foster.jordan•27d agoMost Upvoted

Getting my German passport felt weirdly disappointing

I finally picked up my German passport at the consulate in Chicago last week after waiting 14 months for the appointment... and I just felt like, okay, now what? Everyone acts like it's this huge win but nobody warns you that the real work is figuring out which country's rules to follow for taxes and driving.

3 comments

3 Comments

the_brian27d ago

I heard a podcast where a guy said getting a second passport is like buying a fire extinguisher. You're glad you have it, but you never actually want to use it. The tax stuff is way more real than people talk about. Germany even claims social security for years you lived in the US under some agreement. It's not just a trophy, it's a whole new set of paperwork.

the_christopher27d ago

Does that mean I was wrong about dual citizenship being all sunshine and rainbows?

jessej2326d ago

Wait, you mean my shiny new passport doesn't come with a tax accountant and a lawyer thrown in for free? All that paperwork just so Germany can remind me I owe them money for the years I was living in a different country, what a bargain. The fire extinguisher analogy is perfect, except my fire extinguisher doesn't send me a bill every April for "potential fires I might have started." Guess the real prize is figuring out which government gets to take the biggest cut of my paycheck, huh?