Frequently Asked Questions
These are the questions we receive most often regarding EU & UK citizenship application services.
Have a question? Contact us today!


When you obtain citizenship for any of the 27 EU (European Union) member countries, you will be eligible for an EU member country passport, which offers great benefits in all of the 27 qualifying countries. This includes:
- The ability to reside in all 27 EU member countries permanently, for holidays or retirement
- Safety and security
- Unlimited working and residential rights
- Career opportunities and employment flexibility
- Subsidized education and scholarships
- Access to the national health care system of each country
- Social security and other benefits.
- No necessity for visas or permits to travel within the EU
- The ability to register and start a business
- The option to expand an existing business
- Investment opportunities
- The ability to make use of advantageous tax regimens
- Greater personal mobility
- Fast-tracking through customs
- Public service positions and voting rights
- Consular protection by all EU member states
A family Legacy
In addition to ample benefits and prestige, an EU passport enables you to reconnect with your European roots and history – and leave a legacy for your family.
You will be able to transfer your citizenship to your descendants. Passports from all EU member countries are among the highest-ranked on the passport index, meaning that you will be able to travel to most countries around the world without a visa.
The Option to Live Elsewhere
In times of political and social instability, a European passport is an invaluable asset, giving you and your family the possibility of relocating to a safer and more desirable home.
A European passport helps you reconnect with your ancestral roots. You can leverage your background to give you a real competitive edge over others, as obtaining your European citizenship can open up a world of employment opportunities. Perhaps you are looking to expand your existing business or a new company start-up, or to invest in new business opportunities. Perhaps you are interested in buying real estate in Europe, for residential or investment purposes, or tax advantages, or a home for retirement or holidays.
Obtaining EU member country citizenship can facilitate study abroad with preferential tuition rates and to open up other potential academic opportunities. Not to mention, you will enjoy the benefit of easy transit through European states, without the need of time-consuming paperwork or travel visas. Many of our clients want their EU citizenship and passport for personal security reasons, as they feel the world is more and more politically unstable; they want the option to move elsewhere. Having a European passport makes a huge difference!
Yes, Canadians are permitted to hold dual citizenship. Most EU member countries will allow you to hold dual citizenship as well. Each respective country ultimately decides whom it considers a citizen; if more than one country recognizes you as a citizen, you have dual citizenship. No related certificate is necessary. Having two citizenships means that you hold dual citizenship; having more than two citizenships is called multiple citizenship. Canadians are allowed to hold foreign citizenship while keeping their Canadian citizenship. Most EU countries allow dual citizenship, and even in those EU countries where it is not allowed, in some exceptions, it may be granted. EuroPassport investigates this for you before we begin the application process.
Many Canadians’ parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents were born somewhere in Europe and emigrated to Canada. While many of these ancestors did so by choice as they saw new opportunities in Canada, many others were forced to leave due to difficult circumstances, be it war, famine, racial persecution, or political situations. Because some Canadians are direct descendants of people who were born in one of these European countries, they may automatically qualify to regain the citizenship of that respective country. This is due to the law of jus sanguinis, or ‘law of blood’, a legal system that determines a person’s nationality according to their parents’ nationality. In some cases, the descendants of these ancestors may automatically be considered as citizens of certain countries.
To some extent, all EU member countries, currently 27, use this citizenship law. At EuroPassport, we will help you determine if you are eligible to apply for citizenship of one or more EU member countries based on descent. If you have at least one direct ancestor who was born in Europe, be it a recent ancestor, or potentially from many generations prior (depending on the country), you may be eligible to obtain your new citizenship and passport. We will subsequently look into different variables which may play a role in your eligibility, such as different dates where laws apply, or cities where your ancestors were born. To complete an Assessment, we will need to provide proof of your ancestors’ citizenship of the specific country, such as civil registrations or passports, to support your case. This process does not involve applying ‘from scratch’ for new citizenship, nor is your citizenship based on investment; it is a birthright for those who qualify; a right, privilege, or possession to which a person is entitled by birth.
EuroPassport has the right people in the right places, with a network of passionate ancestry research specialists across the EU, as well as direct links to public and private archives and religious communities. As such, we have the proper resources to assist you with your process.
