Why Should You Travel?

I have to confess that I hadn't heard about Rick Steves before now, but I really enjoyed this talk he gave at a TEDx conference (as you may know, TEDx isn't TED and it's been subject to some quality issues).

The Four Stages of Expat Life

Le Dernier Bar avant la Fin du Monde
Photo ruthlessly ganked from their site.
Used under Fair Use

Today I'm am very pleased to be heading to Le Dernier Bar avant la Fin du Monde, a geek bar here in Paris. As you may know, I've been helping people get jobs in Amsterdam and a gentleman from South America was offered one of the positions. By coincidence, he's visiting Paris, so my wife and I will be meeting him.

I believe (I could be mistaken) that this will be his first expat experience and that got me to thinking about how to be a successful expat. I define "successful" as "an expat who adjusts successfully to his or her new country." To succeed, it helps to know the four stages of being an expat.

Stage 1: The Honeymoon

The very first stage is the stage everyone anticipates when they dream of becoming an expat. You land in your new country and everything is magical. Accidentally brushing your teeth with hemorrhoid cream is something to laugh about. There is always something new to explore and even walking down the street is an adventure. It's like falling in love and nothing could possibly be wrong.

This stage usually lasts several weeks.

Stage 2: Homesickness

This is perhaps the hardest stage for an expat and it's the one that will cause them to pack it in and head home. There will come a point when you wake up and you would just love to share your adventures with your best friend or your sister and you can't. You want to meet them at a pub or restaurant, or just hang out at their place, but they're thousands of miles away.  Do not underestimate homesickness. People in witness protection programs have died because they gave in to their homesickness and wanted to see a bit of home. In this stage, accidentally brushing your teeth with hemorrhoid cream is something to cry about.

One key to surviving this stage is to establish a full routine and try to make it about the country. If the local language is different, take language classes. If you loved sports back home, follow local sports. Are you a political junkie? Learn the political leanings of the local newspapers and understand how the government works in your new home. Your new home won't really feel like home yet, but the more you understand it, the faster you can integrate.

Stage 3: Coping

You're finally becoming a true expat. In this stage, accidentally brushing your teeth with hemorrhoid cream is annoying.

When you get past the grief of homesickness, you're starting to adjust to your new life. You have a routine down, you probably follow the local news a bit and you're making real friends. Be careful, though: if all of your friends are expats, all of your friends will leave in the end. Make it a point to make friends with the people who have grown up in your new home. Not only will they help you to understand their culture better, you'll escape the rut of always looking at things through the eyes of a guest.

This is the second most dangerous stage of being an expat. While the immediately difficulties aren't as strong as the homesickness stage, this stage lasts a lot longer. As a result, we might even have more expats bailing out in Stage 3 than Stage 2. Continuing to work to integrate yourself into society will make this stage shorter and more pleasant.

Stage 4: Living

You're now completely an expatriate. Accidentally brushing your teeth with hemorrhoid cream just won't happen. You're fully integrated into your new life and while you will never really be a native, you're no longer the person you were. Nationality and nationalism might even become a bit of a fuzzy concept for you. Were you to return to your home country, you would likely feel out of place and struggle to cope.

These four stages last varying lengths of time and they're not exclusive. I've been permanently living abroad since 2006 and while I'm generally at Stage 4, I still experience the other stages — though not as much as I used to. Understanding these stages and how to cope with them is a great way to ensure your success as an expat.

Crime in Europe versus the US

Burglar Relief
Williamsburg Savings Bank Tower
Photo by wetman

When decided to be an expat, you naturally have to decide where to move. There are many things involved in that decision (not the least of which is "where can I move"), but crime has to be one of the more important considerations. After all, with the Honduras having the highest murder rate in the world, it's probably not your first choice of destination, right?

Are US renunciations five times higher than reported?

Image by Chuck Coker

Back in February, the final quarterly figures for Americans giving up their citizenship were released.  For 2012, 932 Americans were reported as giving up their citizenship, leading to one Web site claiming that there was a 48% Decrease in Number of Expatriates in 2012. Had the article referred to reported number of expatriates, it would be correct: the reported number of expatriates is indeed 48% lower than in 2011.

For those not aware of the background, section 6039G of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act has a bizarre provision about reporting US renunciants in the Federal Register. Thus, for those of us who are interested in such matters, we can download reports of Americans who have given up their citizenship. These reports have been widely criticized for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is their terrible inaccuracy. Names are omitted, misspelled, double-reported and so on.

But just how inaccurate are these reports? One year ago I wrote a post entitled More Americans Giving Up Citizenship Than Reported (read the comments, they're hilarious). In the replies to a follow-up to that post, an anonymous commenter has been leaving some rather interesting information and I've started to dig a little bit.

