to apply for status, you are literally German now, and just need to request a passport (check this with the resources on Reddit I mention below).
I'd recommend checking Reddit "German Citizenship by Descent" resources. There's a couple profile names you will see there really frequently who are German citizens who can help you in finding paperwork from German government resources if needed (old birth certificates, etc.) for a small fee.
You can also see public threads where people explain their case and you can see if you find one similar to yours. Example: https://www.reddit.com/r/Genealogy/comments/scvkwb/german_ci...
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DAFT>
This can lead to eventual citizenship, but you have to follow the rules (e.g. monetary requirements, which are actually quite low).
Technically, yes - you are required to hold only €4,500 as an "investment" in the business you create. In reality you will need a lot more. My wife and I spent about €40k to move over which is inline with what others on the DAFT program have said they spent.
Completely worth it though!
Lastly: is living in Maastricht similar to living in a US state panhandle (e.g. benefits of: border shopping; tax reasons). What drew ya'll south (V.e.g: Amsterdam)?
Any suggestions/websites for a single electrician that's been thinking about DAFT for over a decade? My own would be YouTuber Not Just Bikes (expatriated to Utrecht for traffic engineering).
Our main motivator was that we watched our grandparents grow older and just stop moving. I absolutely love America, but you do spend the majority of your time sitting. I'm not inactive, I do ultras, I hike, etc. But that doesn't make up for the fact that we're just always sitting - at home, at work, in the car. We wanted to live somewhere that would force us out of that.
> Were ya'll's companies already established
I had an LLC I used for contracting in the US, but the DAFT visa required setting up a new Dutch corporation.
> Citizens, yet
We're currently applying for our first visa renewal. Next time we'll be elligible for PR. Citizenship would require us to give up our US citizenship and I don't want to do that.
> is living in Maastricht similar to living in a US state panhandle
It kinda is. We don't have a car, but we do have neighbors that only grocery shop in Germany because it's cheaper.
> What drew ya'll south (V.e.g: Amsterdam)?
I just couldn't imagine living anywhere so flat and so far from forests / mountains. We still don't have proper forests in Maastricht, but I can be in the forests of Belgium or Germany in 20 minutes.
> Any suggestions/websites for a single electrician that's been thinking about DAFT for over a decade?
No websites, but just as someone who has tried to hire an electrician in both countries it seems like the shortage is greater here. It really seems like you could just come over and have a lot of work.
>We're currently applying for our first visa renewal. Next time we'll be elligible for PR.
Good luck (shoe-in, correct?)! As PRs, would you still then need to remain self-employed (forever)?
>electrician shortage
I've run my own residential electric shop, on/off for two decades, but eventually want to get into industrial controls.
Definitely need to look into licensing/reciprocity.
>It really seems like you could just come over and have a lot of work.
Sidework would be an eventual hustle, but honestly I'd have to learn about local wiring practices and wouldn't want to be independant in a new AHJ/system. If I dafted it'd be in an adjacent careerpath. I'm honestly looking into engineering programs, abroad (possibly pre-DAFT).
>couldn't imagine living anywhere so flat and so far from forests / mountains
It's raining here in Appalachia. Soft little pitterpatters upon my tin roof.
Thanks for chatting. I've bookmarked your website for further inspiration =D
Nope, once we get PR we have the same rights as citizens except: we can't vote in national elections, and we can't leave the country for too long without losing the residency permit.
> I've bookmarked your website for further inspiration
Haha, last blog post was, what, 2 years ago!
I'm ten years behind, you're thoughts are very helpful =D
Maybe I'll neighbor you in two years (you get free electric help).
You could also lie and claim your address as a US address, and then just live in another country. This is obviously illegal, but I’ve met a few people who made it work for a while. But I’m also speaking abstractly on the internet, so maybe I’m just making all this up.
Many countries actively try to attract skilled migrants with simple, points-based immigration systems and fast processing times.
Simply having a bachelor's degree, 5+ years of work experience, and fluency in the local language will get you on the fast-track to a permanent working visa in many countries.
https://www.gov.uk/global-talent
If you qualify, you get a 'Tier 1' visa where you can work at any company without sponsorship, change jobs at any time just like a citizen, or start your own company with no fear of your visa being tied to a job. You can become a citizen yourself in 5 years.
Source: Am now UK citizen
Various other European countries have similar programs with different requirements. Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain are common places that a lot of US people go depending on what options they have to qualify and where they want to be. Spain has a digital nomad visa right now that is easy to get.
I was superprized it was as high as 80, assuming I can beleive the answer. I knew though that the USA is one of them. Also Singapore, since it was big news when the co-founder of Facebook did it.
If you read the article, you'd see that for some countries that is almost precisely what happens.