Countries offer different ways to obtain citizenship. “Citizenship by descent or ancestry” occurs when the citizenship law of a certain country is based on the principle of ‘jus sanguinis’, which means ‘law of blood’. In this context, a person’s parents and in some cases, grandparents or even great-grandparents, determine his or her nationality. In contrast is ‘jus solis’, the law that determines citizenship based on where the person was born. In recent times, most EU member countries apply the law of jus sanguinis – granting citizenship by descent/ancestry. There are particularities within each country that determine how this law is applied, and EuroPassport will determine if you are a candidate for citizenship based on ancestry/descent.
Claiming your citizenship based on descent is a right. Each country has very particular laws about how and who they consider to be a citizen; it may depend on factors such as ethnicity, when the direct blood ancestors left the country, and on different historical citizenship laws. EuroPassport will gather information from you and from other sources, to find out if you are considered a citizen by blood in one or more EU member countries. EuroPassport will then assist you in the process of obtaining your citizenship.
No, we are a private company, registered federally in Canada. Our office is located in Mississauga, Ontario, part of the Greater Toronto Area.
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
Yes, it is usually possible, however, some exceptions exist. We can check this for you.
This will depend on the country. Some countries permit it and others stipulate that spouses must reside in the country for several years before obtaining citizenship. EuroPassport will ascertain this possibility for you.
Most EU countries recognize same-sex unions, but a few do not. EuroPassport will verify this for you. Presently, the following countries do not recognize same-sex marriages:
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Hungary
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Poland
- Serbia
- Slovakia
Of these, Croatia and Hungary recognize same-sex partnerships. If you decide to reside in the EU, you can live with your same-sex spouse in any of the countries where same-sex unions and marriages are recognized. Your spouse will be able to work legally, receive health insurance, and many other benefits. EuroPassport will gather all the up-to-date information you may need on the topic of same-sex unions/marriage before you apply for your EU member country citizenship, so you can make the best decision for your partner and yourself.
This is EuroPassport’s process:
- Complete the Eligibility Assessment. This will help EuroPassport determine if you have a good chance of obtaining at least one citizenship from an EU member country, and which country or countries you may be qualified for.
- If eligible, EuroPassport will search for ancestry documentation to support your application process by finding enough evidence of your ancestry in local European government files and archives, such as your ancestors’ birth certificates, passports, and other supporting documentation.
- EuroPassport will then prepare your application file, which will include necessary ancestry documentation, official government documents, criminal checks, translations and application forms, to be submitted to the qualifying country or countries.
- The file will be sent by our lawyers to the appropriate government(s) in Europe.
- EuroPassport will inform you of citizenship approval and arrange for citizenship documentation to be delivered to you.
In the case of some EU member countries, we may require additional documentation. For example, regarding Portuguese citizenship for Sephardic Jews, we will also need to create a certificate of Sephardic descendance. And in the case of German and Austrian citizenships, we will need to prepare evidence that your ancestors were victims of the Holocaust or had to leave their countries of origin due to Nazi persecution.
Each EU country has specific legislation regarding how someone can apply for a new passport. In most cases, clients will need to go in person to the consulate or embassy to process their passport. If this is the case, once the citizenship process is complete, we will send you a completed passport application and other required forms to you, with instructions on how to proceed. Nonetheless, you will likely need to appear in person to obtain your first EU member country passport. Depending on the selected consulate, we may also be able to appear in person with you if requested. Wherever possible, our lawyers will apply for your passport directly on your behalf, and then forward it to us at EuroPassport.
For each case, we will provide an individualized quote. Our services are divided into 3 phases, each with a respective fee:
- The Eligibility Assessment: costs CAD $299.99. If after getting a positive result from the Eligibility Assessment, you decide to proceed with us, we will refund the $299.99 from your total.
- Ancestry and document research: we will begin by doing the initial background research, and our ancestry specialists and archivists in Europe will begin their search, lasting anywhere from 1 day to 6 months depending on the complexity of the case. This will require an individualized quote.