Given news reports that the US Embassy in Switzerland states they processed 411 renunciations in the first nine months of 2012, the official Treasury Department numbers seem low. If the renunciations are evenly distributed throughout the year (a questionable assumption), then Switzerland likely had over 500 renunciations, or over half of US renunciations I worldwide.

Tina Turner is no longer an American
Photo by Helge Øverås

If you think about, it's possible that Switzerland has a disproportionately higher number of renunciants. First, Switzerland is expensive and you're more likely to have high-earning expats there, meaning that they're more likely to be impacted by US taxation of expats and FATCA. Further, US expats in Switzerland must wait 12 years to claim citizenship, meaning that if everyone renouncing in Switzerland has Swiss citizenship, they, like Tina Turner, are probably more acclimated to living abroad than in countries which will give you citizenship in a much shorter time.

But over half of all renunciants in Switzerland? I don't buy it.  Given the numerous reports of US renunciants claiming they've had to wait months for appointments (and the US Embassy in Bern has redeployed people to keep up with the backlog of Americans trying to renounce), the number of renunciants being reported seems wrong. People have reported gone from waiting a few days for a renunciation appointment to five months. Enter NICS data.

The National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, is a system which requires Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) to consult it prior to selling many types of firearms. According to the NICS fact sheet:

The FFLs conducting business in these states will contact the NICS either by telephone, via one of the contracted call centers, or electronically by the NICS E-Check via the Internet. The FFLs will provide the descriptive information requested on the ATF Form 4473, which is required by law to be completed and signed by every prospective firearm transferee. The FFL will receive a response that the transfer may proceed or is delayed. This response is typically provided within 30 seconds.

So, to sell a gun to someone, you can usually find out within 30 seconds whether or not you can legally sell them the gun.

Interestingly, you can deny someone the right to purchase a gun if they've renounced their US citizenship. However, in the entire history of this NICS, only 58 people have been denied the right to purchase a gun based on having renounced citizenship (pdf). In other words, about five people a year fall into this category. However, if you dig further, you'll find out that the FBI publishes a report entitled "Active Records In The NICS Index".

Their January 2013 report (updated at the end of February, 2013), lists 21,308 people as being ineligible for buying firearms based on their having renounced citizenship. The January 2012 report lists 16,269 renunciants, for a total of 5,039 renunciations in 2012, or more than five times the official figures.

Where is the FBI getting these numbers from? I believe they are provided with CLNs (Certificate of Loss of Nationality) from the State Department as those are the only way of proving (that I know of) who are renunciants. However, I've not been able to prove this.

Hmm ... and in researching this, I find that Eric has reported about this over at the Isaac Brock Society web site. About 3,000 of the above renunciants were reported in October of last year. Did they get a large batch of CLNs from State? Who knows?

Interestingly, the Department of Treasure has filed a comment request about eliminating the publication expats names entirely. The comment period has closed. Let's hope it gets adopted.

Germany's Blue Card law is working

Photo by R/DV/RS

For would-be expats, there's some good news! In January I reported on the German news site heise.de's claims that not many skilled workers were being attracted by Germany's Blue Card law. At the time I wrote:

I can actually think of a few different issues causing the problem. First and foremost, it was reported after the law had been in effect only two months! I'm surprised that a brand new program taking time to get started is actually newsworthy, particularly when you consider that it can take months to find a new employee locally, much less internationally.

Note: Apparently that was published in November, about 3 months after the program started.

I thought it was idiocy to complain about a jobs program struggling when the program had been in place less time than it often takes to find a skilled worker. Couple that with reports I was getting about German government offices being confused over the implementation of the law and it was guaranteed that heise.de's reporting was a precipitous.

Well, here it just two months later and it looks like I was right.¹ The Economic Times, an Indian Web site, reports that the scheme is working very well:

Germany's blue card scheme, launched in August 2012 to offer highly educated and skilled non-EU candidates the opportunity to live and work in Germany and the rest of EU, has been very well received with over 4,000 such work permits issued already.

Of those 4,000 work permits, 983 were issued to Indians. According to an infographic on that page, the US attracts the second highest group of skilled immigrants.

As a recap of the German Blue Card Law:

• Have a job offer of at least €44K (€35K for some areas)
• Have a degree or equivalent experience.

Note that this is not for a particular type of job (i.e., "skilled workers"). Get that job offer and move! Germany is aggressively courting workers who add value to their economy and it's an incredible experiment. If you've wanted to move to Europe, take a look at Germany. I strongly suspect that Germany could be the economy to watch for the next decade or so.

---

1.Who would have thought that I might know a thing or two about immigration?

US expat evacuations: not what people think

We've turned your country into a parking
lot. The least we can do is evacuate you.

