The easiest EU country for citizenship by descent is Ireland, if a parent or grandparent was born on the island of Ireland. After that come the Czech Republic’s declaration for children and grandchildren, Malta’s registration through two Malta-born generations, and Latvia for descendants of 1940 citizens. None of them asks you to live there or pass a language test, and all of them let a US, Canadian, UK or Australian citizen keep their passport (in Latvia, on the conditions below).
But “easy” only means something once you qualify, and whether you qualify depends on what your family’s records show. A route at the top of this list is no use if your great-grandmother was the Irish one and your parent never registered; a route near the bottom can be straightforward if your family kept its old passports. Read the ranking as “how little each route asks of a family that fits it”, then check your own line with the free eligibility checker.
How we ranked them
Every fact below comes from our individual country guides, which cite their own official sources. We compared each country’s main descent route on six things:
- Generational reach: how far back the ancestor can be. Further is not automatically easier, because every extra generation is another set of records to find and match.
- Residence: whether you have to live in the country first.
- Language test: whether you must prove the language, and at what level.
- Dual citizenship: whether you can keep your current passport.
- Typical evidence burden: what you have to prove beyond birth and marriage records, such as the dates an ancestor naturalized abroad, or proof of their citizenship in 1920 or 1940.
- Processing time: as the guide states it, usually from the authority’s own published deadline or guidance. Where no official figure exists we say so.
Routes with no residence, no language test and full dual citizenship rank above those with any of the three. Among those, the lighter the evidence and the shorter the stated time, the higher the route. Breadth of eligibility is reported, not rewarded: Ireland ranks first despite stopping at grandparents, because for a family that fits, it asks the least. This is our judgement from the guides, not an official classification.
The ranking: easiest EU countries for citizenship by descent
- 01Ireland
The simplest test in Europe: where a grandparent was born, not what citizenship they later held.
- Generations
- Parent or grandparent born on the island of Ireland (Northern Ireland counts). A great-grandparent only if your parent was on the Foreign Births Register before you were born.
- Residence
- None
- Language test
- None
- Keep your passport
- Yes, without restriction
- Evidence burden
- Light: birth and marriage certificates for three generations, with names that line up. No naturalization dates to prove.
- Stated time
- Around 12 months for the Foreign Births Register, sometimes longer
- The catch
- If the Irish-born relative is a great-grandparent and your parent registered after your birth, there is no claim through that line.
- 02Czech Republic
A declaration, not an application, and an ancestor’s naturalization abroad doesn’t break it.
- Generations
- Child or grandchild of a Czech or Czechoslovak citizen who lost that citizenship by 31 December 2013, for any reason
- Residence
- None
- Language test
- None, and no interview
- Keep your passport
- Yes, since 1 January 2014
- Evidence burden
- Moderate: proof the ancestor was a Czechoslovak citizen, plus the generation chain. The loss itself counts in your favour rather than against you.
- Stated time
- Ministry of the Interior decides within 60 days of receiving the file, plus up to 30 days if an embassy forwards it
- The catch
- It stops at grandchildren; a great-grandchild extension had not been enacted as of September 2026.
- 03Malta
Any generation, either side of the family, with a short published fee and no tests.
- Generations
- Any generation, through a Malta-born ancestor whose own parent was also born in Malta
- Residence
- None
- Language test
- None
- Keep your passport
- Yes, since 10 February 2000
- Evidence burden
- Light to moderate: two Maltese birth certificates (the ancestor and their parent) from the Public Registry, then birth and marriage records for each generation down to you.
- Stated time
- Roughly five months to two years, according to Identità’s guidance
- The catch
- If the Malta-born ancestor’s parent was born elsewhere, the line doesn’t qualify through that ancestor.
- 04Latvia
No generational limit, no test, and decisions in months once the file is complete.
- Generations
- Any generation, descending from someone who was a Latvian citizen on 17 June 1940
- Residence
- None
- Language test
- None for descendants of 1940 citizens (the separate ethnic Latvian and Liv route does need Latvian)
- Keep your passport
- Yes for exiles’ descendants with any country; others may keep an EU, EFTA, NATO, Australian, Brazilian or New Zealand citizenship
- Evidence burden
- Moderate: proof of the ancestor’s 1940 citizenship (1935 census entries, pre-war passports or house registers) and every link down to you.