- Once we have obtained the evidence that you indeed have direct ancestry from an EU member country, we will prepare your package, which will include the search and processing of Canadian documents, application forms, criminal background checks, legalizations, translations, and government letters, which all vary by country and by case as well. This will be included in your individualized quote.
EuroPassport’s services cost between 20 and 50% less than working directly with a lawyer in Europe. We also take care of 50 to 80% of the process locally, cutting legal costs considerably.
We have an excellent network of immigration lawyers across the European Union with whom we consult extensively. In fact, all the questions in our Eligibility Assessment have been vetted and approved by them. In addition, we are directly connected to legal databases in the EU from which we get daily, up-to-date legal and policy information. That means if there are any changes to a law or policy, we will make sure those changes are reflected in your application to ensure its success.
Every country has different processing times, and many variables can affect timing. It usually takes between 3 and 12 months, but some countries, such as Germany, can take up to 2 years. We will not send your completed application unless all required documents and forms are fully and properly prepared and reviewed by our lawyers to ensure that your application is successful. Once EuroPassport has forwarded your application to the appropriate government agency, the timing of the remaining process is no longer within our control.
Yes. Each government has its own rules and regulations regarding citizenship laws and policies. The different EU member countries usually offer information on their websites as well as the forms required for application. You can complete these and hire a lawyer, or use EuroPassport’s services for a more streamlined, expedited, inexpensive, and less complicated process.
Be aware that there are many laws which can impact your application, a great many documents to gather, and much conflicting information about how the process really works. A service like EuroPassport brings ease and peace of mind to this great endeavor. Building a proper file, with all the information you need to have a winning application clearly demonstrates to the European government to which you are applying that you indeed meet all of the necessary requirements for citizenship.
Governments generally request a generic list of documents you may require, but in most cases, people need very specific documents that differ from country to country and case to case. Citizenship laws are affected by multiple variables, such as change of borders, which have been very common throughout Europe’s history.
EuroPassport’s team has this up-to-date knowledge. Finding and hiring a lawyer in an overseas country poses challenges; fees may be high and you will still be required to find all necessary documents on your own. In fact, 50 to 80% of the paperwork happens here, in Canada. Without Europassport to assist you would be wholly responsible for obtaining and completing it.
In addition, your overseas lawyer may not be familiar with Canadian government and legal documentation. Their knowledge will likely be limited to one or two country’s citizenship laws, and therefore, they may not assess your eligibility for citizenship in other EU member countries. Here at EuroPassport we take care of the EU citizenship process from start to finish.
Although EuroPassport is specialized in citizenship by descent, our network of lawyers can definitely help you with any other immigration needs within Europe. Simply let us know your objectives and situation and we will take care of your case.
At EuroPassport, we specialize in citizenship by descent/ancestry, meaning in order for the person to qualify for this type of citizenship, the person must have direct descendants from the country they want to apply for citizenship from. Each country has its particular laws related to this type of ancestry; some just take direct ancestors as far as the father or the mother; some as far as the great-grandparents, and some as many generations as the person can prove their ancestry for that particular country.
What is Citizenship by Investment?
In the case of citizenship by investment, the person will need to invest in a business or property in order to create employment and bring additional wealth to the country. For example, in the case of Austria, interested people need to invest at least 3 million euros in order to receive this type of citizenship.
What is Citizenship by Naturalization?
Citizenship by naturalization is when a person applies from “scratch” to become a citizen of a country, meaning they usually need to live as a “permanent resident” for a few years, for which they need to apply. This can be anywhere from 3 to 12 years, depending on the country, and then they will be able to apply for naturalization, which means they will receive their citizenship papers and be able to hold a passport from that country, hold public office and vote to elect public officials. When a person applies for citizenship by naturalization, they will have to physically move to the country where they are obtaining their citizenship and live 3 or more years as a permanent resident before getting their citizenship.
Due to the often sensitive nature of documents our clients submit to us, we take security & data protection very seriously. We use only the best and most secure softwares to handle communication and document transfer to/from our clients. We don’t use any technologies or communication methods that don’t offer a high level of encryption and your data is never shared with any 3rd parties.
Contact us or view our Privacy Policy to learn more.