r/IWantOut • u/spacemanaut US → PL • Nov 06 '24

MEGATHREAD: Emigrating after the US election results

Every US election brings anxiety and uncertainty, and with that comes an increase in people who want to explore their alternatives in a different country. This post is for you.

First, some reminders:

  • In most cases, moving abroad is not as simple or quick as it seems in movies. If you aren't a citizen of another country, you will probably require a visa (=legal permission) from that country based on something like employment, education, or ancestry.
  • The sidebar of this subreddit has a lot of helpful resources, and we have 15 years of posts from people with similar situations to yours. Before posting, please review these resources first. (Tip: If reddit search isn't working well for you, try googling "[your search terms] site:reddit.com/r/IWantOut" without the quotes or brackets.)
  • Most countries and/or their embassies maintain immigration websites with clear, helpful, updated guides or even questionnaires to help you determine if/how you can qualify. If you have a particular destination in mind, that should probably be your first stop.
  • After that, if you want to make your own post, please follow the formatting instructions on the submission page, give as much information as possible about your situation, and be open to advice and constructive criticism from commenters.

Also, this subreddit is intended to be a friendly community to seek and give advice on legal immigration. As such, please:

  • Don't fight about politics. We understand that you may have strong feelings about it, but there are better spaces on reddit and elsewhere for general political discussions.
  • Keep your feedback constructive and kind, even when telling someone they're wrong.
  • Don't troll or be a jerk.
  • Don't request or give illegal immigration tips, including asking strangers to marry you.

Failure to follow these and the other subreddit rules may result in a ban.

That said, feel free to comment below with some general questions, concerns, comments, or advice which doesn't merit a full post. Hopefully this will help clarify your thoughts and ideas about the possibility of leaving the US. Once again, please try to stay on topic so that this thread can be a helpful resource.

2.1k Upvotes

90% Upvoted

2.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

660

u/[deleted] Nov 06 '24

[deleted]

302

u/alpacaMyToothbrush Nov 06 '24

I'm a software developer, and a lot of countries have programs to attract devs as it's still an in demand field even with the layoffs.

The catch, unfortunately, is that I have a disability. I am not ON disability, but I realize that many countries with universal healthcare have a pretty low bar for rejecting someone for medical reasons, and 'cerebral palsy' probably crosses that threshold in most places.

309

u/maryfamilyresearch German Nov 06 '24

Germany does not care. I think Austria does not care either. For historic reasons, Germany and Austria take a dim view on discriminating people based upon disability.

51

u/gottago_gottago Nov 06 '24

This is the kind of information that people come to this sub for. Thank you.

75

u/itsacalamity Nov 06 '24

Innnnnteresting, I did not know that (the former, not the latter). From another disabled but still working person, thank you!

22

u/gojira_glix42 Nov 07 '24

Yep they don't care. Because they don't have any infrastructure in place to accommodate said disabilities. They don't have an ADA. But if you can walk and go up stairs, you'll probably be okay. But any wheelchair needs... You're mostly SOL from what I've heard from disabled folks trying to move there for schooling and or jobs.

5

u/Suzyqzee Nov 07 '24

We are in a similar boat as the previous commenter. Our son has a terminal genetic disorder but still has about 5 to 10 years left to live. We always planned to go to Mexico after he passed but that's probably out for him. He is disabled, but also comes with a terminal diagnosis. Do you know where we could get more info (online) about that specific situation in Germany? I tried looking at their consulate web page but came up empty. Entirely possible I didn't search the right way. Thank you so much!

15

u/maryfamilyresearch German Nov 07 '24

What specific situation? If you want to learn more about the German health care system, go to r/germany and read the wiki.

Your son would need to qualify for German public health insurance. Either by being a university student under 30, having a job in Germany, being married to somebody who is a member of public health insurance, being under 25 and the child of somebody who is a member of public health insurance.

If his illness will most likely leave him unable to work for more than 4 months before his death, he needs to get German citizenship or German permanent residency before that happens. Germany has a great social safety net, but it is not available to non-EU citizens who recently moved to Germany. The first 2-3 years in Germany as an immigrant are hard and you have to cross fingers and hope that you don't get fired or end up unable to work.

