Sometimes you can end up as an Expat against your will.
You can get stuck in a country due to Global politics, Economic reasons, or even Health reasons (COVID-19).
Imagine traveling to a country for a Holiday or moving to a country for a job opportunity and told you can’t leave.
Remember that scene from the movie the King of Scotland, where James McAvoy’s character’s British Passport is replaced with a Ugandan one. And Who could forget Sally Field in Not Without My Daughter, when her character is stuck in Iran when her husband forcefully announces that they are not moving back to the U.S., and were staying in Iran.
Something similar happened to Robert Robinson, a Jamaican born U.S, Citizen who moved to Stalingrad in 1930 to work in a factory. The Racism and Depression in the U.S., coupled with the lack of job opportunities resulted in Mr. Robinson continuously renewing his contract in the former Soviet Union.
After he was elected to Moscow’s Communist City Council (without his consent), the United States revoked his U.S. citizenship. He remained in the former Soviet Union for 44 years mostly as an Expat against his will.
For many years Mr. Robinson tried to get back to the U.S. Finally, after a trip to Uganda, he was able to successfully apply for re-entry into the United States and moved back to the U.S. in 1986.
