Top European Countries for Americans to get Citizenship by Descent

Americans with European ancestry face a watershed moment in 2025. Recent legal changes have created both extraordinary opportunities and significant restrictions across five major citizenship by descent programs, requiring immediate strategic decision-making.

Ireland remains the fastest and most accessible pathway at 9 months processing time with no generational limits through grandparents, while Italy's March 2025 law changes eliminated eligibility for millions of great-grandchildren applicants who didn't apply before the deadline. Poland continues offering unlimited generational reach with no language requirements, Slovakia opened a new three-generation pathway in 2022, and Czech Republic maintains steady processing at 6-12 months but only for grandchildren.

For high-net-worth individuals seeking European Union citizenship, these programs offer compelling advantages beyond mere travel convenience: freedom to live, work, and conduct business across 27 EU member states without restrictions, access to world-class healthcare and education systems, favorable tax planning opportunities, and the ability to pass citizenship to future generations indefinitely. However, success requires understanding complex eligibility rules, navigating bureaucratic challenges, and timing applications strategically. With costs ranging from $500 to $15,000+ and timelines spanning 6 months to 5 years, choosing the right pathway demands careful analysis of your family documentation, generational distance, and strategic objectives.

Ireland: the gold standard for speed and accessibility

The Irish citizenship by descent program stands as the most strategically valuable option for Americans with qualifying ancestry. Processing through the Foreign Births Register takes approximately 9 months as of 2025, a dramatic improvement from the 18-24 month backlogs of 2021-2022. The application fee remains remarkably affordable at €278 for adults, with total costs typically ranging from $500-2,000 including document procurement, apostilles, and translations.

Eligibility extends clearly to two generations. If your parent was born in Ireland, you're automatically an Irish citizen and can apply directly for a passport without Foreign Births Register involvement. If your grandparent was born anywhere on the island of Ireland (including Northern Ireland), you can register on the Foreign Births Register to claim citizenship. The critical timing issue for transmission: you must register before having children, because Irish citizenship only passes automatically if you were already registered as an Irish citizen when your child was born.

The program requires no language proficiency tests, no residence in Ireland, and imposes no restrictions on dual citizenship with the United States. Ireland processes applications in strict date order at a centralized Dublin office, with the Department of Foreign Affairs maintaining consistent 9-month timelines across all jurisdictions. Success rates exceed 90% for properly documented applications, with most rejections occurring due to incomplete documentation rather than eligibility denials.

Recent improvements include the transition to an online application portal at fbr.dfa.ie in 2024, streamlined document requirements (only certified photocopies of passports needed rather than originals), and expedited processing available for expectant parents who need citizenship before a child's birth to ensure transmission. The Irish government granted over 30,000 citizenship decisions in 2024, nearly double the 2022 figure, driven by record applications from Americans seeking EU access post-Brexit and responding to global mobility shifts.

Italy: navigating the 2025 restrictions

Italian citizenship by descent underwent seismic changes in March 2025 that fundamentally altered eligibility for millions of potential applicants. Law 74/2025, known as the Tajani Decree, imposed a strict two-generation limit effective May 24, 2025, eliminating the previous unlimited generational reach that made Italian citizenship exceptionally attractive. Applications submitted or appointments confirmed by 11:59 PM Rome time on March 27, 2025 are grandfathered under the old rules, creating a critical divide between those who acted quickly and those who missed the deadline.

Under the new restrictions, Americans can only claim through a parent or grandparent who held exclusively Italian citizenship (no dual nationals qualify) and who lived in Italy for at least two consecutive years after acquiring citizenship but before the applicant's birth. This "genuine connection" requirement effectively excludes most traditional diaspora claims where Italian ancestors emigrated decades ago and never returned. The constitutional validity remains uncertain—Italy's Constitutional Court is reviewing the law following a September 2025 challenge, with a decision expected in early 2026 that could overturn all or portions of the restrictions.