- Stated time
- Usually a few months once the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs has a complete file
- The catch
- Finding the 1940 citizenship evidence is the slow part and often takes longer than the decision.
- 05Lithuania
Reaches great-grandchildren with no test, but only for pre-1940 citizens, and dual citizenship depends on when the family left.
- Generations
- Child, grandchild or great-grandchild of someone who held Lithuanian citizenship before 15 June 1940
- Residence
- None
- Language test
- None for restoration
- Keep your passport
- Only if the ancestor left for abroad before 11 March 1990 (not just elsewhere in the USSR) or was exiled
- Evidence burden
- Moderate to heavy: proof of interwar Lithuanian citizenship, proof of departure (passenger lists, DP-camp or immigration records), and the chain.
- Stated time
- Typically 6 to 12 months after a complete application
- The catch
- An ancestor who left before 1918 usually never held citizenship of the Republic, so restoration doesn’t apply.
- 06Croatia
No generational limit and no language test since 2020, but slow and with an extra proof.
- Generations
- Any generation, descending from an emigrant who left before 8 October 1991
- Residence
- None
- Language test
- None since 2020
- Keep your passport
- Yes
- Evidence burden
- Moderate to heavy: proof of when the ancestor emigrated, proof they belonged to the Croatian people (parish records, documents describing them as Croat), and the chain.
- Stated time
- Croatian missions give 18–24 months (US) and 12–24 months (Australia) for a complete file
- The catch
- Moving to another Yugoslav republic doesn’t count as emigration, and an ancestor who was ethnically Serb, Italian or Hungarian generally won’t qualify.
- 07Slovakia
Reaches great-grandchildren with no test, and the residence permit requirement went in July 2026.
- Generations
- Parent, grandparent or great-grandparent who was a Czechoslovak citizen born in present-day Slovakia
- Residence
- None since 15 July 2026
- Language test
- None
- Keep your passport
- Claiming it doesn’t cost you your passport; later naturalizing elsewhere can cost you Slovak citizenship
- Evidence burden
- Moderate: Slovak civil-registry and archive records for the ancestor, then the chain.
- Stated time
- The Ministry of Interior has up to 24 months to decide, though many cases are faster
- The catch
- The ancestor must have been born in present-day Slovakia, not just in Czechoslovakia.
- 08Luxembourg
Free, quick and test-free, but open to few families and needs a trip to Luxembourg.
- Generations
- Article 23 option through a parent or grandparent who has ever held Luxembourg nationality; an unbroken line has no limit
- Residence
- None
- Language test
- None
- Keep your passport
- Yes, since 2009
- Evidence burden
- Light if a parent or grandparent held nationality (birth record and certificate of nationality); heavy for older lines.
- Stated time
- About four months after the declaration is signed
- The catch
- The declaration is signed in person before a civil registrar, in practice in Luxembourg, and the old 1900-ancestor route closed on 31 December 2025.
- 09Poland
No generational limit and no test, but you have to prove the line never broke.
- Generations
- Any generation, back to an ancestor who held Polish citizenship on or after 31 January 1920
- Residence
- None
- Language test
- None for confirmation
- Keep your passport
- Yes (Poland treats you as solely Polish in its own dealings with you)
- Evidence burden
- Heavy: the anchor ancestor’s citizenship proof, every linking record and the dates of any foreign naturalization.
- Stated time
- The law gives the voivode six months to decide, though the Warsaw office warns of delays
- The catch
- Naturalizing abroad before 1951 usually broke the chain, except for men of military-service age.
- 10Italy
Still no test or residence, but since 2025 open only through a parent or grandparent.
- Generations
- Parent or grandparent who held only Italian citizenship when you were born (or when they died, if earlier)
- Residence
- None for the consular route
- Language test
- None for recognition by descent
- Keep your passport
- Yes, since 1992
- Evidence burden
- Moderate: Italian birth record, the chain, and proof of when (or whether) the ancestor naturalized elsewhere.
- Stated time
- Several months to more than two years, depending heavily on the consulate
- The catch
- A grandparent who became a US (or other) citizen before you were born usually doesn’t qualify you any more.
- 11Germany
No test and full dual citizenship, but heavy proof and no published processing time.
