How to Get Citizenship in Another Country

Anyone applying voluntarily for citizenship in another country can lose his U.S. passport by default.

Approximately 40 million Americans are eligible for citizenship in another country, usually through family ties and ancestry, according to Stanley Renshon of the City University of New York. Dual citizenship was legalized by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1967 although the government doesn't encourage it because of potential problems for U.S.citizens while abroad. Generally, for instance, the other country in which the person is also a citizen has a stronger claim on his allegiance. Some countries don't allow dual citizenship and so expatriation there necessitates the renunciation of U.S. citizenship.

Instructions

1. Check your ancestry. Before taking any steps to get a second passport double-check with your family first. You may have automatic dual citizenship if you were born in a foreign country or you have alien parents. This means you are free to live, work and sometimes even vote in the other country as easily as you can in the United States.

2. Choose the country carefully. Ascot Advisory, experts in all aspects of expatriation, stresses the importance of considering residency and citizenship requirements. These factors should be as important as the weather, economy and culture when American citizens choose where in the world to live. Some countries, for example, require foreigners to make a substantial financial investment in order to achieve residency. If for some reason your citizenship application is denied and you don't become naturalized there, that investment can be vulnerable.

3. Apply for dual citizenship. This simply means you are a citizen of two countries. You can live in either place, work in either place and travel freely between the two using separate but valid passports. Stanley Renshon estimates that 93 countries allow dual citizenship in some form and you can determine which by contacting that country's embassy or foreign office representative in America. A comprehensive alphabetical directory of these is provided by Transitions Abroad.

4. Renounce your U.S. citizenship. If the country you are moving to doesn't allow dual citizenship, like Germany for instance, you must give up your American passport. Section 349(a)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act governs the rules about how to renounce your American citizenship and you can contact the government's Bureau of Consular Affairs to make arrangements.

   The government requires you to appear in person before a U.S. consular or diplomatic officer and sign an oath of renunciation. This can be either in America or at a U.S. embassy abroad.

Tips & Warnings

• Consult an expert before making any financially motivated moves. Foreign nations' laws vary hugely and you must be sure your interests are safe and you can afford to move there.

• If you are applying for a second passport in order to make international travel easier, choose somewhere that doesn't require you to renounce your U.S. citizenship.

• Being a citizen of another country could make it difficult for the U.S. government to help you with any problems while abroad.

• Don't confuse "residency" with "citizenship." You may live in a foreign country without becoming a citizen although you will generally be required to make a financial investment in order to do so.

References

• CNN Money: When one passport won't do: by Sarah Max
• U.S. Department of State: A Service of the Bureau of Consular Affairs: U.S. State Department Services Dual Nationality
• Ascot Advisory Services: Why are some people renouncing U.S. citizenship?: Is it legal?: Is dual citizenship permissable?: Why seek a second passport?: by John Schroder
• New Citizen website: Richard R Weston
• Transitions Abroad: Best websites for Embassies, Visas, Passports and Work Permits