For those who still qualify, Italy offers three application routes with dramatically different timelines and costs. The consular route through Italian embassies in the United States faces appointment backlogs of 2-4+ years in major cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, with processing taking an additional 24-36 months once applications are submitted. The application fee increased to €600 per adult effective January 1, 2025 (doubled from €300), with total costs ranging from $5,000-10,000+ when including professional legal assistance.

The judicial route through Italian courts provides faster resolution for specific categories: 1948 cases where female ancestors had children before January 1, 1948 (when women gained the right to pass citizenship), "denial of justice" cases where consular appointments are unavailable within reasonable timeframes, and "minor age issue" cases where Italian ancestors naturalized while their children were minors. Court cases average 12-24 months for processing with success rates exceeding 99% for properly prepared 1948 cases, though costs run €7,000-10,000+ per person including mandatory Italian attorney representation.

The third option involves establishing legal residency in Italy and applying through local municipal offices (comuni), typically taking 3-9 months but requiring the significant commitment of relocating to Italy. Regardless of pathway, Italy requires extensive documentation: original Italian ancestor birth certificates from Italian comuni, US naturalization records proving when ancestors became Americans (or proof of non-naturalization), complete vital records for every generation in the lineage chain, and professional translations with apostille certification for all non-Italian documents.

Poland: unlimited generational reach with complexity

Polish citizenship by descent operates on a fundamentally different principle than other programs—it's technically a "confirmation" rather than "application" because Poland considers eligible descendants to already be Polish citizens under jus sanguinis principles dating to the 1920 Citizenship Act. This philosophical distinction reflects Poland's generous approach: no generational limits exist, allowing claims through parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and beyond, as long as an unbroken chain of citizenship transmission can be proven.

The challenge lies in documentation and proving that citizenship chain remained intact. Polish citizenship must have been held by ancestors after January 31, 1920 when modern citizenship laws took effect, and cannot have been broken by naturalization, foreign military service, or other citizenship-severing events before the next generation's birth. The "military paradox" provides a critical exception: Polish men who naturalized in foreign countries between 1920-1951 often retained Polish citizenship if they didn't receive formal military service release from Poland, which helps approximately 90% of successful male-line applications.

Processing timelines span 12-24 months typically, with complex cases extending to 36 months when extensive archival research is required. Applications are filed with regional governors (voivodes) based on ancestors' last residence in Poland, or defaulting to the Masovian Voivode in Warsaw if residence is unknown or in former Polish territories now part of Ukraine, Belarus, or Lithuania. The official government fee remains remarkably low at €58 (approximately $94 at consulates), but total costs climb to €2,000-5,000 when including professional genealogical research, document authentication, sworn translations at PLN 45-60 per page, and legal representation that proves virtually mandatory given language barriers and complex historical legal frameworks.

Recent developments in 2024 include a record 16,342 citizenships granted by Poland (37% increase from 2023), the highest number in over a decade. Israeli applications surged from 2,500 in 2021 to over 9,000 in 2024 following the October 7 attacks, creating increased processing backlogs. The Poland Migration Strategy 2025-2030 proposed potential reforms including citizenship tests and increased residence requirements, but these explicitly will not apply to citizenship by descent pathways, which remain constitutionally protected. Specialized law firms report 98% success rates for well-documented cases, with rejections primarily occurring due to documentation gaps affecting 60% of denied applications.

Slovakia: the great-grandparent advantage with residency requirements

Slovakia's citizenship by descent program, dramatically liberalized through amendments effective April 1, 2022, represents one of the most significant recent expansions in European citizenship law. The reforms extended eligibility to the third generation—great-grandchildren of Czechoslovak citizens born in present-day Slovakia—and critically reversed the harsh 2010 dual citizenship prohibition that had automatically stripped citizenship from Slovaks acquiring foreign nationality.

