Three Ways Americans Can Get Dual Citizenship

Obtaining dual citizenship unlocks new travel possibilities and offers the flexibility to live and work abroad without the constraints of a single national passport. If you are researching how to get dual citizenship, you are likely dreaming of moving to a new country, retiring overseas, or gaining access to visa-free destinations. The process for securing a second passport often involves confusing requirements, expensive fees, and significant paperwork, but there are distinct pathways available depending on your background and financial resources.

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Through Family Lineage

Your family lineage might be the key to unlocking access to dual citizenship. Several nations around the globe offer citizenship by descent, or ancestral passports, to individuals with a family connection to their country. The nations that participate in these programs view a descendant’s citizenship as a birthright that can be activated by filing a few forms to prove their lineage. Popular destinations in Europe and North America operate ancestral passport programs, including Ireland, Italy, Canada, Austria, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and the UK. You likely qualify for a passport by descent in one of these countries if your parents were citizens or passport-holders of the nation at the time of your birth, or if your grandparents (or even great-grandparents, depending on the program) were born in the nation. Germany and Austria have unique programs that offer citizenship to the descendants of anyone who was persecuted or feared persecution by the Nazi regime between 1933 and 1945. Ghana also has a special program in development called the Homeland Return Act, which would grant a pathway to citizenship for individuals of African descent without ancestral ties to Ghana.

Demand for golden passports has seen a significant boom in recent years, with the amount of applications doubling in 2025, according to Henley & Partners. As such, new countries are adding programs all the time. Argentina, for example, is planning to launch a citizenship by investment program in the second half

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By Investment or Residency

If you do not have recent ancestors who were born in another nation, you might consider pursuing dual citizenship by investment. At least 11 nations currently operate citizenship-by-investment programs, also called “golden passports,” according to residency and citizenship firm Henley & Partners. These initiatives offer citizenship in exchange for significant investments into certain economic sectors. Investment thresholds usually start at about $200,000 and up. The application process also entails a background check, but once applicants pass inspection they will have lifelong citizenship for themselves and possibly their immediate family as well, depending on the program. The most accessible citizenship-by-investment programs are generally found in the Caribbean, where the schemes come with relatively low investment thresholds and comparatively less red tape. Caribbean nations that offer golden passport schemes include Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, St. Lucia, and Grenada. For many individuals, the Caribbean is also an appealing area for dual citizenship thanks to the region’s proximity to the US. There are also golden passport programs in the Middle East—offered by Egypt, Türkiye, and Jordan—as well as São Tomé and Príncipe off the coast of Western Africa, the island of Nauru in Micronesia, and North Macedonia in Europe.