Greek accidental American
Hi everyone,
I’m looking for some practical advice or similar experiences regarding my situation as an "Accidental American" living in the EU (Greece).
Here is my profile:
- I am 44 years old, born outside the US.
- I hold a US passport and an SSN, but I have never lived there, have zero US income, and absolutely no financial footprint in the US, i have never travelled to the us or used my american passport for travelling.
- strange detail: The Latin spelling of my name on my Greek ID and Greek passport is different from the spelling on my US passport.
- To my local banks, I am 100% a Greek tax resident. I have never been flagged by FATCA or asked to sign any form.
My dilemma: I want to open an individual brokerage account to buy EU-domiciled ETFs. I need to open this account strictly as a Greek citizen (using my Greek ID and local Tax Identification Number) so that I am fully compliant with my local tax authorities and can justify the source of funds.
However, opening the account as a non-US person means I will have to digitally sign the W-8BEN form.
My questions for the community:
- Are there any other Accidental Americans out there who keep their US passport "in the drawer" and have successfully opened an IBKR (or similar broker) account as a local EU citizen by signing the W-8BEN?
- Did you ever face any issues with KYC checks, account blocks, or cross-referencing?
Any personal experiences, insights, or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.
I recently discovered all these oblgigations i have for a country that i just accidently have a passport.