Pauline
Forums Admin
There is an interesting article in The Atlantic about Americans “hedging” by getting a second citizenship.
The Atlantic - AMERICANS ARE BUYING AN ESCAPE PLAN
Is it time for a second passport?
MARCH 22, 2025
For once I am ahead of the game. I got my Irish citizenship in the 1980s and Steve got his through me. We were not able to move to the UK until we retired but we had those passports in case we figured out a way to move earlier. (Steve’s work involved American high schools (admin software).)
There is a thread in the Italy forum about changes to the qualifications for Italian citizenship. Maybe this is because of the increase in applications.
From the article:
Americans without a ton of money are finding ways to access new passports by re-hyphenating themselves. Many are casting around for long-lost relatives through which they can claim Italian, Irish, Austrian, or German citizenship. Tracking down birth certificates from the old country and persuading embassies to accept them as proof of citizenship used to be logistically complicated; now there are consultants to help with that too. European countries have grown accustomed to American applicants who want to expand their options and lower the cost of college, health care, and child care.
According to one estimate, about 40 percent of U.S. citizens might be eligible for European passports through their ancestors. Last year, Ireland received 31,825 passport applications from U.S. citizens, Austria naturalized 1,914 (virtually all as reparations for Nazi-era persecutions), and more than 6,100 Americans applied for British citizenship, with a noticeable uptick beginning in November.
The Atlantic - AMERICANS ARE BUYING AN ESCAPE PLAN
Is it time for a second passport?
MARCH 22, 2025
For once I am ahead of the game. I got my Irish citizenship in the 1980s and Steve got his through me. We were not able to move to the UK until we retired but we had those passports in case we figured out a way to move earlier. (Steve’s work involved American high schools (admin software).)
There is a thread in the Italy forum about changes to the qualifications for Italian citizenship. Maybe this is because of the increase in applications.
From the article:
Americans without a ton of money are finding ways to access new passports by re-hyphenating themselves. Many are casting around for long-lost relatives through which they can claim Italian, Irish, Austrian, or German citizenship. Tracking down birth certificates from the old country and persuading embassies to accept them as proof of citizenship used to be logistically complicated; now there are consultants to help with that too. European countries have grown accustomed to American applicants who want to expand their options and lower the cost of college, health care, and child care.
According to one estimate, about 40 percent of U.S. citizens might be eligible for European passports through their ancestors. Last year, Ireland received 31,825 passport applications from U.S. citizens, Austria naturalized 1,914 (virtually all as reparations for Nazi-era persecutions), and more than 6,100 Americans applied for British citizenship, with a noticeable uptick beginning in November.
