How to Get Dual Citizenship: 3 Options for Americans Who Want a Second Passport

Securing dual citizenship can open up a wide variety of travel possibilities, including unlocking new visa-free destinations and the potential to live and work abroad with ease. If you’re researching how to get dual citizenship, maybe you’re dreaming of moving to a new country, retiring abroad, or traveling extensively around the world.But the process for scoring that second passport can feel less than straightforward, with confusing requirements, heaps of paperwork, and expensive application fees. However, there are several easy-to-understand options for pursuing dual citizenship, whether you have family ties to a specific country or are interested in participating in a nation’s golden passport program.Travelers who put in the time, effort, and money to acquire dual citizenship will see major payoffs. Chief among them: unlimited access to some of the most sought-after destinations on earth, like cultural capitals in Europe, havens of natural beauty in the Caribbean, and historic gems of the Middle East.Here’s your guide on how to get dual citizenship around the world through three different pathways.Citizenship by descent‘Golden passport' schemesResidency visas with a pathway to citizenshipCitizenship by descentYour 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.‘Golden passport' schemesIf you don’t have recent ancestors who were born in another nation, then 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.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 of 2026.Residency visas with a pathway to citizenshipIf you're not in a rush to acquire a second passport, some residency visas offer pathways to citizenship—but the process can take a decade or so to complete. Retirement visas such as Spain's Non-Lucrative Visa and Portugal's D7 visa, for example, provide pathways to permanent residency; following five to 10 years of legal residency, you can then apply for citizenship. The same goes for certain talent visas in countries like France and Taiwan, but the rules vary country to country.If you don't qualify for a retirement or talent visa, there are also residency-by-investment programs (nicknamed “golden visas”) that offer permanent residency status in exchange for large investments in specific economic categories. A small handful of golden visa programs offer a path to citizenship after holding residency for several years. Although these initiatives take much longer than golden passports, the end result is the same: dual citizenship. Among the leading golden visa initiatives with a path to citizenship are nations like Italy, Portugal, and Greece, all of which open up potential citizenship after seven to 10 years of residency, according to Henley & Partners. Investments for the initial residency step of the process start at about $250,000 and up. If you’re willing to settle for permanent residency in lieu of full citizenship, dozens of nations in nearly every region across the globe offer some variation of a golden visa.