How Can an American Get a European Passport in 2026?

An American can get a European passport through ancestry (if you have a parent or grandparent from countries like Ireland, Italy, or Poland), through naturalization after living legally in an EU country for five to ten years, or through marriage to an EU citizen. There is no shortcut. But some paths are significantly faster than others — and the landscape changed dramatically in 2025.

This guide maps every realistic route, ranked by timeline. No golden passport sales pitches, no "one weird trick" — just the actual options, with their real requirements and honest trade-offs.

What Does an EU Passport Actually Get You?

An EU passport isn't just a travel document. It's membership in a system that works differently than what most Americans are used to.

You can live, work, and study in any of 27 EU member states without a visa. Your children can attend European universities — in many countries, tuition is free or a few hundred euros per year. You get access to public healthcare systems that consistently rank above the US in outcomes and cost. And you can pass citizenship to your children, giving them options you didn't have.

Visa-free travel to 170+ countries doesn't hurt either. The Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch passports all rank in the global top 5 for travel freedom.

Path 1: Ancestry — The Fastest Route (If You Qualify)

Citizenship by descent is the only path that doesn't require you to live in Europe first. If you qualify, you can apply from the US and potentially hold an EU passport within one to two years.

The catch: you either have the ancestry or you don't. And the rules tightened significantly in 2025.

Ireland

Ireland has the most straightforward descent rules. If you have a parent born in Ireland, you're automatically an Irish citizen — you just need to apply for a passport. If you have a grandparent born in Ireland, you can register on the Foreign Births Register and then apply.

Great-grandchildren are not eligible unless their parent (the grandchild of the Irish citizen) registered before the great-grandchild's birth. This catches many Americans off guard.

Ireland allows dual citizenship without restrictions. Processing times for the Foreign Births Register have improved from the 2021-2022 backlog but still run several months to a year.

Italy (Major Change in 2025)

Italy used to be the gold standard for ancestry-based citizenship — no generational limit, meaning you could trace your lineage back to a great-great-grandparent who left Italy in 1905 and still qualify.

That's over.

On March 28, 2025, Italy issued Decree-Law 36/2025, which was converted into permanent legislation as Law 74/2025 on May 24, 2025. The new rules limit citizenship by descent to two generations: you must have a parent or grandparent who was born in Italy. Claims through great-grandparents are no longer possible for new applications.

Italy's Constitutional Court upheld the law on March 12, 2026, rejecting constitutional challenges as partly unfounded and partly inadmissible. The two-generation limit is now settled law.: if your parent resided in Italy for at least two consecutive years after acquiring Italian citizenship and before your birth, you may still qualify even without a grandparent born in Italy. But for most Americans with distant Italian ancestry, this door has closed.

Applications filed or appointments confirmed before 11:59 PM Rome time on March 27, 2025 are still processed under the old rules. Going forward, the two-generation limit is the law.

Italy allows dual citizenship. If you do qualify, processing times vary by consulate — some US consulates have wait lists of two to three years just for an appointment.

Poland

Poland allows citizenship claims through parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents, provided the lineage of Polish citizenship was never broken. The key requirement is that your ancestor was a Polish citizen — not just ethnically Polish. This distinction matters because Poland's borders and citizenship laws changed dramatically through the 20th century.

No residency requirement. Dual citizenship is accepted. The process is documentation-heavy but free of generational limits in the way Italy now restricts. If you have Polish roots, this is worth investigating.

Germany

Germany reformed its citizenship laws in 2024, reducing the residency requirement from eight years to five and — critically — now allowing dual citizenship for the first time. For Americans with German ancestry, there's also a restitution pathway: descendants of people who lost German citizenship under Nazi persecution (1933-1945) can apply under Article 116(2) of the German Basic Law. No residency or language requirement for this route.

Hungary

Hungary offers citizenship to those who can demonstrate Hungarian ancestry and pass a basic Hungarian language interview. No residency requirement. The language test is the main hurdle — you need conversational ability, not fluency, but it's still a real requirement.

The Ancestry Reality Check

Before spending money on genealogical research, understand that ancestry claims require documentation, not just family stories. You'll need birth certificates, marriage certificates, naturalization records (or proof of non-naturalization), and sometimes immigration records — all forming an unbroken chain from you to your ancestor.

