Tax implications of obtaining German, Italian or Portuguese citizenship

[BigPrize]

I am a non-EU citizen and I have the possibility of obtaining, due to ancestry (long story), Portuguese, Italian or German citizenship.

I don't intend to move to any of these countries (at least not in the short term) but I would be interested in the opportunities that it may open up for my children in terms of freedom of movement for study and work in the future. Is there any potential local tax implication that I should be aware of in case I obtain any (or maybe more than one) of these citizenships? AFAIK, there should be no tax consequences in my current place of tax residency.

 

[JohnnyDoe]

No tax implications, at least for now these countries apply taxation based on residence, not citizenship.

 

[BigPrize]

At a high level, that was my impression, but I was wondering if I am missing some slightly more nuanced stuff, like inheritance tax, moving your residency to low tax jurisdictions in the future, etc.

 

[Allisgood]

It’s not related to taxes - but if you have a non-EU citizenship, Germany in most cases will ask you to renounce that citizenship when you become German. So be careful about that. They are planning to amend this law but they haven’t yet. The other two are fine with you keeping your original citizenship.

 

[BigPrize]

It’s not related to taxes - but if you have a non-EU citizenship, Germany in most cases will ask you to renounce that citizenship when you become German. So be careful about that. They are planning to amend this law but they haven’t yet. The other two are fine with you keeping your original citizenship.

Yes, thanks for your comment. The somewhat exceptional case that I am eligible to use allows me to retain my previous non-EU citizenships, but I aware that if I get German citizenship, I am potentially losing it if I obtain any non-EU citizenship after that. Hopefully they get the amendment through later this year to make it more flexible.

 

[jafo]

Get the German one first and work your way down. I exercised all my options in the past. I have all of the ones I can legally get. If and when one decides to become like the US and require tax worldwide regardless of residency, I'll renounce it.

 

[banafinfodafuggiano]

I am a non-EU citizen and I have the possibility of obtaining, due to ancestry (long story), Portuguese, Italian or German citizenship.

I don't intend to move to any of these countries (at least not in the short term) but I would be interested in the opportunities that it may open up for my children in terms of freedom of movement for study and work in the future. Is there any potential local tax implication that I should be aware of in case I obtain any (or maybe more than one) of these citizenships? AFAIK, there should be no tax consequences in my current place of tax residency.

if you don't live in those countrys, there are no tax implications.

Honestly, if I was you, I would apply for all those citizenships right now without further waiting. Citizenship Laws change fast, in worse.

 

[blancmon229]

if you don't live in those countrys, there are no tax implications.

Honestly, if I was you, I would apply for all those citizenships right now without further waiting. Citizenship Laws change fast, in worse

I am a non-EU citizen and I have the possibility of obtaining, due to ancestry (long story), Portuguese, Italian or German citizenship.

I don't intend to move to any of these countries (at least not in the short term) but I would be interested in the opportunities that it may open up for my children in terms of freedom of movement for study and work in the future. Is there any potential local tax implication that I should be aware of in case I obtain any (or maybe more than one) of these citizenships? AFAIK, there should be no tax consequences in my current place of tax residency.

Even though you are applying through your ancestry, it will take you 2-5 years to have your passport in hand. Portuguese will take minimum 3-4 years if you're lucky. So might as well file now.

 

[banafinfodafuggiano]

Even though you are applying through your ancestry, it will take you 2-5 years to have your passport in hand. Portuguese will take minimum 3-4 years if you're lucky. So might as well file now.

With the right lawyer and with $$$ you can get it faster.

 

[Sailorman]

Re Italy, this is good English-language site to familarize yourself with some details: https://taxing.it/