How to Get a European Passport as An American?

Since the United States of America is one of the few nations with a liberal policy towards dual citizenship, many Americans are interested in acquiring a second European Passport. Having another passport not only gives you more freedom to move across borders but is also an added perpetuation. In today’s volatile and tumultuous world, a second citizenship can come in very handy in protecting your and your family’s interests. If you want to know how to get a European passport as an American citizen, this article has the relevant details.

While many nations require people to renounce their original citizenship when applying for citizenship in another country, Americans are quite fortunate in this regard. The U.S. citizenship law does not require you to choose one nationality over another. Americans can naturalize in another country at any time, without any fear of losing their U.S. citizenship.

A common question that many Americans looking for a second passport in Europe ask is “which EU country gives citizenship easily?” For Americans who wish to get a European Passport, the good news is that with relatively liberal laws on both ends, obtaining an EU passport is usually not difficult.

How to get a European Passport as an American citizen?

There are several ways of claiming or applying for citizenship in Europe as an American:

You can have citizenship by descent, by naturalization, by investment, or by exception. Citizenship by descent requires you to have a family history tied to the second nation. That is your parents or grandparents must have been a citizen of that nation for you to claim citizenship as well, irrespective of where you were born. This law is not the same everywhere, though. So you must first find out if the EU nation you are applying citizenship for, does accept citizenship by descent.

Citizenship by investment will require you to make a significant investment in the country’s economy. For example, Malta will offer you citizenship if you make a non-refundable donation to the government fund or invest in property there. The minimum amount of investments is set by the Maltese government in this case.

Certain countries, like France, offer citizenship to people living in the country legally for a long period of time. For France, the minimum duration is five years, with a few other conditions.

Which European countries allow dual citizenship with the United States?

Most EU countries allow dual citizenship. While some countries have a more lenient approach to it, others only allow dual citizenship with special conditions. Of the countries that permit dual citizenship in the EU, none restricts U.S. nationals from applying for it.

Which EU country is the easiest to apply for citizenship?

Getting citizenship in most European countries is relatively easy, as long as you fulfill the criteria. However, there are a few countries that offer citizenship more easily than others. At our law firm, we offer Americans an easy path towards to acquiring a European passport in these countries:

Portuguese passport by descent is an option some Americans who can provide evidence that their ancestors were expelled from Portugal or Spain. Many of the hundred million eligible people worldwide descended from Sephardi Jews live in the US or Canada.

Bulgarian citizenship: If you are asking “Which European countries allow dual citizenship with US?” one of the first responses is Bulgaria. You can obtain a second Bulgarian passport through the “golden visa” program. Business owners and wealthy individuals can obtain a Bulgarian passport by making a financial investment that benefits the Bulgarian economy. As an easy and straightforward pathway to Bulgarian citizenship, this is one of the best ways to acquire a European passport.

Austrian passport: There are several ways to get an Austrian passport. One of the easiest is through naturalization. If you have lived in Austria continuously for ten years and five years out of these were on Residence Permit.

Greek passport: Similar to Bulgaria, Greece also has a Golden Visa program. With this, Americans can obtain Greek citizenship by making a financial investment in Greece. In addition, you need to live in the country for seven years at a minimum and pay the required taxes to be eligible for a Greek passport.

We specialize in assisting Israeli and American citizens in obtaining European citizenship. Our detailed assessment process takes care of all your needs before suggesting the best method and the best European country for applying for EU citizenship. Obtaining a European passport is easier than you thought with our specialized solutions.