Renunciation and Relinquishment of United States Citizenship: Discussion thread (Ask your questions) Part Two
Ask your questions about Renunciation and Relinquishment of United States Citizenship and Certificates of Loss of Nationality.
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NB: This discussion is a continuation of an older discussion that became too large for our software to handle well. See Renunciation and Relinquishment of United States Citizenship: Discussion thread (Ask your questions) Part One
@ Authentic,
Bonne chance, not that you’ll need it. Thanks for posting your timeline — Halifax sounds really organised and on the ball. Have a great day tomorrow!
@Alex,
Good to hear all went well with your renunciation — Frankfurt sounds like a really good experience! Great you have your CLN now! Thanks very much for sharing your story with us.
@pacifica
yes. frankfurt is very professional and organized.
but they apparently will only take you if you are german citizen and resident in Germany
so limited for most people.
thanks to contributors on this site, like yourself, who provided invaluable information
before and during the process.
@alex, I expect that’s because they’ve had a lot of people coming into the country just to renounce so had to change the rules.
I moved to Canada when I was 5, and as far as I am concerned, I am 100% Canadian even though I was born in the US. I recently opened an investment account and was surprised to find I was supposed to have been filing taxes in the US as well.
Now that I know a bit more about the US policies with regards to taxation of expats, I really am feeling motivated to correct this and renounce something that has no meaning to me except headaches. I’ve never filed in the US, and don’t even have a SSN.
I’m feeling a very lost, any ideas where to start?
Thanks
SeanC, it sounds like you should be able to relinquish. This won’t cost you any money, you won’t need an SSN and you won’t need to file any US taxes. Just call the consulate and schedule an appointment to relinquish.
SeanC,
Did you move to Canada with US or Canadian parents? Were you born a US / Canadian dual citizen in the US or were you born to US parents, with only with US citizenship, and later took the oath of allegiance, becoming a citizen of Canada? If born a ‘dual citizen’, the rules say you must renounce rather than relinquish (unless you took the oath of allegiance for a government job). You can read more about requirements for relinquishment vs renunciation at the the Consulate Report Directory link at http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/consulate2/.
Thanks for the quick replies!
I was born a US Citizen, and became a Canadian when I was 4 or 5 (I’d have to check, we moved when I was 5). One of my parents was Canadian, one American.
I’ll have a look at the link, thanks again.
@ Sean
Could you clarify if were you born on a US citizen or a dual citizen?
If you were born US-citizen-only and acquired Canadian citizenship by naturalisation with the intention of ending your US citizenship at the same time, you would apply for your CLN based on that act and it would be backdated to the date of that act. (Immigration and Nationalities Act, s. 349(a)(1))
If you were born a dual citizen, did you do any act that could result in your having reilnquished.US citizenship? (INA, s. 349(a)(2),(3),(4)) LIkewise the CLN would be backdated to the date of that act.
Otherwise if you were born a dual citizen, you would have to renounce. (INA, s. 349(a)(5))
Immigration and Nationalities Act
It’s here! E-mailed the embassy in Bern this morning to find out how they send the CLN out as I’m going on holiday at the end of the week. They said it would be ready to send out by the end of the week so I’ve just e-mailed back to see if I can pick it up on Thursday before I go. So it’s taken about 6 weeks from renunciation to hopefully getting my hands on it.
@Medea Fleecestealer
That’s fantastic – congratulations!
Yay!! 😀
Media Fleecestealer
Congratulations, what a feeling hey.
Thanks notamused and MonaLisa1776. What a feeling indeed, Authentic. I had just written to them because I was afraid that they might send it in the post by recorded/registered delivery while I was away. To get a message back that it would be ready this week was totally unexpected as I figured 2 months would be the earliest I could get it. I’m so excited.
Can’t hold back, TOO much Joy, Have to share. I just woke up from the best night’s sleep in close to 4 months. We’re on our way back from Halifax Consular meeting yesterday. It’s done, I will have my CLN in approx. 3 months, they gave me a receipt to use until then. It went so well, not a negative word was said, just as we had foreseen. Lasted approx. 1 hour, and it was a Relinquishment as planned. I’ll be giving a full report real soon (am I right Calgary that I should report this under “Counsular report Directory discussion thread”?