If your Italian grandmother's father naturalized as a US citizen before she was born, the chain is broken. If your Irish great-grandfather never actually held Irish citizenship, you can't claim through him. The details matter enormously.

Path 2: Residency → Naturalization (The Path Most ITN Customers Take)

If you don't qualify through ancestry, the most common route is: get a visa, live in the country legally, and apply for citizenship after the required residency period.

This is where the visa pathways ITN supports become the first step toward something much bigger than a temporary stay.

Portugal — Currently 5 Years (But Watch This Space)

As of March 2026, Portugal requires five years of legal residency to apply for citizenship by naturalization. You must also demonstrate A2-level Portuguese language proficiency (basic conversational ability) and have a clean criminal record.

Portugal allows dual citizenship — you keep your US passport.

However, Portugal's Parliament passed a law in October 2025 that would extend the naturalization requirement to 10 years for most nationalities (7 years for citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries). The Constitutional Court reviewed the law and found elements unconstitutional in its January 2026 ruling. As of this writing, the law has not taken effect and the five-year rule remains current. The revised Nationality Law is expected back on the parliamentary agenda in April 2026.

What this means practically: if you start your Portuguese residency now (via a D7 passive income visa or D8 digital nomad visa), your five-year clock starts ticking under the current rules. Whether the rules change before you reach year five depends on legislation that hasn't been finalized.

For a deeper dive on Portugal's citizenship timeline, see our guide to Portuguese citizenship.

Netherlands — 5 Years to Permanent Residency (Citizenship Is Complicated)

After five years of legal residence in the Netherlands (including on a DAFT visa), you can apply for permanent residency. This is what most American DAFT holders aim for — it gives you the right to live and work in the Netherlands indefinitely, without visa renewals.

Full Dutch citizenship requires passing the Dutch language and civic integration exam (inburgeringsexamen) and — here's the issue — the Netherlands generally requires you to renounce your other citizenship. Most Americans are unwilling to give up their US passport, so they stop at permanent residency.

There is a proposed law that would extend the residency requirement for Dutch citizenship from 5 to 10 years, though it won't take effect before 2027 at the earliest and would not apply retroactively.

For most Americans, Dutch permanent residency at five years is the practical goal. It provides nearly all the benefits of citizenship — you can live, work, and access public services — without surrendering your US passport.

Spain — 10 Years (With Important Exceptions)

Spain requires 10 years of continuous legal residency for naturalization — one of the longest timelines in Europe. And Spain generally requires you to renounce your previous citizenship, though enforcement of this has historically been inconsistent.

The 10-year clock starts when you begin legal residence, whether on a Digital Nomad Visa, a Non-Lucrative Visa, or another qualifying permit. After five years, you can apply for permanent residency — which, like the Netherlands, gives you most practical benefits without the citizenship question.

There are exceptions that shorten Spain's timeline: citizens of Latin American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal, and people of Sephardic Jewish heritage can apply after just two years. Spouses of Spanish citizens can apply after one year of residence while married.

For most Americans without these connections, Spain is a 10-year commitment to citizenship. Permanent residency at 5 years is the realistic milestone.

Germany — 5 Years (Recently Reformed)

Germany's 2024 citizenship reform made it significantly more accessible. The standard path is now five years of legal residence (reduced from eight), with a possible fast track at three years for those who demonstrate exceptional integration — including B2-level German language ability.

Germany now allows dual citizenship, which is a major change. Combined with the shorter timeline, this makes Germany an increasingly attractive option for Americans who can secure a work visa or Blue Card.

The trade-off: Germany doesn't have an equivalent of DAFT or Spain's DNV that makes it easy for self-employed Americans to get in. You generally need an employer sponsor or a recognized professional qualification.

Path 3: Marriage to an EU Citizen

Marriage to a citizen of an EU country can significantly shorten the path to citizenship, but it doesn't grant it automatically — a common misconception.

Timelines vary by country: Spain requires just one year of residence while married, which is the fastest in Europe. France requires four years of marriage plus demonstrated integration. Portugal requires three years of marriage or civil partnership.

