For most people claiming citizenship by descent, the first question after “do I qualify?” is “do I have to give up my passport?” For the large majority of European descent routes the answer is no. But a few countries attach conditions, several Nordic countries can take citizenship back from people born abroad at 22, and a handful still insist on a single citizenship.
Below is each country’s rule in 2026, taken from our individual guides. The country link has the detail, including how dual-citizenship rules in the past may have broken your family’s line.
Countries that let you keep your passport
No renunciation of your current citizenship.
- Italy
Fully permits multiple citizenship (since 1992); no renunciation.
- Ireland
No restrictions on holding another nationality.
- Germany
Permitted since the June 2024 nationality reform.
- Poland
Allowed — though Poland treats you as solely Polish in its own dealings with you.
- Hungary
No renunciation for any of the three routes.
- Portugal
Fully permits multiple nationality.
- Greece
No restrictions on dual or multiple citizenship.
- Czech Republic
Fully permitted since 1 January 2014.
- Luxembourg
Permitted since 2009; no renunciation.
- France
Allowed since 1973 (earlier, naturalizing abroad generally ended French nationality — which matters for old family lines).
- Romania
No renunciation, including under Article 11.
- Croatia
No renunciation for emigrants’ descendants.
- Bulgaria
No renunciation for people of Bulgarian origin.
- Cyprus
Dual and multiple citizenship allowed.
- Malta
Allowed since 10 February 2000.
- United Kingdom
No restrictions on other nationalities.
- Serbia
No renunciation for the diaspora routes.
- Armenia
Permitted since 2007.
- Albania
Dual and multiple citizenship allowed.
- Moldova
Dual and multiple citizenship allowed.
- Kosovo
Multiple citizenship allowed (Article 3).
- North Macedonia
Allowed; the Article 11 route doesn’t require release from your current citizenship.
Allowed, but born abroad? Act before a deadline
Dual citizenship is fine, but people born abroad must take a step — or have ties — by a set age to keep it.
- Sweden
Dual citizenship allowed since 2001, but if you were born abroad you can lose Swedish citizenship at 22 unless you apply to keep it.
- Denmark
Allowed since 2015; born abroad, apply to keep it between 20 and 22.
- Finland
Allowed since 2003; dual citizens born abroad need sufficient ties or a step taken before 22.
- Norway
Allowed since 2020; born abroad, you may lose it at 22 unless you apply to keep it.
- Iceland
Allowed since 2003; born abroad, act before 22.
- Belgium
Allowed since 2008; born abroad with another nationality, act between 18 and 28.
- Switzerland
Allowed since 1992; born abroad, your birth must be reported before 25.
- Netherlands
Kept from birth, but lost after 13 years abroad as an adult without renewing a Dutch passport; naturalizing elsewhere generally ends it.
Allowed with conditions
- Latvia
Exiles’ descendants may keep any citizenship; other descendants only an EU, EFTA or NATO country’s, Australia’s, Brazil’s or New Zealand’s — which includes the US, Canada and UK.
- Lithuania
Allowed if your ancestor left between 1918 and 1990, and not willingly to the USSR; otherwise Lithuania generally requires single citizenship.
- Spain
Spaniards by origin keep a nationality held from birth; people who naturalize must renounce unless from Latin America, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Portugal or France.
- Slovakia
Claiming Slovak citizenship doesn’t cost you your passport, but a Slovak who later voluntarily takes a new foreign nationality loses Slovak citizenship (with exceptions).
- Estonia
Officially banned, but citizenship by birth — including descendants of pre-1940 citizens — can’t be taken away (Constitution, Article 8).
- Austria
Kept if held from birth or acquired under §58c; otherwise later naturalizing abroad ends it without a retention permit.
- Ukraine
Since January 2026, allowed for citizens of 33 listed countries, including the US and Canada.
- Slovenia
Citizens by origin and Article 13 applicants keep other citizenships; ordinary naturalization generally requires renunciation.
- Bosnia & Herzegovina
Only with countries that have a bilateral agreement, such as Croatia, Serbia and Sweden.
Countries that require a single citizenship
- Montenegro
Generally not allowed, except under reciprocal treaties.
- Georgia
Single citizenship; another is possible only by presidential exception.
- Belarus
Doesn’t recognize its citizens’ other citizenships; registration requires giving them up.
- Andorra
No dual nationality: you must prove you’ve lost other nationalities.
Past rules matter as much as today’s
Today’s rule decides whether you keep your passport. Yesterday’s rule decides whether you qualify at all: in many countries, an ancestor who naturalized abroad when dual citizenship was banned lost their citizenship, and couldn’t pass it on. France before 1973, Germany until 2024, the Czech Republic before 2014 and Italy for much of the 20th century are examples. See how to prove an ancestor never naturalized, and compare routes in citizenship through grandparents.
Frequently asked questions
Will I lose my US citizenship if I claim European citizenship by descent?
The US doesn’t require you to give up US citizenship when you hold or acquire another, and the same goes for Canada, the UK and Australia. The question is the other country’s rules — which is what this page compares.
Which countries let me keep my passport and don’t require living there?
Most of the big descent routes: Ireland, Italy, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Greece, Hungary, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria all allow dual citizenship, and their descent routes can be done from abroad.
Does Latvia allow dual citizenship?
Yes for descendants of exiles, with any country. Other descendants of 1940 citizens can keep the citizenship of an EU, EFTA or NATO country, Australia, Brazil or New Zealand — so US, Canadian and UK citizens qualify either way.
What’s the age-22 rule?
Several Nordic countries let citizens born abroad with another nationality lose their citizenship at 22 unless they have ties to the country or apply to keep it. Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Iceland all have a version of it; Belgium’s window runs from 18 to 28.