More and more US nationals are taking advantage of their ancestry to expand their options for work, life, and travel by gaining new passport, a new study finds, emphasizing that the number of Americans seeking second citizenship quadrupled in the last two years.
According to Global RCG, a consultancy that helps Americans secure foreign citizenship and residency permits, some 40% of Americans are eligible for European citizenship, confirming the country’s reputation as a melting pot.
Government statistics and independent citizenship consultancies’ data show that not all that’s applying for citizenship intend to uproot their lives and move to Europe, but most of them like having the option.
Four times as many Americans are seeking second citizenship in 2022 than in 2020, the citizenship firm Arton Capital points out, noting that this number that doesn’t include US nationals applying for third or fourth country passports.
The best examples of the explosion in interest and demand for the second passport are would-be citizens of Italy, Ireland, and Germany.
According to government statistics, 3,284 Americans – twice as many compared to 2021- applied for Irish passports in the first six months of 2022 and the country allows second-, third- and fourth-generation Irish Americans to apply for citizenship as long as one of their great-grandparents was born there.
According to the Florida-based Italian American Citizenship Assistance Program, the citizenship “wait list” for the New York consulate of Italy – which requires applicants to only show they have family ties to the country dating back to 1861 – includes 3,700 names.
The consultancy has seen interest double over the last year, with the spike in searches and applications kicking into high gear starting around the end of 2021.
Although the idea of seeking second citizenship, whether for mobility or tax purposes isn’t new for Americans, several firms emphasized that since the 2016 election of Donald Trump – which prompted more people to explore the option – politics is the main reason people cite for looking to get out.
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