- Generations
- No limit in principle for an unbroken line; §5 declaration for lines broken by old gender rules; no limit for Nazi-era restoration
- Residence
- None
- Language test
- None for descent, the §5 declaration or restoration
- Keep your passport
- Yes, since 27 June 2024
- Evidence burden
- Heavy: proof that citizenship was held and passed on at every birth, including naturalization dates.
- Stated time
- No official processing time published; expect a long wait
- The catch
- Ancestors who naturalized abroad before the next child’s birth, or emigrated before about 1904, usually lost citizenship.
- 12Greece
No limit if each generation was Greek by birth, but each one has to be registered in turn.
- Generations
- No fixed limit: each generation registers in turn (through mothers only from 8 May 1984)
- Residence
- None
- Language test
- None for registration
- Keep your passport
- Yes
- Evidence burden
- Moderate to heavy: the ancestor’s entry in the municipal register (dimotologio), then each generation’s records.
- Stated time
- 6–12 months for children of Greek citizens; 12–24 months for Greek-origin naturalisation
- The catch
- If the ancestor was never entered in the municipal register, the chain has to be built before you can use it.
- 13Estonia
Citizenship by birth with no test, but the dual-citizenship position rests on the Constitution, not the citizenship law.
- Generations
- Descendants of people who held Estonian citizenship before 16 June 1940
- Residence
- None
- Language test
- None for citizenship by birth
- Keep your passport
- Officially banned, but citizenship by birth can’t be taken away (Constitution, Article 8)
- Evidence burden
- Moderate to heavy: pre-war records from the National Archives of Estonia and the chain.
- Stated time
- Typically 6–12 months once filed with the Police and Border Guard Board
- The catch
- The dual-citizenship issue is politically contested and could change.
- 14Bulgaria
Reaches great-grandparents and allows dual citizenship, but the origin proof is strict.
- Generations
- Parent, grandparent or great-grandparent of Bulgarian origin
- Residence
- None
- Language test
- Unclear: sources differ since recent amendments, so ask the Ministry of Justice whether a Bulgarian-language assessment applies
- Keep your passport
- Yes
- Evidence burden
- Heavy: official records proving Bulgarian origin (not further back than a great-grandparent since 2021).
- Stated time
- Commonly 12–24 months at the Ministry of Justice
- The catch
- Bulgarian origin has to be shown with official documents, not family tradition.
- 15France
No fixed limit, but the 50-year rule closes most old emigrant lines.
- Generations
- No fixed limit, unless the line lived abroad for 50+ years without French documents (article 30-3)
- Residence
- None
- Language test
- None for proving nationality by descent
- Keep your passport
- Yes, since 1973
- Evidence burden
- Heavy for older lines: every birth and marriage, plus evidence the family kept using French nationality.
- Stated time
- Most applicants wait 6–18 months after submitting a complete file
- The catch
- Voluntary naturalization abroad before 1973 generally ended French nationality.
- 16Hungary
No generational limit, but the most-used route needs a conversation in Hungarian.
- Generations
- No limit for simplified naturalisation (a Hungarian-citizen ancestor or plausible Hungarian origin)
- Residence
- None
- Language test
- Intermediate, two-way conversational Hungarian for simplified naturalisation; none for confirming existing citizenship or the declaration
- Keep your passport
- Yes, for all three routes
- Evidence burden
- Moderate: records often sit in former Hungarian territories now in Romania, Slovakia, Serbia, Ukraine or Austria.
- Stated time
- 60 days by law for a certificate of citizenship; naturalisation takes months longer
- The catch
- Check whether you are already a citizen (no test) before preparing for the language interview.
- 17Portugal
Still possible from abroad for grandchildren, but the 2026 reform added language, culture and civics.
- Generations
- Parent, or a grandparent who was Portuguese from birth; great-grandchildren only after five years’ residence
- Residence
- None for the parent and grandparent routes
- Language test
- A2 Portuguese plus culture and civics for grandchildren; none for the parent route
- Keep your passport
- Yes
- Evidence burden
- Moderate, plus proof of ties to Portugal.
- Stated time
- No official processing time is published for grandchild declarations
- The catch
- The grandparent must have been Portuguese from birth and never lost it.
- 18Romania
Reaches great-grandchildren with dual citizenship, but B1 Romanian and long backlogs.
