Why did Tina Turner renounce her US citizenship? Learn all there is to know about the legendary singer’s citizenship.
Music icon Tina Turner died on Wednesday, May 24, 2023. She’s known as one of the greatest music legends to ever live, and while she was born in Brownsville, Tennessee, she lived in Switzerland for over two decades. Ultimately, Turner gave up her U.S. citizenship to live abroad. Why did she do it? Here’s what to know.
Back in 2013, Tina Turner signed her “Statement of Voluntary Relinquishment of U.S. Citizenship under Section 349 (a)(1) of the INA” — the Immigration and Naturalization Act.” At 73 years old, Turner was ready to give up her U.S. citizenship to become a citizen of Switzerland.
She had already lived in Switzerland with her second husband, German music producer Erwin Bach, for about 20 years before taking the oath of Swiss nationality. Turner stated she no longer had ties to the U.S. “except for family, and has no plans to reside in the United States in the future.”
While Turner didn’t formally “renounce” her U.S. citizenship, a source revealed that she “took Swiss citizenship with the intent to lose her U.S. citizenship.”
So, why did Tina Turner renounce her US citizenship?
Turner renounced her US citizenship to be with her boyfriend who stayed in Switzerland.
Turner found plenty of success in Europe. And because Bach also lived abroad, she didn’t find any reason to stay in the U.S. “I have left America because my success was in another country and my boyfriend was in another country,” Turner told Larry King in 1997, according to the New York Post. “Basically, Europe has been very supportive of my music. … My boyfriend moved there to run the company, and I always wanted to go to Switzerland and I was very happy.”
While speaking to a local publication, Bach also said he and Turner felt “very comfortable” in Switzerland. Additionally, Turner and Bach couldn’t purchase property in Switzerland without citizenship. There are strict restrictions for foreigners wanting to buy property. This served as an additional incentive for becoming a citizen.
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