BritInParis

As the spouse of a German citizen then the residence requirement is reduced to three years. If you still do not qualify your marriage to an EU citizen will mean you will retain freedom of movement through the EU bar Germany itself.

Thairetired2016

Don't overlook that Germany taxes world income. You are German, you pay tax wherever you are no matter where your income comes from but for a few exceptions. Even if you don't live there but you own a property. Plus Germany is one of the top tax collectors.

If you find Germany attractive, go for it.
I would not bank on this forever freedom of movement due to marriage.

Assanah

Bullshit! Germany doesn't tax its citizens who reside outside Germany. To my knowledge the only country in the western world that does that is the US.

BritInParis

Quite. Only the US and Eritrea tax their citizens regardless of their place of residence.

Thairetired2016

Once you lived and worked there (German or not) you get a tax ID. You will have to proof forever why you are not liable for tax due to a pension you get by having worked in Germany. And they partly tax your British or other foreign pension. Even if you no longer live in Germany.
Been there, done it.
In order to get citizenship you need to live and to work there!
Read up on German tax rules.

Assanah

Oh, retirement abroad is a different and difficult topic. I can tell you horror stories about what New Zealand does to its seniors who also get a pension from abroad. I advise everyone to check if there is a agreement about pensions between the country you are working in and the country you are planning to retire to. Many countries place many restrictions on pension payments abroad...that includes Germany but also the UK.

I am German and have lived and worked abroad for many years. I have a tax ID and have never paid taxes in Germany while I was a resident abroad nor was I ever asked to prove anything during that time. However, as a US resident I always had to declare taxes when residing outside the US...never had to pay anything to the US though because I didn't earn enough.

Moses2013

Nonsense, just because you have a German Passport doesn't mean you'll be taxed in Germany. Yes, if your main residence is still there, you work etc. you'll obviously be taxed in the country. If you move abroad, you just go to Rathaus (Abmeldung).

Mickems

Hi, to answer one of the questions above. Correct, you must of resided within Germany for 8 years before you can apply for Dual nationality unless your spouse has a valid German passport/ID in which case the time to have lived within Germany drops to 3 years.

I've lived in Germany since 2011 and have just received dual citizenship (took about 4 months for all tests and application forms to be processed)

Thairetired2016

And while you receive a German pension due to having worked in G. (= German income) you are still liable for tax.
This has nothing to do with residency or "Abmeldung" or nationality. It is made clear on yiur pension form. Go find out.

Novocastrian

Not true. I receive a partial German pension having worked there for 8 years. It's added to my global income and taxed in the UK where I now live.

scot47

Novo
Double Taxation Treaty between D and GB is why you pay tax in GB
I wonder if that will go up in smoke as a result of Hard Brexit ?

Novocastrian

I understand that. Perhaps the poster who apparently lives in Thailand doesn't benefit from that convenience.

Assanah

That is because Germany and Thailand probably don't have a tax treaty about pensions. These treaties usually address double taxation. That is why I said that one needs to plan carefully when retiring abroad. This is true for people that receive their pensions from Germany as well as people that receive pensions from other countries. It has nothing to do with Germany being especially vindictive or strict.

Moses2013

But again nothing to do with nationality.