Over on Reddit, I asked people's opinions about why more Americans are planning on leaving the US. As is to be expected, when an expat pointed out that we're taxed by the US government and get nothing in return, there was the silly comment of "I wouldn't say you are paying taxes for nothing. If shit hits the fan in your country the US tax payers usually shell out to get your ass out of the country."

I hear this constantly. It seems like it's the last line of defense for those trying to justify the USA's unique worldwide taxation schema. However, Reddit user prezvdi replied to the above with a stunning response:

Do you have ANY experience to back this statement up?? I'm an American living & working in the UK since 2006. I was in Cairo, Egypt for work when the fun kicked off. I sat in the Cairo Marriott Hotel and watched the UK, the French, the Russian, the Dutch, the Chinese governments arrange for evac of their citizens. My company arranged my "departure" with no governmental assistance. I was safe at home in London when I saw on the BBC that finally the USA was going to send help. So yes, the US government will come to your aid. After nearly every other country on earth. Just hope your hotel isn’t overrun first.

I already knew that other countries often simply go in and rescue their citizens, but I didn't realize quite how bad it is for Americans abroad. After all, I live in France and I don't worry that much about the US needing to fly into Paris and rescue me.

So how does the US handle this situation? If they need to evacuate US citizens abroad, they will charge the full commercial rate. That's a US government document, but let me focus on some key bits:

Who will pay to evacuate me and my family? 

If commercial carriers are operating, the Embassy will recommend that you depart on your own and at your own expense. If you don’t have money to pay the fare, the Embassy can help you contact family and friends and assist in transferring money from them. In extreme circumstances, a destitute American wishing to return to the U.S. may qualify for a repatriation loan. The conditions for making such loans are stringent, and your passport will be limited until you repay the loan.

It goes on to say that if commercial carriers are not operating, the US government will charter aircraft, but still bill you the full commercial rate. While other governments are busy getting their citizens the hell out of danger, the US has the cash register open.

So do they bring you home? No. The FAQ explains: In most cases, the U.S. government will bring Americans to the nearest safe location, which is generally not the United States.

So if you're being evacuated from Pakistan, enjoy your stay in sunny Tadjikistan!

I've been trying to find out the evacuation procedures of other countries with little success. France appears to be quite willing to evacuate their citizens as needed and I can find no mention in French law about charging for said evacuation. The UK might charge for evacuation, but unlike the US, apparently has procedures in place to waive said charges when applicable.

So no, the US tax payers will not "shell out to get [my] ass out of the country." That again leaves me in the curious position of wondering why the US demands payments from expats when it gives nothing in return.

In reading through the US evacuation procedures, I noticed something else curious, but first, a digression.

My wife and I have agreed that if we ever have a second child, it will be by adoption. However, US adoption laws are quite clear about how I can pass on US citizenship to an adopted child:

1. One parent is a U.S. Citizen by birth or through naturalization; and
2. The child is under the age of 18; and
3. The child is residing in the United States as a lawful permanent resident alien (that is to say has entered the U.S. on an immigrant visa and has an alien resident card) and is in the legal and physical custody of the U.S. citizen parent; and
4. If the child is adopted, the adoption must be final. If the adoption is to be finalized in the United States, the child becomes eligible for citizenship once the adoption process is completed.

Due to point 3 above, our adopted child wouldn't be a US citizen. One of my children would be a US citizen and the other one would not. Under French law, there is absolutely no legal distinction between biological and adopted children. Under US law, adopted children aren't even second-class citizens if they're living overseas! Of course, this isn't the only way that US parents can discover that their children aren't allowed to be US citizens, but it does have one unlikely, but particularly nasty, consequence.

Imagine that we've adopted a second little girl, my family up and moves to somewhere in the Maghreb and a civil war breaks out and I get killed. If the US is evacuating their citizens, according to their evacuation plans (emphasis mine):

If a child does not have an American parent or guardian in-country, the U.S. government will allow one adult to travel with the child on an evacuation flight. If there is more than one American child in the same family, only one adult escort will be permitted. Non-American siblings will not be provided evacuation assistance.

Got that? The US would be kind enough to allow my non-American wife to accompany our French-American daughter, but her sister would have to be left behind. Fortunately, the French would step in and help out, but honestly, does the US really need to be that explicitly cruel? How often does this situation happen that the US has felt the need to explicitly deny non-American siblings of American children the right to be evacuated to safety?

USA: the land of the cold-hearted cash register.

Gay Expats

I have no idea if these men are gay
Photo by Jakkaphan Sanitprem

Brandon Perlberg is an American who is reluctantly living in London. He lived in New York City and loved both the city and his country, but his country wouldn't let him apply for a visa for his male partner of seven years. Brandon's partner, Benn Storey, however, is British and Britain approved Brandon's visa within 48 hours. Brandon had to give up his law career in New York for a new live abroad in order to remain with the man he loved.