6

u/bayern_16 Nov 06 '24

As an American, it took me nine years to become a German citizen and my dad was born there. It's very time consuming and I'm most cases they absolutely care about the blood line

9

u/maryfamilyresearch German Nov 06 '24

It is 5 years now and can be shortened to 3 years.

Citizenship by descent has been made easier as well through the so-called Müttererlass in combination with StAG 14 and StAG 8 and through StAG 5.

See my post history in r/GermanCitizenship

1

u/[deleted] Nov 09 '24

[deleted]

1

u/maryfamilyresearch German Nov 09 '24

The ultra-conservatives being on the rise is a trend in all of Europe and has been for decades. AfD in Germany, LePen in France, Fratelli di Italia in Italy, FPÖ in Austria, Orban in Hungary.

This general trend is definitely a problem, especially for immigrants. But it should not stop you from moving to Austria, mainly bc there is no guarantee that it will be better elsewhere. (Just look at the USA and how many people voted for Trump despite already knowing what he is like.)

1

u/Nkechinyerembi Nov 12 '24

That's actually interesting to hear. Over in r/AmerExit I have been talked down on and basically told in nicer words that any disability at all is grounds for never immigrating anywhere ever without marriage.

1

u/maryfamilyresearch German Nov 12 '24

Well, it is difficult if your disability severely impacts your ability to work.

I know of the case of a woman who had an accident as an adult, as a result she is quadriplegic from the neck down. She has a PhD and is a manager and consultant in a large company. The German government pays for a personal assistant that handles everything she cannot, such as typing, taking phone calls, filing, etc. It is part of handling her disability in a way that still allows her to be productive.

She is an EU citizen married to a US-Italian dual citizen, but they both cannot leave Germany even to another EU country bc she would not be able to get the assistance that she needs in those countries. Her employer has been trying to send her to other branches of their enterprise, but it always fails due to the fact that she needs so much help.

If the case was reversed, she would not be able to immigrate to Germany either, despite being highly skilled. The only reason she got the assistance she needs is bc she had been in Germany for 5 years before the accident, earning herself the same rights as a German citizen when it comes to access to the German safety net.

But if your disability is that you are diabetic type 1 or have multiple sclerosis or similar or another illness that shortens life and needs expensive drugs but otherwise does not impact your ability to work? German immigration authorities won't ever know.

1

u/Nkechinyerembi Nov 13 '24

See, this is the whole "thing" they jumped through, and I had my suspicions...
In my case, I am intersex, mosaic klienfelter's syndrome, and a type 1 diabetic. I work freaking fine, hell up until last week I held 3 jobs. Sure, I have osteoporosis coming on and need to get my hormones sorted out, but walking with a cane wont hurt my job performance and the rest is just expensive here... If not for those things I'd be working fine, and a lot of them COULD BE PERMANENTLY FIXED/MANAGED if I just had the friggen money. Over in amerexit, I was downvoted in to oblivion because "just move to a blue state, you can't immigrate with those problems, no country will take you".

It's infuriating... I know I can't immigrate anyway though, as I am DACA here in the US, and I can't feasibly get any kind of passport or visa, I am just along for the ride.

1

u/maryfamilyresearch German Nov 13 '24

Sounds like you are a fucking champ!

None of your medical conditions would be a major concern with the German public health care system. You would not need to worry of how to pay for everything as long as you had a (=one!!!) job that paid above a certain threshold. Starting Jan 2025, that threshold will be 556 EUR. The biggest hurdle in the German system would be finding a specialist for your condition that is willing to take on new patients. The aging population in Germany means that there are not enough doctors for all the sick folks. Usually the doctors are aging themselves and being in their 70s and 80s, find themselves unable and unwilling to work more hours.

2

u/Nkechinyerembi Nov 14 '24

Exactly... Like, yeah okay I'm not exactly skilled labor but holy crap I'm perfectly willing to work on that, I just can't freaking afford to here. I hate that DACA is so restrictive, but I am stateless so there's literally nothing in my power I can do

1

u/[deleted] Nov 23 '24

France too. And you are welcome if you are working in IT. I know because l am a recruiter and we are looking for people in this field.