Dual Citizenship? (Please respond ASAP)

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Forum -> Inquiries & Offers -> Israel related Inquiries & Aliyah Questions

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FranticFrummie

Sun, Feb 22 2015, 11:11 pm

I'm waiting for my ex to give approval for me to take DD to Israel. He has a question on the form where it says "I am aware of the possibility of my child becoming an Israeli citizen."

I thought that when you made Aliyah, you were automatically a citizen. If not, how long does it take? Once your officially Israeli, do you have to give up your American citizenship, or can you keep that, too?

My ex's main concern is that once we're settled in Israel, DD may decide that she hates it there and will want to come back to the US - and that will be pretty hard to do without a US passport or citizenship.

I've combed the N b'N website, but I couldn't find the answer. I sent an email to my Jewish Agency rep, but in the meantime I thought maybe someone here would know.

TIA!

boysrus

Sun, Feb 22 2015, 11:12 pm

you dont lose your american citizenship
you will be dual citizens

PAMOM

Sun, Feb 22 2015, 11:14 pm

You can definitely keep American citizenship. You only become an Israeli citizen when you declare your intentions to do so snd begin your rights as a new immigrant. This is an oversimplification but it will give you what you immediately need to know.

sequoia

Sun, Feb 22 2015, 11:20 pm

She will certainly not lose her American citizenship. Why would anyone think that?

DrMom

Sun, Feb 22 2015, 11:32 pm

When you make aliyah, you automatically become an Israeli citizen.

The US recognizes dual citizenship with Israel.

Unless you specifically march into the US Embassy/Consulate and declare that you want to relinquish your US citizenship, you retain your American citizenship when you make aliyah.

Edited for typos.

Last edited by DrMom on Sun, Feb 22 2015, 11:44 pm; edited 3 times in total

greenfire

Sun, Feb 22 2015, 11:33 pm

my daughter made aliyah & now she is american as well as an israeli sabra ... best of both worlds

how hot is that Cool

FranticFrummie

Sun, Feb 22 2015, 11:38 pm

Thank you all so much!

I'm 99.9% done with the paperwork, I just need his lousy signature before I can have my interview with the shaliach. Very Happy

zaq

Sun, Feb 22 2015, 11:40 pm

There are countries that make you renounce your previous citizenship/s when you become a citizen of their country. The US and Israel have a dual-citizenship agreement so nobody gives up anything unless they want to. Two of our kids have friends with triple citizenships: US, Israel and Canada. How cool is THAT?

shabbatiscoming

Mon, Feb 23 2015, 12:42 am

PAMOM wrote:

you actually become an israeli citizen the minute you are given your teudat zehut number. Declaring this means nothing.

m in Israel

Mon, Feb 23 2015, 1:44 am

As others have said, there is no problem maintaining dual citizenship in both the U.S. and Israel. Not only that but as a U.S. citizen who was born in the U.S., your daughter 's CHILDREN (iyh) would even be able to claim U.S. citizenship based on her status.

It is a good idea to keep both her U.S and her future Israeli passports current. A U.S passport can be renewed in Israel at the U.S. embassy or consulate. (you can google "U.S. embassy in Israel and find all the information on this)

If you are a U.S. citizen you are supposed to use your U.S. passport whenever you enter the U.S. So if you went to visit the U.S. after your Aliyah you would use your Israeli passport at the Israeli passport control when you leave, and your U.S. passport at the passport control at your arrival in the U.S. This is also important because Israelis who are not U.S. citizens actually need to get a visa in advance if they want to travel to the U.S., while as a citizen obviously you don't need a visa to enter.

And you become Israeli citizens as soon as you officially make Aliyah -- no waiting period involved. (It may take a few days to process all the paperwork, but you are a citizen as soon as you step off the plane with that Aliyah visa in your passport).

amother

Mon, Feb 23 2015, 2:56 am

If you go on a nefesh be nefesh flight they process all the paperwork on the plane and at the airport so when you arrive they hand you your Teudat zehut - israeli identification card. But you can live in Israel and not be a citizen - I know people who have lived in israel for 10 years on a student visa. But you don't get any benefits like you would as a citizen.

m in Israel

Mon, Feb 23 2015, 3:03 am

amother wrote:

Of course you could live in Israel and not be a citizen -- but you can't make ALIYAH and not be a citizen. The whole concept of Aliyah is that you are becoming a citizen. If you enter the country on a tourist visa or a student visa or an A-1 work visa or whatever then, no, you are not a citizen. But if you come with an Aliyah visa you are a citizen the moment you arrive, even if you have not come on a NBN flight and even before you process your paperwork for your Teudat Oleh and Teudat Zehut. FF is specifically talking about the process of making Aliyah -- not stam coming to Israel.

chanie18

Mon, Feb 23 2015, 3:03 am

greenfire wrote:

my daughter made aliyah & now she is american as well as an israeli sabra ... best of both worlds

how hot is that Cool

Double taxation....

m in Israel

Mon, Feb 23 2015, 3:10 am

chanie18 wrote:

Double taxation....