Approximately 800,000 Americans may qualify under the broadened criteria, which requires at least one direct ancestor (parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent) who was a Czechoslovak citizen and born in the territory of present-day Slovakia. Both conditions must be met: Czechoslovak citizenship status and birth within current Slovak borders, excluding territories that were historically Slovak but now lie in Ukraine, Hungary, or Poland.

The significant barrier involves the residency permit requirement. Applicants must obtain a Slovak residence permit that can be applied for simultaneously with the citizenship application, though no physical presence in Slovakia is required before approval. Once approved, applicants must enter Slovakia within 180 days, obtain health insurance within 3 working days, and submit a medical certificate within 30 days. This administrative burden, combined with the need to indicate a Slovak town for registration purposes, creates practical complications that suppress application volumes despite broad eligibility.

Processing times reach the statutory maximum of 24 months from submission, with current reality trending toward 12-18 months for most ancestry applications as thousands of diaspora descendants work through the system. Costs vary dramatically based on generational distance: €30 if claiming through parents or grandparents, but €1,000 if claiming through great-grandparents. Additional expenses for document authentication, sworn Slovak translations at €15-50 per page, FBI background checks, and potential legal assistance bring total costs to $2,000-5,000+.

The program requires no Slovak language proficiency tests, a major advantage distinguishing citizenship by descent from standard naturalization pathways. Success rates remain difficult to quantify since official statistics are not published, but immigration lawyers report "generally successful" outcomes for properly documented applications. The critical documentation challenge involves proving ancestors held Czechoslovak citizenship—birth certificates alone are insufficient unless they explicitly state citizenship. Census records from 1921, 1930, 1940, 1950, 1961, 1970, 1980, or 1991 provide the most reliable evidence, though accessing these records from Slovak archives can take months.

Czech Republic: streamlined process with generational limits

Czech citizenship by descent operates through a declaration process under Section 31 of the Czech Citizenship Act No. 186/2013, as amended in 2019 to extend eligibility to grandchildren of Czech or Czechoslovak citizens. The program limits claims to two generations—children and grandchildren only—with great-grandchildren excluded unless their parent (the grandchild) first successfully obtains citizenship, creating a "chain" mechanism for extending eligibility.

A parliamentary amendment to expand eligibility to third and fourth generations (great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren) received favorable government opinion in 2024 but will not pass before October 2025 elections. Legislative restart after new parliament formation in late 2025 or early 2026 represents the best-case scenario, potentially benefiting tens of thousands of eligible Americans and Latin Americans. The stalled amendment notably does not address the controversial Beneš Decrees of 1945 that stripped citizenship from German and Hungarian minorities, continuing to exclude descendants of Jewish emigrants who spoke German, including children saved by Nicholas Winton's Kindertransport operation.

The application process moves efficiently under current law, with the Ministry of Interior legally required to issue decisions within 180 days (6 months) of receipt, though actual processing ranges from 6-12 months for straightforward cases to 12+ months for complex situations requiring extensive archival verification. Applications must be submitted in person at Czech consulates in Washington DC, New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles, with the regional authority or consulate forwarding complete applications to the Ministry of Interior within 30 days.

Official fees remain minimal at CZK 1,000 (approximately $45) for declaration applications effective January 1, 2025, with Czech passports costing CZK 2,400 ($108) for 10-year biometric documents. Total costs typically range from $500-2,000 including document procurement, apostilles from US states, sworn Czech translations, and USCIS naturalization certificate copies at $65 each. Legal assistance adds €1,000-3,000 but proves valuable for navigating complex cases involving pre-1918 emigration issues, name discrepancies, or historical citizenship loss scenarios.

A critical requirement involves proving the Czech or Czechoslovak ancestor lost citizenship before the applicant's birth, which paradoxically makes the process easier for Americans given the bilateral Naturalization Convention between Czechoslovakia and the USA (in force November 14, 1929 to August 20, 1997) that stipulated automatic citizenship loss upon US naturalization. This historical treaty provides clear documentation of citizenship severance, though it creates the pre-1918 emigration problem—most Slovak and Czech immigration to America occurred between the 1880s and 1910s when emigrants were Austro-Hungarian subjects, not Czechoslovak citizens, rendering their descendants ineligible under current law.