- Generations
- Up to great-grandparent under Article 11 (involuntary loss or former Romanian territory)
- Residence
- None for Article 11
- Language test
- B1 Romanian certificate filed with the application since 15 March 2025 (only people 65+ and former citizens are exempt)
- Keep your passport
- Yes
- Evidence burden
- Moderate to heavy: Romanian civil-registry and archive records showing the ancestor’s citizenship and how it was lost.
- Stated time
- Officially 12 months, but 18–36 months is typical
- The catch
- The certificate has to be filed with the application or the file is rejected.
Easy if you fit, but narrow
These routes can be quick and cheap, but each covers a small group of families or stops at a parent, so they don’t belong in the main ranking.
- Austria
Very easy if it fits: §58c lets direct descendants of people persecuted by the Nazi regime (or who fled before 15 May 1955) become Austrian by a free declaration, any generation, no language test, keeping their other citizenship. Otherwise only through a parent.
Austrian citizenship under § 58c → - Spain
Through a parent only. The grandchildren’s law (Democratic Memory Law) closed on 22 October 2025.
Spanish citizenship through grandparents → - Netherlands
Through a parent only, plus an option for people born before 1985 to a Dutch mother. Dual citizenship is restricted.
- Cyprus
Through a Cypriot parent, or as an adult descendant of a person born in Cyprus between 1914 and 1960 (M123). Dual citizenship allowed.
- Slovenia
Through a parent, or up to the fourth generation of an emigrant under Article 13, which needs a year’s actual residence in Slovenia.
- Belgium
Through a parent; born abroad with another nationality, you must act between 18 and 28 to keep it.
- Sweden
Through a parent; born abroad, you can lose it at 22 unless you apply to keep it. Denmark and Finland have similar rules.
Outside the EU
Not EU citizenship, but often asked about in the same breath:
- United Kingdom
Easy for the first generation born abroad (a parent born or naturalised in the UK), with special registrations for pre-1983 mothers. Usually stops there.
British citizenship through your mother → - Serbia
No generational limit for emigrants’ descendants (Article 18), no language test, and dual citizenship allowed.
- Armenia
Simplified naturalisation for anyone descended from an ethnic Armenian, with no generational limit, no residence and no Armenian language test.
Which countries let you claim through your family tree?
Nearly every European country passes citizenship from parent to child. The question most people mean is which countries let them claim through a grandparent or someone further back. Grouped by reach, from our guides:
- No fixed generational limit (if the line was never broken, or for the specific route): Latvia, Croatia, Poland, Greece, Malta, Germany, Hungary (simplified naturalisation), Estonia (generally including great-grandchildren), Austria (§58c only), and outside the EU Serbia and Armenia.
- Up to great-grandparents: Lithuania, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania.
- Up to grandparents: Ireland, Italy (since 2025), the Czech Republic, Luxembourg (Article 23) and Portugal (from abroad).
- Parent only: Spain (since October 2025), the Netherlands, Belgium and the Nordic countries, and the UK in most cases.
“No limit” always comes with a condition. In Poland, Germany and Greece it means citizenship had to pass at every birth, so one ancestor who naturalized abroad at the wrong moment can end the line. In Croatia it means descent from someone who emigrated before 8 October 1991 and belonged to the Croatian people. Our guides to citizenship through grandparents and citizenship through great-grandparents go through each country’s condition.
What actually makes a case easy or hard
The country sets the rules, but your records decide how hard those rules are to meet. Four things matter more than the ranking:
- Naturalization dates. In Italy, Germany, Poland and France, the date an ancestor became a citizen elsewhere, compared with the next child’s birth, often decides the whole case. US families can usually get these from the USCIS Genealogy Program; if there is no record, see how to prove an ancestor never naturalized.
- Proof of the ancestor’s citizenship. Ireland and Malta ask where people were born; Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland ask whether they held citizenship on a set date in 1920 or 1940. Birthplace is usually much easier to prove.
- Names that don’t match. Spellings changed at emigration and between languages. Every variation has to be explained with a document, and this is the most common reason files stall.
- Where the records are. Records for a Hungarian ancestor may be in Slovakia or Romania; for a Croatian one, in Bosnia or Serbia. Church registers often fill gaps in civil records; see church records for citizenship by descent.
