Quote: (05-03-2016 03:14 PM)GlobalMan Wrote:
Quote: (05-03-2016 11:04 AM)Svoboda Wrote:
Since OP posted this as advice for Americans seeking an EU passport, I'd say needing to do this for 5 years to get a passport is a lot of effort compared to having an Italian, German, Hungarian, Croat, Polish, Portuguese (great) grandfather or grandmother and applying for citizenship that way.
It's a choice to live somewhere for 5 years.
On the other hand it's completely out of your control who your grandparents are.
The two options are not comparable, they are solutions for entirely different circumstances.
Of course it's better if you can get a passport through family, but for many/most thats not an option.
Saying that, I'm not willing to live for 5 years continuously in the Dutch Caribbean to qualify.
I know you can't choose your grandparents.
It's just there are many easier routes for many Americans to get an EU passport.
A good percentage of Americans have a European ancestor within a few degrees.
Spain hands out passports to immigrants living and working there for 1 (in case you're from a former colony) or 2 years.
France has a law that if you were born in an area that once belonged to France (in the USA that would be along the missisipi) and live in France for 1 year you can apply for citizenship (there are a few more demands like language proficiency). That's what I call a shortcut.
Living on Aruba for 5 years to get a passport is not a shortcut.