10 Countries Where You Can Get a Passport Through Ancestry
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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.)
As of August 2021, the children and descendants of individuals born in Germany after May 23, 1949 who were excluded in a gender-discriminating manner from acquiring German citizenship by birth due to the Reich and Nationality Act (RuStAG) can also apply for citizenship. In order to do so, you’ll need to procure concrete evidence of your ancestors’ dates and places of birth, marriage, and death. Americans who are not fluent in German should consider hiring a citizenship services and genealogical research firm like Polaron to help with determining their eligibility and navigating the legal hurdles of the application process.
Learn more here.
Colorful renaissance facades on central square in Poznan, Poland
Poland
If your affinity for Poland goes beyond eating pierogi on Christmas, take a close look at your family tree. Americans with a parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent born in Poland or one of its territories after 1918, the year Poland became independent, may qualify for dual citizenship. There is a catch, though: Your family’s chain of citizenship must be unbroken, meaning if your grandparent or great-grandparent was Polish but his or her children never acquired Polish citizenship, you won’t be eligible. The standards are strict, with plenty of complicated paperwork that’ll require lots of box checking by attorneys and agents on the ground. (Polaron and Nomad Capitalist can both help with this.) The process moves glacially at best, so prepare to be patient.
Learn more here.
Italy
More than 15.7 million people in the United States identify as Italian American. Like many European countries, Italy offers citizenship to Americans whose mother or father was an Italian citizen at the time of their birth. But it doesn’t stop there. Italy has one of the world’s most liberal citizenship-by-descent programs, inviting people descended from Italian grandparents, great-grandparents, and even great-great-grandparents to prove their ancestry through government documentation. That means digging up the birth certificate of the Italian ascendant, as well as marriage and death certificates—no easy feat if you don’t speak Italian or can’t be on the ground to do your own research.
In October 2024, the Italian Ministry of the Interior issued a memo on what's known as the “minor issue,” making it more difficult to receive Italian citizenship by descent. In short, if your ancestor became a foreign citizen in a country like the US, for example, while their child was still a minor, then that child is no longer considered an Italian citizen. (This is where hiring an attorney who specializes in Italian citizenship can be invaluable.) All told, the process can take three to five years—but for many Americans, it’s worth the hassle to live la dolce vita.
Learn more here.
Mysore Palace, India
India
The American-born children of Indian immigrants qualify for citizenship by descent if they were born between 1950 and 1992 to a father who was an Indian citizen by birth, or if they were born between 1992 and 2003 to either a father or mother who is an Indian citizen. (Those born in 2004 or later, however, must have been registered by one of their parents at an Indian consulate within one year of their birth in order to qualify.) If it was your grandparent or great-grandparent who was the Indian citizen, you cannot qualify for full citizenship, but you can apply for an Overseas Citizen of India card. This grants you legal permission to live, work, and own property in India, provided that you have never been a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh. All the usual documentation is still required, including birth, marriage, and death certificates, as well as education papers, land deeds, and divorce proceedings if applicable.
Learn more here.
Ghana
When Ghana declared 2019 the Year of Return, one of the major goals of the program was to inspire members of the African diaspora—specifically Black Americans descended from victims of the transatlantic slave trade—to embark on a birthright journey to their ancestral homeland. The country granted citizenship to more than 100 interested African Americans and Afro-Caribbeans as part of the initiative. Now Ghana is following up its successful Year of Return with a decade-long project called Beyond the Return, aimed at promoting tourism, bettering economic relations between countries, and carving out a clear pathway to citizenship for people of African descent whose parents or grandparents are not Ghanaian through new legislation called the Homeland Return Act, which remains under development.
This expands upon the country’s pre-existing Right of Abode law passed in 2000, which allows a person of African descent to apply for the right to stay in Ghana indefinitely without work restrictions. Those with a Ghanaian parent can currently apply for dual citizenship by providing proof of the parent's nationality through a birth certificate or passport, as well as the names and addresses of two relatives residing in Ghana.
Learn more here.