Strategic comparison and decision framework

The five programs present dramatically different value propositions requiring careful evaluation of your specific circumstances. Ireland emerges as the optimal choice for Americans seeking the fastest path to EU citizenship with a grandparent connection, offering 9-month processing, affordable costs under $2,000, straightforward eligibility verification, and 90-95% success rates. The Foreign Births Register system operates efficiently with clear procedures, no language requirements, and automatic citizenship transmission to future children if parents register before having offspring.

Italy historically offered unmatched generational reach but now faces severe restrictions effective May 24, 2025 that eliminated eligibility for great-grandchildren and imposed exclusive Italian citizenship and residency requirements for qualifying ancestors. Americans who filed or secured appointments before March 27, 2025 remain protected under the old unlimited generational rules, creating a stark divide in the applicant population. Those still eligible face the choice between multi-year consular backlogs, expensive but fast judicial routes for 1948 maternal line cases, or relocating to Italy for municipal applications. The constitutional challenge pending before Italy's Constitutional Court may restore broader eligibility in 2026, but uncertainty prevents definitive planning.

Poland provides the most flexible option for Americans with distant Polish ancestry or complex family histories spanning multiple generations. The unlimited generational reach, combined with citizenship transmission through both parents (post-1951) and the military paradox exception, creates pathways for applicants whose ancestors emigrated over a century ago. The trade-off involves significant documentary challenges requiring extensive archival research across multiple countries, longer processing timelines of 1-3 years, higher total costs of €2,000-5,000+ with professional assistance, and the necessity of specialized legal representation given Polish language requirements for all applications and communications.

Czech Republic offers an efficient middle ground with streamlined 6-12 month processing, minimal government fees around $500-2,000 total cost, and dual citizenship allowance since 2014. The two-generation limit restricts eligibility but creates clearer boundaries than Poland's complex citizenship chain analysis. The critical bilateral treaty with the USA providing automatic citizenship loss upon naturalization simplifies proof requirements for American applicants, though it simultaneously excludes those whose ancestors emigrated before Czechoslovakia's 1918 formation. Success rates of 85-90% with proper documentation reflect the program's mature administrative processes.

Slovakia stands alone in explicitly including great-grandchildren while requiring a residency permit that no other program demands. The 2022 liberalization opened opportunities for an estimated 800,000 Americans, but the practical burden of establishing Slovak residence—even purely administratively—combined with 24-month maximum processing times and ministerial discretion in decision-making creates the most challenging application pathway. The €1,000 fee for great-grandchildren applicants (versus €30 for closer generations) reflects Slovakia's attempt to balance diaspora engagement with immigration control priorities.

Tax implications and compliance requirements

Americans obtaining European citizenship through descent programs must understand that US tax obligations continue unaffected by acquiring foreign nationality. The United States employs citizenship-based taxation, requiring all US citizens to file annual tax returns reporting worldwide income regardless of where they live or what other citizenships they hold. This fundamental reality shapes tax planning strategies for high-net-worth individuals considering European citizenship.

The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion allows excluding up to $130,000 of foreign earned income in 2025 for qualifying individuals who meet the bona fide residence test or physical presence test requiring 330 days abroad. However, this exclusion does not apply to passive income including dividends, interest, capital gains, and rental income. The Foreign Tax Credit provides dollar-for-dollar credits for foreign taxes paid, typically proving more valuable for high-net-worth individuals with substantial passive income or earned income exceeding the FEIE limit. The credit can be carried forward 10 years, creating significant flexibility for tax planning across multiple years with varying income patterns.

