Germans Abroad or Auslandsdeutsche, are German citizens residing outside of Germany. Auslandsdeutsche usually do not pay taxes to Germany. Germans Abroad are allowed to vote in the Republic's elections. According to the German Foreign Office in Berlin (Auswärtiges Amt), "German citizens with permanent residence abroad can participate in federal elections in Germany and European elections. As a rule, German voters who reside permanently in non-EU countries abroad and are not resident in Germany any more, can not participate in German state and local elections. However, German citizens who are living permanently in other EU countries can vote in municipal elections of their country of residence." http://www.konsularinfo.diplo.de/Vertretung/konsularinfo/de/06/Wahl/Wahlneu.html
The German term Auslandsdeutsche is sometimes used in this sense, but it is also used subjectively to refer to ethnic Germans and German-speaking communities abroad. In order to be unambiguous, it is necessary to specify "German citizens with permanent residence abroad" (Deutsche Staatsbürger mit ständigem Wohnsitz im Ausland). The case is complicated by the German right of return law concerning Spätaussiedler, people who do not have German citizenship but who are in theory entitled to it because the German state considers them German nationals.
Significant communities of German citizens abroad are found in the following countries:
USA: Large numbers of German citizens live permanently in the U.S., especially academics, artists, computer experts, engineers, and business people. According to the German Missions in the US, “German citizens living abroad are not required to register with the German Embassy, so we are unable to say how many German citizens live in America.” http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/02__GIC/GIC/02/f__a__q__seite.html Some of those Germans abroad hold passports from both Germany and the United States.