In short
Several European countries recognise citizenship through parents, grandparents or earlier ancestors, often without living there: Ireland (an Irish-born grandparent), Poland (you may already be a citizen), Lithuania (ancestors who were citizens before 15 June 1940), Romania, Slovakia (from 15 July 2026), Slovenia and, with conditions, Luxembourg. Italy narrowed its rules on 28 March 2025 to a parent or grandparent who held only Italian citizenship, and Spain's Democratic Memory Law route closed on 22 October 2025. US law lets you keep US citizenship when you become a citizen of another country — but some countries make you give up your previous citizenship when you naturalise by residence.
Citizenship by descent: key facts
Last verified 28 September 2026| Citizenship by descent | An Irish-born grandparent (or a parent who was an Irish citizen at your birth) — Foreign Births Register, €278 per adult, about 12 months# Source: Department of Foreign Affairs: registering a foreign birth |
|---|---|
| Citizenship by descent | Since 28 March 2025: only if a parent or grandparent held only Italian citizenship, or an Italian parent lived in Italy for 2 years before your birth; earlier filings keep the old rules. Upheld by the Constitutional Court (ruling 63/2026); fee €600 per adult# Source: Constitutional Court: ruling 63/2026 on citizenship by descent · Consulate General of Italy in Chicago: citizenship fee (€600 from 2025) |
| Citizenship by descent | Americans with Polish ancestors may already be Polish citizens; confirmation is decided by a voivode and can be applied for through a US consulate (USD 118)# Source: Confirming Polish citizenship or its loss: Poland in US |
| Citizenship by descent | Descendants of people who were Lithuanian citizens before 15 June 1940 can restore citizenship and, in most cases, keep their US passport# Source: Micenter: Lithuanian citizenship and restoration |
| Citizenship by descent | Former citizens and their descendants up to the 2nd degree (3rd if citizenship was lost involuntarily) can regain citizenship without living in Romania; a B1 Romanian certificate is required since 2025# Source: Capital.ro - Legea 14/2025 B1 requirement for restoration |
| Citizenship by descent | From 15 July 2026 people whose parent, grandparent or great-grandparent was a Czechoslovak citizen born in Slovakia can get citizenship without living there or a language test# Source: AKMV - Amendments to Slovak Citizenship Act effective 15 July 2026 · RTVS/STVR Radio Slovakia International |
| Slovenian roots | Children of a Slovenian citizen born abroad can register before age 36 without living there; emigrants and descendants up to the 4th generation can naturalise after 1 year of residence and keep US citizenship# Source: GOV.SI - Državljanstvo · GOV.SI - Citizenship (EN) |
| Citizenship by descent | The 2018 deadline for descendants of Luxembourgers has passed; adults with a Luxembourgish parent or grandparent can still apply by option, with conditions estimate# Source: Guichet.lu: Luxembourg nationality by option |
| Grandchildren of Spaniards | The Democratic Memory Law route closed to new applications on 22 October 2025# Source: Finaliza plazo para presentar solicitudes para la nacionalidad española por Ley de Memoria Democrática (Embajada de España en Panamá) |
| Dual citizenship | Allowed by Sweden since 1 July 2001; US law also lets you keep US citizenship when you naturalise abroad# Source: Lag (2001:82) om svenskt medborgarskap - Riksdagen · Dual Nationality - travel.state.gov |
The Basics
What Citizenship by Descent Means
Citizenship by descent is not a visa — it is recognition that you are (or can become) a citizen because of your ancestry. An EU passport lets you live and work in any EU country without a permit. The work is in the documents: birth, marriage and naturalisation records across generations, usually with apostilles and certified translations.
US law lets you keep US citizenship when you become a citizen of another country. The question is whether the other country lets you keep yours — see the table further down.