FATCA and FBAR reporting requirements impose substantial compliance burdens on Americans with foreign financial accounts. FBAR filing through FinCEN Form 114 becomes mandatory when foreign financial accounts exceed $10,000 aggregate at any point during the year, with penalties reaching $10,000 per violation for non-willful failures and up to the greater of $100,000 or 50% of account value for willful violations. FATCA Form 8938 filing with annual tax returns becomes required when foreign financial assets exceed $200,000 year-end or $300,000 anytime during the year for single individuals living abroad, with married thresholds at $400,000 and $600,000 respectively.

All five European countries maintain comprehensive tax treaties with the United States designed to prevent double taxation through foreign tax credit mechanisms rather than exemptions. The treaties contain "saving clauses" preventing US citizens from using treaty benefits to avoid US taxation on worldwide income, meaning dual citizens generally cannot use treaties to reduce their US tax burden. The primary benefit involves preventing double taxation by allowing foreign taxes paid to offset US tax liability dollar-for-dollar through the Foreign Tax Credit.

Tax residency rules in each European country operate independently of citizenship status. Poland, Ireland, Italy, Czech Republic, and Slovakia all employ residence-based taxation systems typically triggered by 183+ days physical presence per year or having a permanent home and center of vital interests in the country. Americans can hold European citizenship without becoming tax resident in those countries, avoiding dual tax filing obligations. However, high-net-worth individuals planning to spend substantial time in Europe should investigate special tax regimes: Italy's flat tax of €100,000-200,000 annually for wealthy new residents, Ireland's non-domiciled status offering remittance basis taxation for the first 5 years, and various other incentive programs designed to attract affluent immigrants.

Professional tax advice from CPAs specializing in international and expat taxation becomes essential for high-net-worth individuals navigating these complexities. The strategic coordination of income timing, foreign tax payments, residency changes, and use of exclusions versus credits can result in significant tax savings while maintaining full compliance with both US and European requirements. Americans considering renouncing US citizenship to escape tax obligations should understand the exit tax under IRC §877A applies to individuals with net worth exceeding $2 million, average annual income tax exceeding $206,000 (2025 threshold), or failure to certify 5 years of tax compliance, potentially creating substantial tax liabilities upon expatriation.

Transmission strategies for future generations

The ability to pass citizenship to children and future generations represents a critical strategic consideration distinguishing these programs. Ireland operates under strict timing rules requiring parents to register on the Foreign Births Register before having children, because Irish citizenship only transmits automatically if the parent was already an Irish citizen at the child's birth. Americans who register after having children cannot transmit citizenship to those existing children, though future children born after registration will be Irish citizens automatically. This creates planning imperatives for younger applicants who anticipate having families—securing Irish citizenship should happen before parenthood to maximize generational benefits.

Italy and Poland offer the most flexible transmission mechanisms with no time limits for registration and indefinite generational reach. Children born to Italian or Polish citizens automatically acquire citizenship at birth regardless of birthplace, requiring only registration of foreign births with national authorities. Italian children must be registered in vital records and AIRE (Registry of Italians Residing Abroad) if born outside Italy, while Polish children require transcription of foreign birth certificates into Polish registry. Neither country imposes deadlines for these administrative steps, though earlier registration facilitates passport applications and documentation for children.

Czech Republic limits transmission to two generations from the original Czech or Czechoslovak citizen, creating natural termination points where families would need to pursue naturalization through residence or other pathways to maintain citizenship in subsequent generations. Slovakia and Czech Republic both require parents to already be citizens at the moment of a child's birth for automatic transmission—citizenship obtained after a child's birth does not retroactively confer citizenship on existing children.

Strategic planning for high-net-worth families involves coordinating citizenship applications across multiple family members to maximize efficiency and minimize costs. Italy's judicial route allows multiple family members to join the same court case, substantially reducing per-person attorney fees. Poland's confirmation process examines entire family lineages, potentially qualifying multiple siblings, cousins, and relatives through single applications. Families should consider applying simultaneously when possible to leverage shared documentation, divide research costs, and ensure consistent timing for transmission to the next generation of children.