Not exactly. The U.S. and Israel do have a tax treaty with each other, so that generally speaking you do not pay taxes in both places on the same money. It is a bit complicated, but basically since for the most part Israeli taxes are higher, any money you make in Israel is only taxed in Israel, while money that you make in the U.S. (like if you travel for work) is taxed in the U.S.

This does depend on your individual situation, and certain things (like investment income after your first 10 years in Israel) may in fact be taxed in both places, so you do need to speak to an accountant familiar with BOTH U.S. and Israeli tax laws.

amother

Mon, Feb 23 2015, 3:56 am

Is this true? I work as a medical transcriptionist for an American company and pay taxes both in Israel and in the US, as do most of my coworkers.

shabbatiscoming

Mon, Feb 23 2015, 4:10 am

m in Israel wrote:

Im with amother on this one. Are you sure m in israel? I also just started working for an american company, all workers are here, but we are getting paid into american bank accounts. I would assume that because I am insraeli and american, I will be paying taxes on the salary as well as from here.

also, im not sure you are correct. I have spoken to american lawyers that have told us that if you are an american citizen, making over a certain amount of money, you are required to pay taxes on both. And this is for people working israeli jobs.

m in Israel

Mon, Feb 23 2015, 4:38 am

I was hesitant to post about the tax treaty because it is quite complicated, and I am not an accountant and certainly don't want anyone taking my information at face value. I specifically tried to make it clear in my post that there are many factors that come into play. But I figured it is worth posting so people can look into it for themselves and maybe it will help someone.

That being said, yes I am sure that there is a tax treaty between the U.S. and Israel, and I am sure that in many situations you do NOT need to actually pay taxes in both places (although as a U.S. citizen you need to FILE in the U.S. for Israeli income). Basically, the way it USUALLY works is that the money you pay in Israeli taxes is deducted from what you owe in American taxes on income that has been earned IN ISRAEL. Since Israeli taxes are generally higher than American ones, most people end up not needing to pay U.S. taxes once the taxes already paid in Israel are deducted. This does not apply to all types of money, but it does apply to most salaries. It also does not apply to money made in the U.S. It may be that if you are working for an American company that is considered money made in the U.S., which would not be exempt from American taxes (although it may be exempt from Israeli taxes if you are within a certain number of years after Aliyah and the money is made in the U.S.).

Bottom line, as I said in my last post, it is important to talk to an accountant who specializes in both Israeli and U.S. tax law if you are a dual citizen, to make sure you are not overpaying (or underpaying for that matter Wink

)

amother

Mon, Feb 23 2015, 6:36 am

I recently made Aliyah and work for a US company. Any work performed in Israel even if its for a US company is taxed by Israel and would also be considered taxable income by the USA. If you are an Israeli citizen and you travel to the US an perform work in the US - the payment for that work is not taxed by Israel for the first 10 years after you make Aliyah.

So if you are going to be in the US 30% of the time and Israel 70% of the time, 70% of your income would be taxed by Israel and the US and only 30% would be taxed only by Israel.

The 70% you pay taxes on in Israel, would still be taxable income in the US, but you may pay taxes at a lower rate due to the fact you can deduct the amount of money you already paid in Israeli taxes from the calculation of how much income you earned. So if you made $100, and paid $50 in Israeli taxes, you could deduct the 50 from the 100, and the US would tax you on the 50, but you would still be paying US and Israeli taxes on the same money.

amother

Mon, Feb 23 2015, 6:37 am

amother wrote:

So if you are going to be in the US 30% of the time and Israel 70% of the time, 70% of your income would be taxed by Israel and the US and only 30% would be taxed only by Israel.
.

Sorry I meant 30% would be taxed only by the USA and not taxed by Israel

Peanut2

Mon, Feb 23 2015, 7:02 am

Shabbat is it possible you are confusing having to file taxes with having to actually pay taxes to the American government?

Americans have to file taxes but usually do not have to pay taxes to the U.S. government.

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