By Country
Where Citizenship by Descent Still Works (2026)
| Country | Who qualifies |
|---|---|
| Ireland | An Irish-born grandparent (or a parent who was an Irish citizen at your birth) — Foreign Births Register, €278 per adult, about 12 months |
| Italy | Since 28 March 2025: only if a parent or grandparent held only Italian citizenship, or an Italian parent lived in Italy for 2 years before your birth; earlier filings keep the old rules. Upheld by the Constitutional Court (ruling 63/2026); fee €600 per adult |
| Poland | Americans with Polish ancestors may already be Polish citizens; confirmation is decided by a voivode and can be applied for through a US consulate (USD 118). Without citizenship: For people with a Polish parent, grandparent or two great-grandparents who know basic Polish: work without a permit, free permanent residence and citizenship after 1 year on it |
| Lithuania | Descendants of people who were Lithuanian citizens before 15 June 1940 can restore citizenship and, in most cases, keep their US passport |
| Romania | Former citizens and their descendants up to the 2nd degree (3rd if citizenship was lost involuntarily) can regain citizenship without living in Romania; a B1 Romanian certificate is required since 2025 |
| Slovakia | From 15 July 2026 people whose parent, grandparent or great-grandparent was a Czechoslovak citizen born in Slovakia can get citizenship without living there or a language test |
| Slovenia | Children of a Slovenian citizen born abroad can register before age 36 without living there; emigrants and descendants up to the 4th generation can naturalise after 1 year of residence and keep US citizenship |
| Luxembourg | The 2018 deadline for descendants of Luxembourgers has passed; adults with a Luxembourgish parent or grandparent can still apply by option, with conditions |
| Spain | The Democratic Memory Law route closed to new applications on 22 October 2025 |
Every rule comes from the country's key-facts register — follow the country link for sources and details.
The Process
What the Process Involves
Map the line
Identify the ancestor and every generation between you — names, dates and places of birth, marriage and death.
Collect the records
Order civil records from the European country and the US (vital records offices, naturalisation files). US documents usually need an apostille.
Check the cut-off rules
Dates matter — Italy's 2025 reform, Lithuania's 1940 date, Slovakia's July 2026 law. One generation can decide the case.
File the application
Usually at a consulate or a ministry; Ireland's Foreign Births Register is online. Processing often takes a year or more.
Get your passport
Once registered or confirmed as a citizen, apply for the passport — then you can live and work anywhere in the EU.
Dual Citizenship
Can You Keep Your US Passport? Naturalisation by Residence
If you have no ancestry route, citizenship comes after years of residence. Here is the residence rule in each country, and whether it allows dual citizenship.
| Country | Residence rule and dual citizenship |
|---|---|
| Ireland | 5 years (1,825 days) of reckonable residence in the last 9, including 1 continuous year before applying (up to 70 days abroad); no language test; dual citizenship allowed; fees €175 + €950 |
| Germany | 5 years of residence (since June 2024), B1 German and a test; the 3-year fast track was abolished in October 2025; dual citizenship allowed; fee €255 |
| France | 5 years (2 after two years of French higher education); B2 French from 2026, civic exam and interview; fee €255; dual citizenship allowed |
| Belgium | By declaration after 5 years of legal residence with A2 in Dutch, French or German, social integration and 468 working days (or 18 months self-employed); fee about €1,030 since Aug 2025 |
| Luxembourg | 5 years of residence (the last year uninterrupted), Luxembourgish test (A2 speaking, B1 listening) and the "Vivre ensemble" course or exam; dual citizenship allowed |
| Malta | By naturalisation after 1 year of continuous residence plus 4 years in the preceding 6, at the minister's discretion; dual citizenship allowed |
| Portugal | Since 19 May 2026: 10 years of legal residence (7 for EU and Portuguese-speaking countries), counted from when the first permit is issued; applications pending before then keep the old 5-year rule. Allowed by both Portugal and the US |
| Spain | 10 years of legal, continuous residence for Americans (2 for Ibero-American countries, Portugal, Andorra, the Philippines and Equatorial Guinea; 1 if married to a Spaniard), plus the DELE A2 Spanish and CCSE civics exams. Americans must declare that they renounce US citizenship when naturalising, but the US does not treat that declaration as loss of citizenship — that needs a formal renunciation at a US consulate |
| Italy | 10 years of legal residence, B1 Italian and enough income; €250 fee; dual citizenship allowed |
| Greece | 7 years of legal, continuous residence (usually after long-term residence; 12 years on other permits); PEGP exam (B1 Greek + civics, €150); fee €550; dual citizenship allowed |
| Cyprus | 8 years (7 of the last 10 + the final 12 months continuous), Greek B1 and the "Knowledge of Contemporary Cyprus" exam; dual citizenship allowed |