Common pitfalls and success factors

Documentation quality emerges as the single most critical factor determining application success across all five programs. The most common failure mode involves incomplete applications missing essential documents, causing outright rejection or multi-month delays as authorities request additional materials. Americans should begin the process by creating comprehensive family trees documenting every ancestor in the direct lineage from the qualifying European ancestor to themselves, then systematically obtaining original or certified copies of birth, marriage, and death certificates for each person in that chain.

Naturalization records present particular challenges requiring strategic approaches. US naturalization documents for ancestors must be obtained from USCIS or National Archives (NARA), typically taking 4-8 weeks and costing $65 per certificate. For ancestors who never naturalized, proving the negative requires census records showing alien status, alien registration cards, or formal USCIS certification of non-naturalization. Many applicants discover unexpected naturalization events through systematic NARA searches, with American citizenship acquired by immigrant ancestors before subsequent children's births breaking the citizenship chain.

The 1948 rule affects thousands of Italian ancestry applicants whose claims trace through female lines. Italy did not permit women to pass citizenship to children born before January 1, 1948, creating automatic ineligibility for consular and municipal applications. The judicial route through Italian courts remains available with 99%+ success rates since the 2009 Court of Cassation precedent established retroactive citizenship transmission through maternal lines, but requires Italian attorney representation and costs of €7,000-10,000+ per person.

Poland's military paradox provides unexpected eligibility for many Americans whose Polish ancestors naturalized before 1951. Men who became American citizens without receiving formal Polish military service release often retained Polish citizenship despite naturalization, preserving the citizenship chain for descendants. This technical exception helps approximately 90% of successful Polish citizenship confirmations, though proving its application requires careful analysis of naturalization dates, applicant ages, and military service documentation.

Name discrepancies between documents create substantial complications requiring legal corrections or court orders establishing that differently-spelled names refer to the same person. Italian names often underwent Americanization (Giuseppe becoming Joseph, Domenico becoming Dominic), while Slavic names faced transliteration variations and diacritical mark removal. Women's maiden names versus married names require complete documentation through marriage certificates for every generation. Professional genealogists specializing in each country's records prove invaluable for resolving these issues and locating missing documents in European archives.

Conclusion: acting strategically in a changing landscape

The window for optimal citizenship by descent strategies narrowed dramatically in 2025 with Italy's March restrictions, while simultaneously expanding through Slovakia's 2022 liberalization and Ireland's improved processing. Americans with European ancestry face a critical moment requiring swift evaluation of eligibility before further restrictions materialize. Ireland stands as the clear frontrunner for speed, affordability, and certainty with 9-month processing and costs under $2,000. Poland offers unmatched flexibility for distant ancestry claims spanning multiple generations despite longer timelines and higher complexity. Czech Republic provides efficient middle-ground options for grandchildren of Czechoslovak citizens willing to accept generational limits.

Slovakia's great-grandparent inclusion creates unique opportunities for Americans whose ancestry falls outside other programs' reach, though residency permit requirements substantially complicate applications. Italy's future remains uncertain pending Constitutional Court review of the 2025 restrictions, with Americans who applied before the March 27 deadline protected under old rules while others face stringent new limitations or must await potential legislative reversal.

High-net-worth individuals should prioritize immediate action on documentation gathering regardless of which program they pursue, as the 3-9 month document collection phase represents the critical path before applications can be submitted. Professional legal assistance, while adding $2,000-10,000+ to total costs, dramatically improves success rates and accelerates processing by ensuring applications are complete, accurate, and strategically structured from initial submission. The investment in European citizenship provides lifetime value through EU freedom of movement, business opportunities across 27 member states, favorable tax planning possibilities, educational advantages for children, and the ability to pass citizenship to all future generations—benefits that far exceed the acquisition costs for families seeking global mobility and optionality in an increasingly uncertain world.