Even more interesting is the fact that Perlberg and Storey could have legally married in New York state, but under the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), that marriage could not be used to apply for a visa for Storey.


According to the Love Exiles Web site, the following countries all allow a same-sex partner or spouse to be sponsored for immigration.

• Argentina
• Australia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Brazil
• Canada
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Iceland
• Israel
• The Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Portugal
• South Africa
• Spain
• Sweden
• United Kingdom

Note that this list is probably not complete and will grow over time as more countries throw overcome bigotry and fear. The US may join this list soon. President Obama has already proposed allowing immigration rights to same-sex couples, a promising step. It would help to solve problems like those of "Tom'" and "Bill", an American/Thai couple living in Thailand. They would like to live in the US and take care of Bill's elderly parents, but they can't because of US law. It's time to end this bigotry.

If you'd like to help everyone realize their dream of being an expat, regardless of sexual orientation, the following Web sites are a good start:

• http://www.loveexiles.org/
• http://immigrationequality.org/
• http://marriageequality.org/

See also, this mailbag post I wrote abut bringing over a same-sex partner to France.

No, Bill Clinton can't run for the French Presidency

No, this man cannot become
the next president of France.

There appears to be a persistent belief that if you live in any of the US states acquired in the Louisiana Purchase, you can quickly acquire French citizenship. This was sparked, in part, by none other than Bill Clinton claiming that he could become President of France. He said:

And because I was born in Arkansas, which is part of the Louisiana Purchase, any person anywhere in the world that was born in a place that ever was part of the French empire, if you move to — if you live in France for six months and speak French, you can run for president.

Bill Clinton said this in 2012, but was unaware that this interesting quirk of French law was eliminated in 2006.

Returning to your home country

Home, Sweet ... er ... Home
Photo by SEIER+SEIER

No matter whether or not you plan to return to your home country, many expats do. Sometimes they miss family and friends. Sometimes homesickness takes them. Sometimes the great job/relationship/adventure just ends. If you're returning home after a few months abroad, you'll probably readjust quickly. However, if you've been living abroad for a few years, be prepared to face some issues that many "repatriates" report.

American firm gets hurt by ignoring Dutch law

Fire him at your peril.
Public Domain

For would-be expats eyeing jobs in Europe, you might find yourself wondering what would happen if you moved there and got fired. Would you have to go back? Well, you're probably not going to get fired unless you really, really deserve it.

A perfect example comes from a recent event with a US company in the Netherlands. Though the US firm is unnamed, they had very recently developed a presence in the Netherlands and decided thy were unhappy with the HR manager. So the manager was written up and fired five days later.


The courts awarded the employee 300,000 euros (approximately $390,990 US).

Yes, you read that correctly. While the amount certainly seems excessive, the details are far too scant to know (maybe that's the amount of a bonus which was missed out on or something). In any event, employee relations in Europe are far, far different from what they are in the US. Here's how it works in the US: I don't like the color of your shirt. You're fired.

Most US states are "at will" employment:

[Any] hiring is presumed to be "at will"; that is, the employer is free to discharge individuals "for good cause, or bad cause, or no cause at all," and the employee is equally free to quit, strike, or otherwise cease work.

Obviously, this is not an equal situation and in Europe, it's a bit absurd. If you land a job in Europe, you're safe (relative to how you might be treated in the US).

As a general rule, if you want to fire someone in Europe you'll need to have a paper trail documenting why you're firing someone. You need to be able to show cause and except for exceptional cases (e.g., theft), you need to show that you tried to work with the employee to resolve the situation. Naturally this is a gross generalization because there are many countries in Europe and many different sets of laws, but it seems to hold true in the various countries I've lived in or read about.

And for those who assume that these lazy socialists workers will just take advantage of their poor employers, I beg to differ. There's no safety net in the US and one wrong step can leave you unemployed. Sure, you'll probably earn a bit of a higher salary, but if you appreciate quality of life over quantity ... well ... I know I'm on the right side of the pond.

Congress Again Gunning for Expats

US Capitol Building
Photo is public domain

In the latest round of attacks against expats, the US "do-nothing" Congress is nonetheless very, very concerned about making life more difficult for expats abroad. In a fairly angry post on isaacbrocksociety.ca, user Eric provides details of the latest bills targeting expats.

Would you attend a "how to become an expat" seminar?

Your author speaking at a
conference in Germany
Photo by Claudio Ramirez

I've been writing this blog for years now. There is a huge amount of information here and it's getting to the point where the would-be expat is going to love the information, but find it very hard to find all of the information that's relevant to their needs. Or maybe they just wouldn't know where to start.

I've been thinking about this problem and I have an idea of how to solve it. Starting in May, I'm going freelance. I already have a nice contract lined up (and working with some awesome people), but I'll have a bit more flexibility in what I do and that gives me an opportunity.