Germans Abroad
Encyclopedia
Germans Abroad or Auslandsdeutsche, are German citizens residing outside of Germany. Auslandsdeutsche usually do not pay tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...

es to Germany. Germans Abroad are allowed to vote
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...

 in the Republic's elections. According to the German Foreign Office in Berlin (Auswärtiges Amt), "German citizens with permanent residence abroad can participate in federal elections in Germany and European elections. As a rule, German voters who reside permanently in non-EU countries abroad and are not resident in Germany any more, can not participate in German state and local elections. However, German citizens who are living permanently in other EU countries can vote in municipal elections of their country of residence." http://www.konsularinfo.diplo.de/Vertretung/konsularinfo/de/06/Wahl/Wahlneu.html

The German term is sometimes used in this sense, but it is also used subjectively to refer to ethnic Germans and German-speaking communities abroad. In order to be unambiguous, it is necessary to specify "German citizens with permanent residence abroad" ().
The case is complicated by the German right of return
Right of return
The term right of return refers to a principle of international law, codified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, giving any person the right to return to, and re-enter, his or her country of origin...

 law concerning Spätaussiedler, people who do not have German citizenship but who are in theory entitled to it because the German state considers them German nationals.

Significant communities of German citizens abroad are found in the following countries:
  • Russia
    Demographics of Russia
    The demographics of Russia is about the demographic features of the population of the Russian Federation, including population growth, population density, ethnic composition, education level, health, economic status, and other aspects of the population....

    : 597,212 (2002, 0.4 of Russian population).
  • Switzerland
    Demographics of Switzerland
    This article is about the demographic features of the population of Switzerland, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....

    : 265,944 (2009, 3.3% of Swiss population)
  • Austria
    Demographics of Austria
    This article is about the demographic features of the population of Austria, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....

    : 124,710 (2008, 1.5% of Austrian population)
  • United Kingdom
    Demographics of the United Kingdom
    This article is about the demographic features of the population of the United Kingdom, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....

    : 92,000 (2008, 0.15% of UK population)
  • France
    Demographics of France
    This article is about the demographic features of the population of France, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects....

    : 75,057 (1999, 0.12% of French population).


USA: Large numbers of German citizens live permanently in the U.S., especially academics, artists, computer experts, engineers, and business people. According to the German Missions in the US, “German citizens living abroad are not required to register with the German Embassy, so we are unable to say how many German citizens live in America.” http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/02__GIC/GIC/02/f__a__q__seite.html
Some of those Germans abroad hold passports from both Germany and the United States.

See also

  • Demographics of Germany
    Demographics of Germany
    The Demographics of Germany were determined also by a series of full Census in Germany, with the most recent held in 1987. Since reunification, German authorities rely on a micro census....

  • German citizenship
  • Migration within Europe
  • Emigration from Europe
    Emigration from Europe
    Emigration from Europe began on a large scale during the European colonial empires of the 17th to 19th centuries. This concerns especially the Spanish Empire in the 16th to 17th centuries , the British Empire in the 18th to 19th centuries , the Portuguese Empire and the Russian Empire in the 19th...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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