Thanks everyone, I will be forever gratefull for all your help.
Oh wow, good news flowing in from everywhere. Congrats Authentic. So pleased it went well for you.
More good news for me. I can collect mine from the embassy on Thursday. In my excitement I’d forgotten that my OH has a doctor’s appointment that day so will be home and we can go to Bern to pick it up. Sent another e-mail to the embassy asking if it would be possible and they said yes, it will be ready and waiting for me. Hoorah! This has really made my day.
Congratulations, Authentic! It’s a great feeling wrapping it up — Joy is the word indeed! Leaving the consulate, I felt a real sense of suddenly being back in reality and I’m sure you do too. Great to hear you’re all through and CLN arrival is in the near future (and with luck maybe sooner).
Looking forward to your report! Yes, Consulate Report Directory would be the best thread to post it on. Thanks for keeping us all informed.
That’s great news, Medea! Quite a surprise as well how you found out! What a relief, especially it being so necessary to have one in Switzerland. Congratulations! And I won’t even bother to say “And have a great holiday” because I know you will 🙂
Huge congratulations for your TOO much joy, Authentic1213. Appreciated are the efficient, common-sense, respectful renunciations and relinquishments for those completing their appointments at the Halifax, Canada consulate.
Thanks for your report here, Authentic. It will become part of the support being given to others, just as you found. And, yes, the Consulate Report directory thread is the perfect place to report receipt of your CLN in approximately three months.
Medea, good news all around indeed. Congratulations. Safe journey to Bern to pick up that important documentation on Thursday! Thanks for all of your input here. It’s been valuable. Glad you’re in the final lap of your process!
@medea and authentic
Congratulations to both of you.
@Authentic,
Halifax really sounds first class. To have a receipt is really great. And you received the same info that both Dawid and I did last week in Vancouver – receipt of CLNs is about 3 months.
Sean C.. You have a lot of hard work to do. It ain’t easy or simple but take your time and get it right.
There is no rush. First, determine if you are a dual citizen from birth. One parent was Canadian so you can take that position.
Secondly, you probably didn’t lose your US citizenship because you have to be older than 18 to relinquish.
So, you are adual cit from birth. That means you can go to a US consulate and RENOUNCE us citizenship.
After that, you will be advised to contact the IRS. They will tell you that in order to be free you are supposed to file 5 years of taxes up to a complete year before the yr. you renounce. After that you file a form 8854. Having been born a dual cit, you are NOT subject to an exit tax and cannot be a ‘covered expatriate’. Avoid OVDI. The streamlined disclosure is a possibility if you are low risk.
Start here
http://web.archive.org/web/20120905233555/http://www.renunciationguide.com/Renunciation-Process-Step-By-Step.html
Let google be your friend If you are a tiny minnow, you have nothing to worry about and can do it yourself. Good luck.
@Sean C
Following up on KalC’s comment, if you go the dual citizen from birth route, you’d probably want to have formal documentation to back that up. If you don’t have such documentation, you’ll likely need to apply for a Citizenship Certificate from Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), as this document will state from when you’re considered to be a Canadian citizen. Unfortunately the current waiting time is 6 months, although you can make a case for having your application expedited. See http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/certif.asp.
I imagine if the exit tax is not a concern and you thus don’t feel the need to prove you’re a dual from birth, then any proof of Canadian citizenship (passport?) is good enough.
@KalC
Thanks for the information. I am not a Canadian by birth, and according to what I have found online one was not automatically granted citizenship if one of your parents was Canadian in the late 70s. I became a citizen in the early 80s when we moved here through my mother applying on my behalf.
@tdott
I have my citizenship card already, so I’ll just do that. I’m getting together the things I need, and will likely just make an appointment to go to Calgary and renounce when I can. Wish it was closer, though. 🙂
I don’t expect a problem on the exit tax… I haven’t had enough time to build up much in the way of savings and don’t make enough to be considered a “covered expatriate”.
All relinquishment papers are together to present to Calgary on the appointment date. The only proof of Canadian citizenship we have is a wallet sized plasticized card with picture, height, weight and date of birth but no date when citizenship was acquired. I know this is all they issued in 1980. Is this OK? Also of course have a Canadian passport. I assume there is no need for the larger recently issued commemorative certificate which came into effect in 2012. Thanks