How the American has obtained citizenship in 2 European countries that it has never visited

• I was born in the United States but I have ancestral ties with Poland and Portugal.
• The collection of all the documents necessary to request the dual citizenship has taken time and efforts.
• I am happy to have hired local immigration lawyers and join social groups to make things easier.

I was born in the United States but I travel widely and I often think of moving abroad. I also want my children to have the opportunity if they want to leave the United States.

In recent years, when I have been more and more concerned with the political landscape in America and on the impact it could have on the life of my family, I had the search for means of gaining citizenship in another country.

This process is not possible for everyone. Among other obstacles, some people are unable to trace their roots because their ancestors have been brought to the United States as a slave.

However, after doing a lot of research and submitted so many documents, I obtained citizenship in Poland and Portugal before setting foot in the two countries.

Here are the steps I have taken.

I started by creating a detailed family tree

To build my tree, I did research on where each of my ancestors was born and the date on which they immigrated to the United States.

Then, I filled the gaps by asking relatives and conducting online research. The databases of the American government and Ancestry.com were my main sources to verify the things I have already been told and to examine other information on immigration.

According to my experience, details as small as the exact year, someone immigrated or where he was buried was critical.

After examining immigration laws, I found the documents I needed

Once I got my tree, I did research on immigration laws.

Thanks to my research, I found a few ways to citizenship, but I focused on Poland. My grandfather was Polish and I had his Polish passport, so the process was simple.

Most countries need original documents issued in this country, such as a birth certificate or a baptism certificate, to successfully request citizenship.

In some cases, immigration lawyers can help find these types of documents.

It was worth it for me to also examine alternative pathways to citizenship

Although a common path towards citizenship is by descendants, several countries offer alternative routes. It is worth looking into different laws on immigration, especially if the tracing of the exact roots and the search for original documents is not possible.

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I was able to obtain Portuguese citizenship by proving that I am a descendant of the Sephardic Jews who were expelled from the Iberian Peninsula in the 15th century. Although the deadline to request nationality under this specific Portuguese law was on January 1, 2024, similar laws may exist in other countries.

For example, Spain grants citizenship to those who fled the Franco dictatorship during the Spanish civil war and their descendants. Austria and Germany also offer it to the descendants of the Jews who fled the Nazis.

In some cases, countries will even give you citizenship in exchange for a considerable investment, as real estate.

Connection with other people passing through the same process has helped

One of the best decisions I made was to join social groups for the Americans who seek to win dual citizenship.

I regularly received quick advice and answers to questions from people who lived the same thing as me. It was also a great way to connect with people with a similar heritage.

The hiring of a local immigration lawyer gave me a lot of peace

Before investing a lot of time and money in the citizenship process, I wanted to obtain an honest assessment of my chances.

To appease my mind, I had free consultations with a lawyer in Poland and one in Portugal. From there, I hired them to help me solve the problems.

Although the hiring of a lawyer is not always necessary, I thought it was time and money well spent. I was also happy to have used local lawyers who were experts in the process of their country.

I had to gather a lot of documents before submitting my applications

Poland and Portugal needed a ton of documents to ask for citizenship.

In both cases, my local lawyer filled the necessary forms, but I was responsible for obtaining everything else. I needed to submit my birth certificate and my marriage certificate, among others.

Because my Polish citizenship is based on the descent, I also had to submit documents proving that I went down from my grandfather, including the marriage certificate of my grandparent and the birth certificates of my parents.

For my Portuguese citizenship, I was able to submit a letter from a rabbi on cultural practices and proof that my grandfather was buried in a Sephardic section of a cemetery. I also needed to submit a check of the history of the FBI.

Once I gathered all the documents, my lawyers submitted my requests for me.

It took a long time to obtain citizenship

After submitting, there was nothing else to do than to wait.

My request for Polish citizenship was granted in about a year. I did not have Portuguese citizenship up to almost three years after my request.

The wait was the most frustrating part of the process. Once I kept my new passports in my hands, however, I forgot it.

I love having the freedom to move abroad. Now that my children have a double citizenship, I rest easily knowing that they have the same opportunity.

This story was initially published on November 7, 2024 and more recently updated on March 7, 2025.