In all cases, you still need to meet language and integration requirements. The marriage itself doesn't bypass those.

Path 4: Investment (The Most Expensive and Least Direct)

There is no EU country that directly sells citizenship to investors — this is a persistent myth. What some countries offer are "Golden Visa" residency programs, where an investment (usually in real estate or government bonds) grants you a residence permit. Citizenship still requires years of living there and meeting naturalization requirements.

Malta is the closest exception — it offers citizenship through "naturalization for exceptional services by direct investment," but this costs over €600,000 in non-refundable contributions plus property investment, and still requires one to three years of residency.

For most Americans, the investment route is the slowest and most expensive way to reach the same destination that a D7, D8, or DAFT visa reaches for a fraction of the cost.

The Dual Citizenship Question

The United States allows dual citizenship without restriction. You will not lose your US citizenship by acquiring citizenship in another country.

But the other country's rules matter:

• Portugal: Allows dual citizenship. You keep your US passport. ✓
• Ireland: Allows dual citizenship. ✓
• Italy: Allows dual citizenship. ✓
• Netherlands: Generally requires renouncing other citizenships. Most Americans choose permanent residency instead. ✗
• Spain: Generally requires renouncing other citizenships (with exceptions for certain nationalities — Americans are not on the exception list). ✗
• Germany: Now allows dual citizenship as of 2024. ✓
• Poland: Allows dual citizenship. ✓

So What's Actually the Fastest Path?

For Americans, ranked by realistic timeline:

1. Ancestry (Ireland, Italy, Poland) — 0-2 years, if you qualify. Free or low cost, but you either have the lineage or you don't. Italy's 2025 reform significantly narrowed eligibility.

2. Portugal via D7 or D8 — 5 years to citizenship (under current law). Dual citizenship allowed. A2 Portuguese required. The most popular route for Americans without ancestry claims.

3. Germany via work visa — 5 years to citizenship. Dual citizenship now allowed. Requires employer sponsorship or professional qualification.

4. Netherlands via DAFT — 5 years to permanent residency (realistic goal for most Americans, since citizenship requires renouncing US passport).

5. Spain via DNV or NLV — 5 years to permanent residency, 10 years to citizenship. Longest timeline, and citizenship generally requires renouncing US passport.

The first step on paths 2-5 is getting legal residency — which is exactly what a visa application does. If an EU passport is your long-term goal, picking the right country and the right visa now is the most consequential decision you'll make.

Ready to figure out which visa gets you started? Take the free eligibility assessment →

FAQ

Can I buy European citizenship?

No EU country sells citizenship directly. Malta offers a path through investment, but it costs over €600,000 and still requires residency. Golden Visa programs in Portugal and Greece grant residence permits, not citizenship — naturalization comes after years of living there.

Does the US allow dual citizenship with EU countries?

Yes. The US places no restrictions on holding dual citizenship. Whether you can keep your US passport while gaining EU citizenship depends on the other country's rules — Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Germany, and Poland all allow it. Spain and the Netherlands generally do not.

Will Italy's citizenship rules change again?

Italy's Constitutional Court upheld Law 74/2025 (the two-generation limit) in March 2026. Legal challenges continue, but the current framework limits descent claims to those with a parent or grandparent born in Italy. Applications filed before March 27, 2025 are grandfathered under the old rules.

Is Portugal about to change its 5-year rule?

Parliament passed a bill extending the requirement to 10 years, but the Constitutional Court found elements unconstitutional in January 2026. The law has not taken effect. As of March 2026, the five-year rule still applies. This is expected back on the parliamentary agenda in April 2026.

How long does the ancestry citizenship process actually take?

It depends on the country and your documentation. Ireland's Foreign Births Register takes several months to a year. Italian consulates in the US have appointment backlogs of two to three years. Polish citizenship confirmation can take 6-12 months. Having complete documentation before you start is critical — missing a single certificate can add months.

Disclaimer: This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or immigration advice. Citizenship laws change frequently and vary by individual circumstances. Always verify current requirements with the relevant embassy or consulate, or consult a qualified immigration lawyer before making decisions. Last verified: March 28, 2026.