| Czechia | 5 years of permanent residence (about 10 years in total), Czech B1 and a civics test; dual citizenship allowed |
| Poland | 3 years on permanent residence or EU long-term residence (about 8 years in total), with B1 Polish and stable income; fee PLN 1,000. Proposals to lengthen this have not become law. Allowed, but Poland treats you only as Polish and expects a Polish passport at its borders |
| Hungary | Usually 8 years of residence, plus an exam on the constitution in Hungarian; dual citizenship allowed |
| Romania | 8 years of legal residence (5 if married to and living with a Romanian); interview on the Romanian language, culture, the Constitution and the anthem; the legal deadline for a decision is 2 years; dual citizenship allowed |
| Slovakia | 8 consecutive years of permanent residence (in practice about 13 years after arrival), spoken and written Slovak and general knowledge tested by a commission; 5 years for spouses of Slovaks, 3 for Slovaks living abroad. The naturalisation conditions do not require you to give up US citizenship; Slovaks who take another citizenship keep theirs only in set cases, such as 5 years' residence in that country (since 2022) |
| Finland | 8 years of residence, B1 Finnish or Swedish and a self-sufficiency test; fee €550 online; dual citizenship allowed |
| Sweden | Since 6 June 2026: 8 years of residence and a permanent permit, income of at least 3 income base amounts a year (about SEK 20,000 a month), good conduct and a civics test (from August 2026); a Swedish language test is planned from autumn 2027. Allowed by Sweden since 1 July 2001; US law also lets you keep US citizenship when you naturalise abroad |
| Denmark | 9 years of residence including 2 with permanent residence; Danish test PD3 and the citizenship test |
| Switzerland | 10 years of residence (3 of the last 5), a C permit, 2–5 years in the canton, spoken B1 and written A2 in a national language, and integration. Recognised without restriction since 1 January 1992 |
| United Kingdom | Usually 12 months after ILR (straight away if married to a British citizen); fee £1,709 plus £130 for the ceremony (2026). Allowed — you can be British and American at the same time |
| Austria | After 10 years (6 with B2 German, or B1 plus 3 years of integration activity); prior citizenship usually given up |
| Netherlands | Naturalisation after 5 years with a civic integration exam (at least A2); you must normally give up US citizenship, unless an exemption applies (e.g. married to a Dutch citizen) |
| Lithuania | 10 years of permanent residence; A2 Lithuanian and a Constitution exam; you must give up other citizenships — the 2019 and 2024 referendums to allow dual citizenship failed |
| Estonia | 8 years of residence (5 on a long-term permit), Estonian B1 and a constitution exam; previous citizenship must be given up |
| Croatia | 8 years of residence plus long-term residence, B1 Croatian, a culture test and giving up your previous citizenship |
| Bulgaria | 5 years after permanent residence, with Bulgarian language, self-support, clean record and giving up your previous citizenship |
| Slovenia | 10 years of residence, the last 5 continuous, a basic-level Slovene exam, and release from your previous citizenship — so Americans normally give up US citizenship |
Countries that require you to give up your previous citizenship are listed last.
Before You Start
What You Must Know Before You Start
Rules change — and dates matter
Italy narrowed descent in March 2025 and Spain closed its grandchildren route in October 2025, while Slovakia opened a new one in July 2026. Check the current rule before ordering documents.
Some countries treat you only as their citizen
Poland, for example, expects you to enter and leave on a Polish passport.
Descent is not the only shortcut
Poland's Karta Polaka and Slovakia's Living Abroad certificate give residence routes to people with roots who don't qualify for citizenship directly.
Tax is separate from citizenship
A second passport does not change your US tax obligations — US citizens file wherever they live.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Can I get Italian citizenship through my great-grandparents?
Since 28 March 2025 only if a parent or grandparent held only Italian citizenship, or an Italian parent lived in Italy for 2 years before your birth. Applications filed before that date keep the old rules; the Constitutional Court upheld the change in 2026.
How do I get Irish citizenship through a grandparent?
If a grandparent was born in Ireland, you can register in the Foreign Births Register — €278 per adult, about 12 months.
Can I still use Spain's Democratic Memory Law?
No. The route closed to new applications on 22 October 2025.
Will I lose my US citizenship if I become European?
Not under US law. But some countries — Austria, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Estonia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Slovenia, for example — normally require you to give up your previous citizenship when you naturalise by residence.
Across Europe
Compare all 29 countries by topic
Your Passport to the Future May Be Waiting in Your Past
Tell us about your ancestors — we'll tell you which countries could recognise you and what documents you need. The first consultation is free.