Ancestry routes to an EU passport
Do you qualify for citizenship by descent?
Four countries account for most successful ancestry claims: Ireland (a grandparent born on the island of Ireland), Italy (now limited to a parent or grandparent born in Italy after the 2025 decree), Poland (an unbroken citizenship line since 1920), and Germany (restitution routes for descendants of Nazi-era persecutees and gender-rule exclusions). Answer two questions to see which route, if any, fits your family line. This is triage, not legal advice: rules change, and only the consulate or a citizenship lawyer can confirm a claim.
Question 1
Which country is your ancestor from?
Pick the strongest line if you have several: a closer generation almost always beats a more distant one.
What it does and does not check
- Ireland: automatic citizenship through a parent, and the Foreign Births Register through a grandparent
- Italy: jure sanguinis under the 2025 two-generation limit
- Poland: confirmation of citizenship through an unbroken post-1920 line
- Germany: Article 116(2) Basic Law, StAG 15 and StAG 5 restitution routes
- Which generation qualifies, and which claims are now closed
- Triage only: every verdict needs consular or legal confirmation
Citizenship Descent Checker is an independent information site operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd. It is not affiliated with any government, consulate, or ministry named on this site, and nothing here is legal or immigration advice. Descent rules change, as Italy's 2025 reform showed, and individual claims turn on documents and dates no checker can verify: confirm any eligibility verdict with the relevant consulate or a citizenship lawyer before spending money on records or applications.
Citizenship by descent: the four main routes compared, 2026
Last updated
Qualifying ancestor, legal route, and government fee for the four countries behind most successful ancestry claims, the same rules the checker applies.
Compiled from the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs Foreign Birth Registration page, an Italian consulate's published notice on the new iure sanguinis rules (Decree-Law 36/2025 as converted by Law 74/2025), Polish government guidance on the 1920 Citizenship Act confirmation procedure, and the German Nationality Act (StAG) sections 5, 15 and 38 together with Article 116(2) of the Basic Law, all read on the updated date above. Fees are the published government fees; professional and record-retrieval costs come on top.
| Country | Qualifying ancestor | Route | Government fee (adult) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | Parent born on the island of Ireland (automatic), or grandparent born there / citizen parent | Passport directly, or Foreign Births Register | EUR 278 adult, EUR 153 under 18 |
| Italy | Parent or grandparent born in Italy (since the 2025 decree; conditions apply) | Consular or municipal application, or Italian courts | EUR 600 consular fee |
| Poland | Ancestor holding Polish citizenship after 1920, unbroken line, no pre-1951 loss events | Confirmation of citizenship via voivode / consulate | Small state fee; record retrieval is the real cost |
| Germany | Nazi-era persecutees' descendants (Art. 116(2), StAG 15); gender-rule exclusions (StAG 5) | Declaration or application to the BVA | Free (StAG s.38(3)) |
- Italy limited citizenship by descent to two generations (a parent or grandparent born in Italy) with Decree-Law 36/2025, converted by Law 74/2025 and in force from 24 May 2025, closing the previously unlimited jure sanguinis route for new applications.
- Ireland's Foreign Births Register makes grandchildren of anyone born on the island of Ireland eligible for citizenship, for EUR 278 as an adult and EUR 153 for a child; citizenship runs from the date of registration, so registering before your children are born passes it on.
- Germany's restitution routes (Article 116(2) Basic Law, StAG 15 and StAG 5) are free of charge under section 38(3) StAG and cover descendants of Nazi-era persecutees and of families excluded by pre-1975 gender rules, with the StAG 5 declaration window running ten years from the 2021 law, to August 2031.
- Polish citizenship claims turn on an unbroken line from an ancestor who held citizenship after the 1920 Citizenship Act, with pre-1951 foreign naturalization or military service the loss events that most often break the chain.
Cite this page
“Citizenship by descent: the four main routes compared, 2026”, Citizenship Descent Checker, https://citizenshipdescentchecker.com/ (updated 2026-08-15). Compiled from the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs Foreign Birth Registration page, an Italian consulate's published notice on the new iure sanguinis rules (Decree-Law 36/2025 as converted by Law 74/2025), Polish government guidance on the 1920 Citizenship Act confirmation procedure, and the German Nationality Act (StAG) sections 5, 15 and 38 together with Article 116(2) of the Basic Law, all read on the updated date above. Fees are the published government fees; professional and record-retrieval costs come on top.
Get introduced to a citizenship service
Tell us which line you are pursuing and we'll introduce you to a citizenship service that handles eligibility assessment, records retrieval, and applications for that country.
The questions we get
Which country gives citizenship by descent through a grandparent?
Ireland is the clearest case: a grandparent born on the island of Ireland makes you eligible for the Foreign Births Register. Italy now reaches a grandparent born in Italy (since its 2025 two-generation limit, with conditions), Poland reaches any generation if the citizenship line since 1920 is unbroken, and Germany's restitution routes reach descendants of Nazi-era persecutees across generations.
Did Italy end citizenship by descent in 2025?
It narrowed it sharply. Decree-Law 36/2025, converted by Law 74/2025 and in force from 24 May 2025, limited new claims to people with a parent or grandparent born in Italy, subject to further conditions, ending the previously unlimited generational rule. Applications booked and confirmed by 11:59pm Rome time on 27 March 2025 proceed under the old rules, and the reform has been litigated in the Italian courts since it was enacted.
How much does citizenship by descent cost?
Government fees are modest: EUR 278 for Ireland's Foreign Births Register as an adult (EUR 153 for a child), EUR 600 for an Italian consular application, a small state fee for Polish confirmation, and nothing for Germany's restitution and declaration routes. The real costs are certified records, translations, apostilles, and any professional help, which vary from a few hundred to several thousand dollars or euros depending on how scattered the records are.
Does citizenship by descent give me an EU passport?
Yes, for all four countries covered here: Irish, Italian, Polish, and German citizens are EU citizens, with the right to live and work across the EU. Each country's passport is applied for after citizenship is confirmed or registered.
Do I need a lawyer to claim citizenship by descent?
Not always: straightforward Irish FBR and German StAG 5 cases are commonly done without one. Lawyers earn their fee where the rules are contested or fact-heavy: post-2025 Italian claims, Polish loss-event chronologies, and German restitution categories. Every verdict on this site is triage, not legal advice, and a consulate or citizenship lawyer should confirm any claim before you spend on records.
Find out which line qualifies
Two questions per country, and an honest verdict on whether your claim is worth pursuing.
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