Spain
On October 21, 2022, Spain's "Grandchildren's Law" (Ley de Nietos) officially went into effect, allowing people born outside of Spain who have Spanish parents or grandparents to acquire citizenship. But act quickly: The application window ends next year on October 21, 2025, according to Echeverria Abogados, a law firm specializing in Spanish immigration law.
What makes this law unique compared to other citizenship-by-descent programs is that it also applies if your parents or grandparents were exiled from Spain between January 1, 1956 and December 28, 1978 as a result of the Spanish Civil War and the Franco Dictatorship. That means even if your ancestors lost or renounced their Spanish nationality under the Franco regime, you can still acquire citizenship—as long as you can provide the required documentation. You can also apply for citizenship under Ley de Nientos if your mother was born in Spain but lost her citizenship because she married a foreigner prior to the enactment of the 1978 Constitution (which established legal equality between men and women). Since the law was passed in 2022, thousands of people have been able to receive Spanish citizenship, with the majority of applications submitted in Argentina, Cuba, and Miami, according to the Spanish government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Learn more here.
Portugal
Portugal has become increasingly popular among American expats in recent years thanks to its affordable cost of living, booming entrepreneurial industry, excellent weather, and scenic towns. If you’re one of the 1.3 million Americans who identify as Portuguese descendants and immigrants, you’re in luck.
According to the Portuguese Embassy to the United States, the "Portuguese Government grants naturalization to those persons born abroad with, at least, an ancestor on the second degree of the succession line of the Portuguese citizenship who has not lost such citizenship.” That means if you were born abroad but can prove that at least one of your parents or grandparents is a Portuguese citizen, you can apply for citizenship by descent. You can see which documents—including a certificate demonstrating Portuguese language proficiency—are required on the embassy’s official website.
Since 2015, descendants of Sephardic Jews who were expelled during the 15th century as a result of the Spanish Inquisition have also been able to apply for Portuguese citizenship. However, as of April 2024, the law was amended to make the requirements for gaining Portuguese citizenship via sephardic lineage more stringent. Now, Sephardic Jews of Portuguese descent must meet two key requirements, according to the international law firm Lexidy: 1) Show proof of having a legal residence in Portugal for at least three years, and 2) Receive an official certificate issued by the Jewish Sephardic community that legally recognizes your ancestral lineage.
Learn more here.
Israel
If your mother or father was born in Israel, you’re automatically eligible for Israeli citizenship, even if you were born in the United States. But there’s another path to citizenship for Americans of Jewish heritage or faith who don’t have an Israeli citizen for a parent—and that’s Israel’s Law of Return. The legislation, which was enacted by Israel’s parliament in 1950, was designed to strengthen the creation of a Jewish state by welcoming people whose mothers or grandmothers were Jews, as well as gentiles who had converted to Judaism. The Law of Return even allows a Jewish person’s spouse, children, and grandchildren to qualify for dual citizenship. Applicants must prove they have real ties to Jewish ancestors, but the application process is fairly swift and simple. One thing to bear in mind: Military service is compulsory for non-Arab Israeli citizens 18 and up, including oleh, or Jewish immigrants to Israel (with a few exceptions).
Learn more here.
view of Budapest, Hungary
Hungary
With historic cities like Budapest and sites of immense natural and cultural beauty like Lake Balaton and the Tokaj Wine Region, Hungarian citizenship unlocks an array of benefits. The Central European country bordering Austria and Croatia joined the European Union in 2004 and the Schengen area in 2007, meaning citizens can travel, live, work, and study visa-free in any of the 27 EU countries.
If you were born in the United States but any of your parents or grandparents are Hungarian citizens, you can apply here for the verification of your Hungarian citizenship. In some cases, it’s also possible to get Hungarian citizenship through ancestral ties to a great-grandparent born in Hungary, according to Global Citizen Solutions. While language proficiency isn’t always required, if you do speak Hungarian, you can apply for citizenship via a “Simplified Naturalization” route, as outlined by the Hungarian Embassy in Washington. Processing take approximately one year.
Learn more here.
Originally Appeared on Condé Nast Traveler
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