If you are born in an unstable country, the idea of migrating to another country or securing the future for your kids by giving them dual citizenship will always cross your mind. You will be thinking of moving to a country that allows you to stay back after studies or even giving birth to your kid in a country where citizenship by birth is a thing so your child can have an option. There are a lot of ways to get citizenship in a country; work, and even family. Most people do not know that you can inherit citizenship from your grandparents in some countries. Well, that is what this article is about.
Here are four countries where citizenship by grandparents or great grandparents is a thing.
Italy
If your grandparents or great grandparents are Italians or are citizens of Italy, you are qualified to be a citizen. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t lived in the country before or you weren’t born in Italy. However, this citizenship can be passed on to 5 generations if only none of your ancestors ever renounced their Italian citizenship. Some countries will require you to have just one nationality, and if your ancestor renounced his/her Italian citizenship to take up citizenship in another country, you would no longer be eligible.
Ireland
If your great grandparent or grandparent was an Irish citizen when you were born, you could get an Irish Citizenship. Also, you can get citizenship from your grandparent who was born in Ireland, but you need to register on the Foreign Births Registry to begin.
Hungary
In the year 2011, a new law was passed stating that descendants of a person who was a Hungarian citizen before 1920 or between 1941 to 1945 are eligible for citizenship. So, if you have an ancestor who was a citizen around the years mentioned, you can be a citizen of Hungary, but you must know how to speak primary Hungarian first as this is an essential requirement before you start the process.
Poland
You could apply for Polish citizenship if your ancestors lived in Poland after it became an independent country in 1918. Poland’s citizenship system is similar to that of Italy in the sense that if any of your ancestors gave up his/her polish citizenship to take up citizenship in another country, you would no longer be eligible.
Now you know that you can get citizenship from grandparents or great grandparents, check your family tree to see which of your ancestor has a history in any of these countries.