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For those looking to renounce their U.S. citizenship, Mike Gogulski has chronicled and documented the whole paperwork-heavy process on his blog: http://www.nos
by arto 11y ago
For those looking to renounce their U.S. citizenship, Mike Gogulski has chronicled and documented the whole paperwork-heavy process on his blog:
http://www.nostate.com/about/ http://www.nostate.com/about/
In his case, after submitting the paperwork and burning his passport on YouTube, he chose to not get another citizenship, which means he's now stateless.
- jacquesm 11y agoBeing stateless is not a good thing. It might seem that because you're member of none you are superior to all but having citizenship is not just a tax burden, it also allows you to partake in a lot of activities (such as travel, commerce and so on). Getting bank accounts and other goodies when you're stateless is rather troublesome.
- rtpg 11y agoCitizenship is also not a tax burden for most citizenships
- arto 11y ago> Being stateless is not a good thing. That's wholly a matter of individual preference. I know Mike Gogulski personally and I can attest to him being quite happy having made the choices he did, and no longer being part of what he perceives as an evil empire. The tax question never factored into his decision, it was moral questions that preoccupied him.
- jacquesm 11y agoI applaud the mans morals but I foresee some practical complications in such trivalities as child-birth, hospitalization, estate planning (and eventual execution) and so on. None of those may apply to him and he's apparently thought this through very well but the wheels of government have a very annoying habit of grinding on with or without your consent and by placing yourself purposefully outside of the system you might find one day that this can backfire. I sincerely hope he has a back-up plan if he ever needs to be part of some formally recognized entity again, it's easier to lose a citizenship than it is to gain one.
- VLM 11y agoFor all practical purposes having Nicaraguan citizenship does nothing for the guy who empties the wastebaskets at work. From what little high school spanish I can remember, he seems fairly happy and unconcerned about all these supposed problems you list. He might be the first stateless person in your area, but I assure you he's unlikely to be the first non-american citizen in your area to have a child or visit the hospital or whatever else.
- jacquesm 11y agoThat he's unconcerned does not mean the problems of undocumented citizens aren't real. It likely means that he's simply not going to make too much of a point of it because it is not in his power to make a change.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- morgante 11y ago> which means he's now stateless Knowing some people who are involuntarily stateless, I can't imagine why someone would ever voluntarily give up their citizenship. It makes traveling, financing, and generally living incredibly citizenship.
- arto 11y agoYou don't have to imagine, it's all chronicled on his blog. Gogulski's life is an open book.
- michaelhoffman 11y agoHuh, I thought the U.S. wouldn't allow renunciation unless you had some other nationality already. Apparently they will.
- HillRat 11y agoSurprisingly enough, the relevant State guidance does say that the US will not prevent an individual from renouncing his or her citizenship even if they do not have another allegiance, though it recommends the consular official specifically warn such people of the difficulties of being stateless. I've only known one truly stateless individual, but he was an Air Force officer in FRY who was in the U.S. on a joint NATO program when the civil war started, so the Pentagon worked with State to give him special status. Not the usual case.