On the other hand, I wouldn't recommend living in Uruguay; I had very good reasons to leave and I don't see myself returning anytime soon. And I'd argue any European passport is better than an Uruguay one - you can freely live and work in Europe, and you can visit the US without any visa.
I've read about your reasons for leaving (security), and sadly, I have to agree that they're still an issue (and I'd love living in Switzerland).
I think the risk can be minimized though. Ideally I'd want to live in Punta del Este or Maldonado rather than Montevideo, and the countryside is still pretty safe (though a computer nerd might die of boredom there :P ).
If its not too personal can you share some general information what nationality you have or had while applying to the German citizenship and what were the main reasons it didn't work out.
When he went to obtain a German citizenship, he was asked to bring in a lot of additional paperwork (a church birth certificate being one I think). One of my uncles went to Germany to try to obtain it, but it was in vain.
I wasn't going to be granted German citizenship unless my grandfather, and then my father, were granted German citizenship.
My grandfather was as German as they come, but due to those quirks he wasn't granted citizenship, and so I wasn't able to.
I'd be curious to know why this is the case for you.
Another example: people trying to hijack a car stopped in a traffic light. In broad daylight. While a news crew was filming. And a policeman was standing 100m away: https://plus.google.com/+GabrielGambetta/posts/fbZo1YVLeet
They have also given too much power to the unions, to the point that they can legally steal a factory from their owners, for example (in a nutshell, occupying it until it goes bankrupt, and then assuming control "to save jobs") Also, just before their first term in power, Uruguay had just came out of a terrible economic crisis that affected the whole region; basically, Argentina fell, and Uruguay is too small and dependent to have avoided it (and the old government was blamed). During the last decade the whole region has improved, so the economic situation in Uruguay is quite good right now (and the new government takes credit). But the worst thing is the way they're squandering this money in sort-of-well-meaning but very badly implemented "social" policies, so when the "up" economic cycle turns into a "down" economic cycle and the easy money runs out, there will be no reserves, a disfunctional and violent society, truly pathetic education level [3],... it's a ticking bomb.
[1] http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/ninos-mataron-amigo-hor... (two kids, 11 and 14, killed their 11 year old friend with a machete, and then went playing football)
[2] http://www.taringa.net/posts/info/15613143/Mujica-el-terrori... http://diurnarius.com/jose-mujica-de-ladron-a-presidente/ http://www.periodistadigital.com/opinion/politica/2009/11/30...
(When Australia hosted the Summer Olympics, it was actually winter in Australia.)
http://travel.state.gov/content/travel/english/legal-conside...
but only if the act is performed (1) voluntarily and (2) with the intention of relinquishing U.S. citizenship.
Is the key point.
http://www.richw.org/dualcit/ - start here
http://www.richw.org/dualcit/faq.html - the meat of it is here
If you become a U.S. citizen, you're expected to renounce your other nationalities.
Edit: The biggest case was Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin renouncing U.S. citizenship for the tax savings
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduardo_Saverin
2nd Edit: some discussion on Hacker News
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3979669 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4416258
http://www.immihelp.com/citizenship/dual-citizenship-recogni...
"“I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen…” from the Oath of Allegiance "
http://www.newcitizen.us/dual.html
apparently it is not binding:
" the oath has never been enforced to require the actual termination of original citizenship"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_nationality_law#c...
Edit: can you ask your family if they took that oath, or is the information obsolete? Until now, I thought it was an actual requirement to renounce other citizenships.
Source: happily kept both passports.
Check out Belize and Costa Rica. Neither country will tax you at all. You even will qualify for a special residency visa!
Greeting from Greece!
“I feel about the same obligation to file US tax papers as you would if the supreme court of Uruguay all of a sudden decided you were a citizen and had to file a tax return there,” he tells the Guardian.
By the way, Uruguayan citizenship is VERY easy to acquire. American expatriates (and dollars :) ) welcome here :)
Edit: easy as in requirements. There's a lot of paperwork involved.
http://nomadcapitalist.com/2014/03/09/top-5-best-second-resi...
http://flagtheory.com/citizenship-in-uruguay/
"It will take approximately 3 years for a married couple, with a good amount of time spent in country. For singles, it will take 5 years – with a similar amount of time in country. This makes Uruguay more attractive for married couples rather than a single applicant.
Uruguay wants you to prove your residence by documentation – sometimes odd documents such as a doctor’s appointment slip, a library card. The idea is that they really want you to prove you are actually living in the country. This documentation is again, not always what you might expect – so document everything and when in doubt – shoe box it.
After you have received permanent residency, you should talk to an abogado about citizenship and travel document options. Again, permanent residency is required to be able to receive any kind of travel documents. Further, a cedula is somewhat considered a travel document as well and can allow you to get around South America in many instances.
Strong Travel Document
A Uruguayan passport is one of the strongest in the world. Under this passport, you can visit Europe visa free, and most Uruguayans have a 10 year American visa."