A Citizen of Nowhere
I, Jeffery Thomas Walden, am currently a legal resident and citizen of the United States of America. That’s it. No other nations in that list. What would happen if I decided to renounce my US citizenship? In theory, I would be a citizen of nowhere.
Now the United States makes it pretty clear that the act of renunciation of U.S. citizenship must be done in a foreign country, generally at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate. That means that short of being smuggled back into the United States, I would be banned from entering the country. In fact, I would be banned from entering any internationally recognized nation including the one I would currently be residing in when I renounced my citizenship. My visa for that particular nation would be based on my U.S. citizenship which would have just been revoked. Legally speaking, I would have an obligation to leave that nation but would have no legal basis to enter any other nation. Where does that leave me? International waters perhaps.
Persons intending to renounce U.S. citizenship should be aware that, unless they already possess a foreign nationality, they may be rendered stateless and, thus, lack the protection of any government. They may also have difficulty traveling as they may not be entitled to a passport from any country.
Even the State Department understands that this state of limbo could be possible but they don’t give any instruction as to what would be possible. Most likely because that in order to renounce citizenship I would need to already be out of the U.S. and wouldn’t be their problem.
I imagine that this wouldn’t be the ideal situation, especially for me as I thoroughly enjoy traveling. There are programs available with most developed countries to apply for an exemption to a visa but what if I didn’t meet those requirements for an exemption? I would feel like Tom Hanks stuck in an airport.
The only option that comes to mind would be to travel out to international waters. Maybe there are some international territories of Antartica as well. Either way, I get seasick and hate the cold so it would be quite an adjustment. On the other hand, this could be the logical stepping stone to establishing my own nation. I guess it would make sense to have an island or boat before I renounce all rights to reside in any nation.
Maybe I should add this to my bucket list, at the end of course. Seems like it could be a unique experience and relatively unchartered territory. I love new adventures.
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