Many of my compatriots wait longer, pay less in absolute but more in relative terms and celebrate afterwards.
Lots of us would do well to be more grateful.
Is it whiny and melodramatic to want to be able to utilize the retirement savings plans of your country of residence?
This isn’t just economics and convenience. It is basic living and Americans abroad are treated like second class citizens relative to those of other countries.
Banking and investment and retirement are entirely economical reasons.
Convenience is not wanting to file taxes, etc.
But lot of people are treated like second class citizens because of their passport in Netherlands (or in America, for that reason). There are a lot of people who get treated worse in their native countries. And her story is nothing out of ordinary.
Sure, it might be hard to get a bank account opened. But on the other hand, she most likely could travel to Netherlands without a visa -- this is very difficult, expensive and time-consuming process for the rest of us. I dare say the paperwork to just to get a work visa for a citizen of most countries in the world is probably greater than her taxes forms (and they also include information about the source of the money, by the way).
Also, where I'm from, lots of young men would love to renounce their nationality just to avoid conscription. We don't have the chance: you need to have another country's citizenship just to renounce yours.
So being in a position when you just can renounce your nationality is a great privilege, and I don't see her acknowledging that.
The whole system with citizenships and visas is severely broken, and she is not the one who is harmed the most. So it's difficult to empathise with someone who has it much easier than we do.
I had a friend complain pretty vehemently because their Ukrainian partner had to get a visa to go to a country.
I then had to explain that for most of the rest of the world going to most countries requires a visa, and that my passport at that moment was at an embassy for a visa application.
I also had to point out that it is in fact possible that your visa might get rejected so then all you've booked for your trip is potentially wasted.
Astounding.