Whether you’re seeking to reconnect with your family heritage, move overseas, or simply want a second passport at your disposal, at least 50 countries offer some version of citizenship by descent. But brace yourself: The process of obtaining dual citizenship can be quite tedious, fraught with red tape and byzantine rules.
While a number of countries—including France, Australia, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark, Nigeria, Kenya, Brazil, South Korea, and the Philippines—require applicants to have at least one parent who was a citizen of the country at the time of the applicant’s birth, others are a bit more lenient when it comes to demonstrating jus sanguinis, or the right of blood. If you can dig up the birth certificates and other required documentation that proves your family ties are legitimate, and you are willing to pony up the administration fees, you could be looking at dual citizenship between six months to three years—which is still far more expedient than if you were to seek citizenship through naturalization.
We’ve put together a short list of nations where Americans have the best odds of acquiring citizenship through ancestry, even when they are generations removed. If you’re interested in acquiring citizenship through investment (also known as a “golden passport”), check out our full list of the easiest countries to get citizenship. For a slightly less-complicated pathway to move abroad, here are the countries with retirement visas.
Ireland
Nearly 10% of the US population identifies as fully or partially Irish American. Fortunately for them, Ireland’s citizenship-by-ancestry program is one of the most straightforward. Qualifying candidates must have at least one parent or grandparent with Irish citizenship, though in some cases a great-grandparent born on the Emerald Isle could be workable. The first step to acquiring Irish citizenship is to file with the Foreign Birth Registration, a process that typically takes nine months. Once you’re in the registry, dual citizenship can take another year to obtain—and only then can you apply for an Irish passport. The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow: Ireland’s passport is one of the world’s most powerful, granting fortunate holders visa-free access to 191 countries plus freedom of movement throughout the EU.
Learn more here.
Germany
Picturing Bavarian road trips and mountains of currywurst in your future? You may be able to swing it on an EU passport if you were born before 1975 and your father was a legal German citizen at the time of your birth, or if you were born after 1975 and either your father or mother were legal German citizens. (This includes ancestors who had their citizenship stripped under Nazi rule between 1933 and 1945.)
