Immigration: Bloomberg says up to 40% of Americans may qualify for EU citizenship due to ancestry

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Applications for EU citizenship from Americans has grown sharply, in some cases, quadrupled, since 2016 and 2020.

An estimated 40% of Americans are entitled to European citizenship, according to consultancy firm Global RCG. While each country has its own rules — Ireland offers citizenship to second-, third- and fourth-generation Irish-Americans who meet certain criteria, while Italy recognizes family ties going back to 1861 — people who can find documents certifying their ancestral links to these countries have a relatively easy and cheap way to access the EU.

None of my ancestral ties qualify me for anything. My most recent ancestry is from Switzerland, but Switzerland does not have an ancestry-based residency program. My largest ancestry is from Norway (by DNA, about half) but they do not have an ancestry-based residency program, either. I have been studying Norwegian for some years, as well.

My wife’s Dad was from Canada – due to their Citizenship Act, as amended in recent years, she qualifies for “right of descent” citizenship in Canada. But being married to a Canadian citizen (if she did that) would not qualify me for residency (extra hoops to go through for that), and definitely not for citizenship.

Basically, a lot of people in the U.S. have “ancestry privilege”.

Source: How to Get Irish and Italian Citizenship: More Americans Apply for EU Passports – Bloomberg

UPDATE: Forbes reported on this earlier in 2022, beating Bloomberg. Forbes breaks it down:

  • 75 million are eligible for accelerated citizenship in Spain (by virtue of having ancestry connections in Spanish speaking countries)
  • 43 million for Germany
  • 33 million Ireland
  • 17 million Italy (As of Mar 2025, Italy is reducing eligibility)
  • 10 million Poland
  • 4 million Netherlands (or more, due to the DAFT treaty)
  • 4 million Norway
  • 4 million Hungary
  • 1.5 million Greece
  • 1 million Portugal
  • 1 million Czech

Interesting that they omitted Canada. If your parent was born in Canada, even if you were born outside Canada, you may qualify for right of descent citizenship under the amended Citizenship Act.

UPDATE:

Citizenship through ancestry, which is based on historical ties to the land, is an undervalued strategy that a lot more people could be taking advantage of, according to Caceres. 

“We estimate [conservatively]… that at least 50 million people could be EU citizens if they were to apply,” says Caceres. “That ranges from Italy, Ireland, Poland, Spain, Greece, Czech Republic[and] Slovakia. Even Germany now allows some type of dual citizenship [by ancestry].”

Judi Gast, Henley and Partners: How Hard Is It to Get Dual Citizenship? | SUCCESS

IMPORTANT UPDATE

NOTE: The 75 million attributed to Spain is misleading. Those with this heritage can obtain citizenship in Spain in two years instead of the usual five years of residency. This heritage does not automatically grant citizenship in Spain, as implied by the news reports. Many of the above, such as Norway, require that your parent have been a Norwegian citizen. Norway is the 52nd most difficult country to emigrate to.

Also, in March 2025, Italy announced it will no longer accept great- or great-great-grandparents for eligibility – but will limit ancestral connection to a parent or grandparent.