Once you have the records, most countries also want apostilles on foreign documents and certified translations. Our document chain guide, apostille guide and documents checklist cover the practical side.
Choosing between two countries
Many families qualify, or nearly qualify, through more than one line. When you have a choice:
- Start with the line whose records you already hold. A grandparent’s birth certificate in a drawer beats a theoretically better route that needs a 1920 citizenship document nobody has seen.
- Check deadlines and recent changes first. Germany’s §5 declaration closes on 19 August 2031; Italy, Spain, Portugal, Romania and Luxembourg all changed their rules in 2025 or 2026.
- Check whether a relative can claim first. In Ireland and Portugal, a parent who becomes a citizen can open the door for their children, in Ireland only for children born after the parent registered.
- Compare the passport rules both ways. See dual citizenship by descent, country by country, and language requirements if one route needs a test. For every country side by side, use requirements by country.
American readers can find the US side (keeping US citizenship, US records and state apostilles) in EU citizenship by descent for Americans.
Frequently asked questions
Which is the easiest EU country to get citizenship by descent?
Ireland, if a parent or grandparent was born on the island of Ireland. The test is the place of birth, so you don’t have to prove naturalization dates, there is no residence or language test, and you keep your other passport. For families without Irish ancestry, the Czech declaration (children and grandchildren) and Malta’s registration (any generation through two Malta-born generations) come next.
Which countries allow you to claim citizenship through your family tree?
Almost every European country gives citizenship to a citizen’s child. Fewer go further. Latvia, Croatia, Poland, Greece, Malta, Germany and Hungary have no fixed generational limit for an unbroken or qualifying line, and Lithuania, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania reach great-grandchildren. Ireland, Italy and the Czech Republic stop at grandparents, and Spain at parents.
Which country gives citizenship by descent the fastest?
On the stated figures, the Czech declaration (decided within 60 days of reaching the Ministry of the Interior, plus up to 30 days if an embassy forwards it), Hungary’s certificate of citizenship (60 days by law) and Latvia (usually a few months for a complete file). Luxembourg takes about four months after the declaration. Gathering records almost always takes longer than the decision.
Which countries give citizenship by descent without a language test?
Most of them. Ireland, Italy, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Croatia, Luxembourg, Malta and Austria’s §58c route have no language test. Hungary’s simplified naturalisation needs conversational Hungarian, Portugal’s grandchild route A2 Portuguese, and Romania B1 Romanian.
Do I have to live in the country to get citizenship by descent?
No, not for the routes ranked on this page: none of them requires residence, and most can be filed through a consulate or embassy. Luxembourg’s option is the exception in practice, because it is signed in person before a civil registrar. Residence comes in only for some side routes, such as Slovenia’s Article 13 (one year) and Portugal’s route for great-grandchildren (five years).
Can I get European citizenship through a great-grandparent?
Yes, in several countries, but not Italy for new applicants since 27 March 2025. Lithuania, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania reach great-grandchildren directly, and Latvia, Croatia, Poland, Greece, Malta and Germany have no fixed limit if the line was never broken. Ireland helps only if your parent registered before you were born.
Why is my case harder than the ranking suggests?
Because the ranking describes the route, not your file. A country near the top can be hard if a record was destroyed, names changed between documents, or an ancestor naturalized at the wrong moment, and a country lower down can be easy if your family kept its passports and certificates. The records you can actually get decide most cases.
Official sources
This page compares routes and makes no legal claim that isn’t in the country guide linked from each row. Each guide lists the official sources behind it. The main authorities are:
- Department of Foreign Affairs (Ireland): Foreign Births Register
- Community Malta Agency: acquisition of citizenship (registration of a descendant of an ascendant born in Malta of a parent likewise born in Malta; €150 application fee, €50 on collection)
- Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic (declaration under Section 31 of Act No. 186/2013)
- Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (Latvia)
- Migration Department of Lithuania (MIGRIS): restoring citizenship
Checked against these sources on 29 October 2026, as far as they could be opened: the Community Malta Agency page was read directly. The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs page refused automated access, the Czech Ministry of the Interior’s Section 31 page had moved, and the Latvian and Lithuanian pages did not load, so those rows rely on our country guides, which were reviewed in October 2026. Processing times are the authorities’ stated figures or guidance and change often. Only the competent authority can decide your case; confirm with it or its embassy before you apply.