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It also means that we Americans working* abroad are radioactive for anything financial beyond a simple bank account or mortgage. Absolutely no one in Germany wa

It also means that we Americans working* abroad are radioactive for anything financial beyond a simple bank account or mortgage. Absolutely no one in Germany wants to deal with a brokerage account for me. Though my husband was all for adding me to his accounts, I’ve carefully kept our finances separate to prevent the nightmare scenario of a bank deciding its American customers are no longer worth the trouble and neither of us being able to get at our money, which happened to some Americans when FATCA was first introduced, and also so at least one of us can buy ETFs in an uncomplicated manner. * As in, not wealthy enough to be well beyond having to work

seanmcdirmid 3y ago
> Absolutely no one in Germany wants to deal with a brokerage account for me. I lived outside for 11 years, but in Switzerland before the crackdown on American accounts. China was no problem, even with FACTA, they just didn't care much, even for investments. If your husband has a USA permanent resident or on an immigrant visa, the same that applies to you applies to him as well, FACTA applies to all US citizens as well as residents.
- MandieD 3y ago
  Neither is the case for him... when we were first talking about the long term, he was willing to consider living in the US for at least a few years, since he's always enjoyed his visits. Then I talked to enough acquaintances who had Green Card drama for German citizen spouses who had only ever lived in Germany that I dropped the idea. People complain about German bureaucracy, but I've found the residence permit process to be relatively straightforward and well-documented, and reasonably priced. They were clear about what documents they needed from us and when, and even helped me out when I nearly got stuck here because I applied for a renewal a bit too close to a trip to the States.
  - seanmcdirmid 3y ago
    US green card for a spouse to come over as an immigrant is also pretty easy, we didn't even need a lawyer for it, just one trip to Guangzhou.

seanmcdirmid 3y ago

> Absolutely no one in Germany wants to deal with a brokerage account for me. I lived outside for 11 years, but in Switzerland before the crackdown on American accounts. China was no problem, even with FACTA, they just didn't care much, even for investments. If your husband has a USA permanent resident or on an immigrant visa, the same that applies to you applies to him as well, FACTA applies to all US citizens as well as residents.

MandieD 3y ago
Neither is the case for him... when we were first talking about the long term, he was willing to consider living in the US for at least a few years, since he's always enjoyed his visits. Then I talked to enough acquaintances who had Green Card drama for German citizen spouses who had only ever lived in Germany that I dropped the idea. People complain about German bureaucracy, but I've found the residence permit process to be relatively straightforward and well-documented, and reasonably priced. They were clear about what documents they needed from us and when, and even helped me out when I nearly got stuck here because I applied for a renewal a bit too close to a trip to the States.
- seanmcdirmid 3y ago
  US green card for a spouse to come over as an immigrant is also pretty easy, we didn't even need a lawyer for it, just one trip to Guangzhou.