How Americans Can Get an EU Passport
Key findings
- For Americans, the three realistic EU-passport pathways are descent, investment-to-residence, and ordinary naturalization after living in Europe.
- Descent is usually the cheapest and least disruptive pathway if your family tree fits.
- Paid pathways are usually residence-first: they buy a foothold, then require years of residence before citizenship.
An EU passport lets you live, work, study, and retire in any of the 27 member states — and for Americans there are three realistic pathways to one: claim it through ancestry, invest for it, or earn it by living in an EU country. Ancestry is by far the cheapest if your family tree fits. This report lays out all three pathways and which Americans each one suits.
Check if you match: see which EU pathways match your background.
Pathway 1: By descent — the cheapest, if you qualify
If a parent, grandparent, or (in some countries) earlier ancestor was a citizen, you may be entitled to citizenship with no investment and no relocation. The work is documenting the lineage, not paying for it. The most-used pathways for Americans:
| Country | Pathway | Reaches back to |
|---|---|---|
| Ireland | Foreign Births Register (grandparent) | Grandparent born in Ireland |
| Italy | Citizenship by descent (jure sanguinis) | Parent/grandparent (see 2025 reform below) |
| Poland | Citizenship confirmation | Ancestors who held Polish citizenship |
| Germany | Citizenship by descent · Nazi-era restoration | Parent; or restored for persecuted families |
| Greece | Citizenship by descent | Greek parent/grandparent |
| Hungary | Descent confirmation | Hungarian ancestors |
| Portugal | Citizenship by descent | Portuguese parent/grandparent |
| Spain | Nationality by origin | Spanish parent; limited birth-in-Spain or adoption cases |
| France | Citizenship by descent | French parent; older family lines only if French nationality reached the parent and records support the claim |
| Lithuania | Descent restoration | Pre-1940 citizen ancestors |
Important 2025 change: Italy tightened its famous jure sanguinis rule in 2025, generally limiting claims to those with a parent or grandparent born in Italy (ending the previous unlimited-generations pathway). See the dedicated Italy citizenship by descent after 2025 changes report before counting on an Italian claim.
Portugal also has separate direct or special nationality routes for birth in Portugal, adoption, marriage or partnership, and some former Portuguese citizens. Italy has similar non-descent routes for marriage or civil union, adoption, birth in Italy, and some former Italian citizens. France also has narrow routes for birth in France, adoption, marriage, and some former French citizens. Poland is similar in one important way: citizenship confirmation is still the main ancestry-from-abroad route, but Karta Polaka, permanent residence based on Polish origin, later citizenship recognition, and restoration for former Polish citizens can matter when the direct chain does not solve the case. These are not ancestry-by-descent shortcuts, but they are worth checking before planning around paid residence.
For the broader ancestry map, see citizenship by descent: countries with grandparent and beyond eligibility.
Pathway 2: By investment
If ancestry isn't an option, money can be:
- Direct EU citizenship-by-investment is effectively off the table. Malta's former exceptional-investor framework has been under major EU-law pressure after the 2025 Court of Justice ruling, so paid EU strategies should be treated as residence-first unless current Maltese counsel confirms a lawful exceptional-services pathway.
- Golden visas that can support later naturalization: a Portugal golden visa can support long-term residence, but ordinary Portuguese citizenship is now generally 7 years for EU/CPLP citizens and 10 years for most others under the 2026 nationality law. A Greece golden visa is usually a longer residence-and-naturalization plan rather than a quick passport purchase. See the cheapest EU residency report.
Pathway 3: By naturalization
Move to an EU country on a work, retirement, or digital nomad visa, live there long enough, and naturalize. Portugal used to be the headline 5-year example, but ordinary Portuguese naturalization is now generally 7 years for EU/CPLP citizens and 10 years for most others, with transition treatment for applications already pending before May 19, 2026. Spain's ordinary naturalization route is usually 10 years for Americans unless a reduced Article 22 period or another Spanish nationality route applies. Italian naturalization is also usually a 10-year plan for many non-EU citizens, with shorter periods for some EU citizens, refugees or stateless people, adult adoptees, and people with specific Italian family or birth ties.
What this means for Americans
- You keep your US citizenship. The US permits dual nationality, and most descent or birth recognition cases do not require giving up a US passport. Ordinary naturalization can be different: Spain generally asks non-exempt applicants to renounce prior nationality at the oath. See keeping your US citizenship.
- Check descent first. It's free and can hand you a passport that would otherwise cost six figures or a decade of residence.
- An EU passport is one passport for 27 countries — uniquely valuable leverage for relatively little cost if your ancestry qualifies.
Methodology
Pathways and timelines come from Citizeo's structured dataset of citizenship and residency programs, reflecting publicly available rules as of June 2026. Citizenship-by-descent eligibility and residence-to-citizenship periods change periodically (notably Italy's 2025 reform) — confirm the current rules with the relevant government authority before acting.