Citizenship by Descent: Ireland, Italy, Poland and More

Some Americans already hold a second citizenship and don't know it. Others can claim one through a parent or grandparent with the right paperwork. Citizenship by descent is the strongest status you can have abroad: no income tests, no renewals, and, for EU countries, the right to live and work across the European Union. It is also the route where the rules have shifted most dramatically in the past two years.

How citizenship by descent works

Many countries pass citizenship from parent to child regardless of where the child is born. This is called jus sanguinis, "right of blood." If your parent was a citizen when you were born, you may have been a citizen from birth and simply need it recognized. If the link is a grandparent or further back, the question becomes whether citizenship passed down each generation without being lost along the way.

Every claim rests on documents: birth, marriage, death, and naturalization records for each person in the chain, usually certified, apostilled, and translated. Start gathering early. Our apostilles guide explains the US side.

Ireland: parents and grandparents

Ireland has one of the clearest descent systems, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs:

• Parent born on the island of Ireland: you are already an Irish citizen. You can apply for a passport directly.
• Grandparent born on the island of Ireland (including Northern Ireland): you can register on the Foreign Births Register.
• Parent who was an Irish citizen when you were born but not born in Ireland, for example a parent who registered through the Foreign Births Register before your birth: you can register too.

Timing matters. You become a citizen only when you are entered on the register, and a child born before the parent is registered cannot claim through that parent. So a great-grandparent link works only if your parent registered before you were born.

Applications are made online at the Foreign Births Register portal, then printed, witnessed, and posted with original documents. The fee is €278 for adults and €153 for under-18s, including postage and handling, and processing takes about 12 months. Irish citizenship carries EU citizenship, so a successful registration gives you the right to live in any EU country.

Italy: the 2025 law change

Italy used to be the most generous descent country in the world. There was no generation limit, so many Americans qualified through a great-great-grandparent who emigrated after Italian unification. That changed in 2025.

What the new law says

Decree-Law 36 of March 28, 2025, converted into Law 74 of May 23, 2025, added Article 3-bis to Italy's citizenship law. According to Italy's Foreign Ministry, a person born abroad who holds another citizenship is now treated as never having acquired Italian citizenship by descent unless an exception applies. The main exceptions are:

• Applications already filed. People whose recognition application with a consulate or town hall, or court case, was filed by 11:59 p.m. Rome time on March 27, 2025 are assessed under the old rules.
• Exclusive Italian citizenship in the family. A parent or grandparent holds, or held at death, only Italian citizenship. Many Italian-American ancestors naturalized in the US, which blocks this exception.
• Parental residence in Italy. A parent or adoptive parent lived in Italy for at least two continuous years after becoming Italian and before your birth or adoption.

Minor children

Italian citizens covered by the exceptions can declare their children. If the declaration is made within three years of birth, the child can keep living abroad; after that, the child needs two continuous years of legal residence in Italy. For children who were minors on May 24, 2025, the Foreign Ministry sets a deadline of 11:59 p.m. Rome time on May 31, 2029 for those declarations.

Court challenges

Italy's Constitutional Court rejected the main constitutional challenge to Law 74/2025 in March 2026. Other challenges and a separate Supreme Court question on ancestors who naturalized while their children were minors were still pending when we checked. Some lower courts have issued different rulings. If you are in a pending case or think you meet an exception, work with an Italian citizenship lawyer, and treat online eligibility checkers with caution.

Poland: confirmation of citizenship

Poland passes citizenship from parent to child. If your parent, grandparent, or earlier ancestor was a Polish citizen and the citizenship was never lost along the line, you may already be Polish and need only a confirmation decision.

According to Poland's government guidance, you apply to the provincial governor (voivode) through the Polish consulate for your area, in person by appointment or by post. You'll need a Polish-language application, evidence of your ancestors' Polish citizenship such as civil records, birth and marriage records linking each generation, and name-change documents if relevant. Foreign documents need translation by a sworn translator or consul and may need an apostille. Check the fee with your consulate.

The hard part is history. Whether citizenship survived depends on the laws in force at each step, including emigration, naturalization abroad, and military service in the early twentieth century. Archival research in Poland is common, and many applicants use a specialist.

Ghana: Right of Abode (residency, not citizenship)

Ghana's Right of Abode is not citizenship by descent, but it is the closest equivalent for many Black Americans. The Ghana Immigration Service describes it as a status for persons of African descent in the diaspora and for former Ghanaian citizens. Holders can live in Ghana permanently, enter without a visa, and work without a work permit.

The diaspora route asks for more than ancestry. Requirements listed by the Ghana Immigration Service include attestations from two Ghanaians of standing, evidence of contribution to Ghana's economic development (such as company records, bank statements, or employment of Ghanaians), a Ghana police report, a non-citizen ID card, and a medical report from the Immigration Service clinic. Fees are not listed on that page; confirm them with the Ghana Immigration Service. In practice this means most applicants first live in Ghana on another status. Our Ghana guide covers those first steps.

Dual citizenship and US law

The State Department's position is straightforward:

• US law does not require you to choose between US citizenship and another nationality.
• You must use your US passport to enter and leave the United States. Using your other passport elsewhere is fine, and some countries require you to use theirs when entering or leaving.
• Dual nationals owe allegiance to both countries and must obey both countries' laws.
• US consular help can be limited when you are in the country of your other nationality.

Check the other side, too. Some countries restrict dual citizenship or impose obligations such as military service. And a second passport changes nothing about your US taxes: citizens file wherever they live. See US taxes abroad.

First steps

1. Map your family tree with names, dates, and places for every person between you and the ancestor.
2. Find the ancestor's naturalization date in the US, if any. For Italy and Poland this date often decides the case.
3. Order certified records from the relevant state vital records offices and foreign archives.
4. Check the official rules on the government or consulate site for the country, not a third-party summary.
5. Get an apostille and translation for each US document, in the format the country requires.

Last reviewed October 18, 2026. General information only, not legal, immigration, or tax advice. Requirements change, so confirm with official sources before you apply. See our disclaimer.