Hello, I would appreciate any comments or recommendation on my situation.
Before I came to Switzerland I lived in US and had a green card. I applied for US citizenship and was in the process when I moved to Switzerland, intending to stay for a year max. When I arrived, I was not American citizen. Well, a few months later I did go to US and by this time my citizenship was processed, and I got it. Came back to Switzerland, still without intention to stay for long.
Well, 12 years later I am still here, and even am eligible for naturalization. The problem is that I did not mention my American passport anywhere, first because it did not exist, later because I wanted to avoid FATCA and long questionnaires in the banks, etc. I believe that I am clean from taxation point of view, do not have many assets, etc.
I do want to stay in Switzerland for the years to come, and would love to become a Swiss citizen. How can I come out about my American passport? Any thoughts or ideas will be highly appreciated.
K
I can’t help you but I can appreciate your reasons for hiding your US citizenship. Fatca sucks.
Why would you need to mention it at all?
Tom
If you have no assets then no problem. However, if your total wealth exceeds 10K then you have to report. Also, if you have income, it must be declared to the IRS. I.E. All Americans must fill out each year the US tax forms. As for coming out, assume it must be declared to your Gemeinde. Especially if asked when you applied for citizenship.
Or you could just arrange to renounce said citizenship at the Bern embassy.
Thank you for all your comments. I am concerned about the Swiss side, not American. I did not have any income in US, and I paid taxes on both sides of the pond.
Shall I just go to Gemeinde and say "btw, I've been American almost all of the years I lived here"? If they say "oh, well, just mark this and this, and let's proceed", I would be extremely happy. But would they?
Or is it most likely more complicated? Shall I find a layer to "interpret" my case?
I know when I was registering here I had my EU passport and my non EU with me. They didn't want to know about the Non-EU one and told me to put it back in my bag.
Could this be the case for you as well?
@Medea Fleecestealer "Or you could just arrange to renounce said citizenship at the Bern embassy"
And then just pretend it wasn't there in the first place???
If no one knows about it but you, yes. As you haven’t been filing tax returns since moving here you could just ignore the requirement to make sure you’re up to date after renouncing as well. What the IRS don’t know won’t hurt them.
It’s not really necessary for the Swiss authorities to know about your other nationalities apart from the one you entered the country with. They don’t care as it doesn’t affect your status here. Your main problem could be if/when your bank/s find out you have American citizenship since most will not touch Americans with a barge pole and you “hiding” the fact that you are will likely mean your account/s being closed asap.
It really depends on how much you want to keep it, given you worked to apply for it. If it doesn’t mean that much to you then renounce. If it does or you think some day you may go back there to live/work then keep it.
I’d keep the two situations separate. Proceed with naturalisation with the Swiss based upon the nationality you had when you arrived.
With the US I think you need to normalise the situation with them. Accordance it FACTA you do owe them, at least, a tax declaration from the time you received your green card. Here you might need a US tax expert to guide you.
While you may not owe the US any money, you are best renouncing your US citizenship and they WILL want you to normalise your tax situation. Pain in the ass and perhaps in the wallet. Who knows you might win the lottery one day and you certainly don’t want to share that with Uncle Sam.
Swiss government won’t care a bit, only people who would care would be your bank.
I was in your situation. Fact is the Swiss government doesn't care. They won't even ask. It's your business, no need to voluntarily divulge anything. There are no Swiss tax or other ramifications, so why do they even need to know?
The US, however, requires you to file tax returns and report foreign bank accounts etc. That's a different can of worms.
Just don't mention it to you bank.
Not even the green card.
Never ever.
And renounce ASAP, unless you want to return at some point.
As long as you have been correctly declaring your assets for tax purposes here it does not matter how many other citizenships you have nor when you acquired them.
The only issue is that you failed to disclose the details your bank and that is a matter between you and them.
"Just" renounce
It costs $2,400 or whatever to do, and the current waiting list is 18 months.
Mind you, I find the above worth it, since my appointment is slated for 11 months from now
Thanks everyone for your advice and comments. They're really really helpful -- I have been pondering this question for a few years now and quite stressed about it. Should have tapped collective wisdom earlier...
I have to think about renouncing, as my two kids were born there, and are therefore Americans by birth. Now they are both Swiss too, do not really have much relation to US and any desire to go there. But who knows?
As for the taxes, I filed them in both countries and hope I did it correctly.
Again, thanks a lot!!!
In the good old days (2009), it was the only thing that they ever did for me for free.
Tom
I never thought my kids would go to the US but both have now spent longer periods in the States. Don't renounce your children's US passports. That's something they should decide on as adults.
The Swiss only care about the one that you are using to use for your citizenship.
Tom
Get some professional advice. I know a family, 3 girls - 2 born in US, that went through the process when the youngest turned 21. It was extremely complicated and took a lot of time and money. None of the girls had ever filed tax returns with the US and that had to be done retroactively. They even had to declare their baby-sitting income!