Skip to main content

The One Who Got Away (Part 6): PLOT TWIST

Quick Translation: This confirms that German citizenship will not be opposed, if within two years it can be verified that the aforementioned person no longer possesses citizenship for Trinidad and Tobagoe and/or has fulfilled the requirements for the loss of this citizenship and that nothing has happened in the meantime, which would forbid naturalization. 


I almost forgot what it felt like to receive a industrial size dose of 100% homegrown German bureaucratic pedantry. Luckily, the German authorities will never leave you too long without a fix. You can count on that.

As you can see from the picture above (and from my previous posts), Trinidad and Tobagoe  had only been mentioned once in passing up until now, when I finalized my application and paid the fee.

Mr. S: Your mother was naturalized in the U.S. after you were born?
Me: Yes, but she never applied for Trinidadian citizenship for me, which would have had to have been done by my 18th birthday. 
Mr. S: Ok. (Accepts my papers and my 255€)

Six months later:




So, imagine my surprise when I was handed not one, but two assurances of naturalization (EinbürgerungszusicherungEN  -- plural, y'all, pluuurrrraaaal). I also enjoyed how my appointment notice letter made no mention of this additional, time-consuming thing I have to do.



I won't lie. I had some feels about this. Strong ones. Like I mentioned at the top, it's been a while since I got wrecked by some German bureaucrats. In hindsight -- and, remember, not very much hindsight since this happened just yesterday -- I think I know what thoroughly tit punched me in that moment:

Ten years ago, when I was in the middle of immigration hell, I looked into the possibility of gaining Trinidad & Tobago citizenship by descent and was told it wasn't possible for two reasons: 1.) my mom was no longer a Trinidadian citizen and 2.) I was over 18 years old at the time and no prior application had been made. Why does this matter? Because then I could have potentially gone the path of Trinidad/British Commonwealth Citizen to British/EU Citizen (and still switch to German later and much easier)...
Avoiding this whole crap in the first place... well... except maybe the Trinidad and U.S. renunciation things would still be things...but at least not surprise things and ohmyfuckingodthisbullshitisfuckinkillingme.
I could also get into the whole thing about how it's super bizarre for Germany to constantly be asking for proof of things that you AREN'T. It's called a Negativbescheinigung (negative certification) and it's totally a common thing here.

Single, never married, but would like to? Welp... bring us a piece of paper that says that you've never been married. Also you might be a ghost, so go ahead and bring us a copy of your birth certificate that is no more than three months old. What's that you say? Your country doesn't have these kind of papers and you're bleeding from your eye sockets and therefore can't possibly be a ghost? Ha! That's precisely what a ghost would say! Be gone, ghost!

And that's what it feels like talking to German bureaucrats. Utterly ridiculous things come out of their mouths, yet you're somehow the one that feels like a tonto (that means dumb dumb).

On and on it goes... but I have learned somethings in the past two days:

  • There are no proper Trinidadian consulates or embassies in Germany
  • There are only Honorary Consulates and Consuls -- this guy is the one for Hamburg
  • Unfortunately, he had to (in the end) direct me to the proper embassy in London (which is the next closest one)
But mostly this last thing I learned this evening:
  • I asked my godmother to call Immigration in Trinidad to ask what should be done and they informed her that I do have automatic citizenship through birth. Of course this means that either something has changed in the last 10 years or I was misinformed. Or it could also mean that my aunt maybe explained the situation wrong. So, I'm still going to double check for myself. 
At any rate, looks like there's another step that has to be done before I can renounce my U.S. citizenship. And that would be renouncing my secret, unbeknownst to me Trinidadian citizenship that I just found out about today. Oh BOY!

Projected costs: 
Renunciation fee: $20
Renunciation application notarization: TBD
Certified translations for any supporting German documentation that I need to send: TBD
Miscellaneous: TBD



Previous Posts:

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Best Taco Bell in Germany

 Last weekend, I crossed off a major item on my bucket list. I went to Taco Bell in Germany. "But Raven, shouldn't you aspire to better, healthier things that have a measurable positive impact on society?" I know that's what you're thinking, but I don't really give a crap... because you are not the boss of me.  I wanted Taco Bell, because it's probably the one thing from back at home that I crave the most. Say what you want about it (again, I don't give a crap), but get at me when you've spent years away from your homeland and are unable to acquire whatever nasty-ass comfort food is available wherever you're from. For me, my nasty-ass comfort food of choice is Taco Bell...with Sonic a close second. However, you can't even find Sonic all over the U.S. and I don't find myself craving burgers and hot dogs all the time (plus, those urges are a lot easier to satisfy than a craving for Mexican or Tex-mex).
3 comments
More crap »
I’ve been fighting a huge craving for Taco Bell all day long. I don’t know how the idea got in my head, but I can’t seem to shake it. It’s not even so much that I want tacos or Mexican(-ish) food. In fact, I think if someone were to make a taco and put it right in front of me (ok, admittedly, I would eat it). However, there would be a part of my soul that would be entirely disappointed that it wasn’t Taco Bell. I found the Unofficial Taco Bell Blog this afternoon. I highly recommend it, especially if you (in their words) want to know more about the "seemingly endless wonders of Taco Bell". If you are jonesing for the Bell, however, this site will do nothing but compound the problem. Maybe part of the reason that I can’t stop thinking about it, is because Tunde is coming to Hamburg next Tuesday. And when I think Tunde , I think about the Air Force. When I think of the Air Force, I think about how the only Taco Bells in Germany are located on Air Force bases. These location...
7 comments
More crap »