Citizenship by descent rules by country
Every rule Rootdossier applies is a row with its source, the edition or date of that source, and the day we read it. 45 rules, last reviewed 28 September 2026; 4 of them are settings we could not confirm at a primary source, marked as such.
Organiser, not legal advice. Rules change: confirm with the consulate or a lawyer.
German citizenship by descent: the rules we apply
Three routes: the section 5 declaration for people the old sex-discriminating rules left out (deadline 19 August 2031), restoration for descendants of people persecuted from 1933 to 1945, and ordinary descent through an unbroken line.
Routes: Declaration (section 5); Restoration (Art. 116(2), s. 15); Ordinary descent.
Irish citizenship by descent: the rules we apply
A parent born on the island of Ireland makes you Irish already. A grandparent born there opens the Foreign Births Register, and you become Irish on the day you are entered.
Routes: Foreign Births Register (grandparent); Automatic (parent born in Ireland).
Polish citizenship by descent: the rules we apply
Confirmation of citizenship through unbroken descent: no ancestor in the line may have lost Polish citizenship before the next birth, and under the 1920 Act a father's loss extended to his minor children. Applications in Polish, translations by a sworn translator.
Routes: Confirmation (unbroken descent).
Canadian citizenship by descent: the rules we apply
Since 15 December 2025, citizenship by descent reaches beyond the first generation born abroad. Births before that date are automatic; later births depend on the parent's time in Canada.
Routes: Descent beyond the first generation.
Italian citizenship by descent after Law 74/2025
Narrowed by Law 74/2025: only a parent or grandparent who held Italian citizenship alone, or a parent who lived in Italy two years before your birth, still opens the route. Pending files and court cases sit in a legacy module. The 2025 limit itself is pending before the EU Court of Justice on a referral deposited on 23 July 2026.
Routes: Only-Italian parent or grandparent (narrowed); Parent resident in Italy two years (narrowed); Legacy (pending or court case) (legacy).
Put the rules to work
Start a case in your cases: pick the country and the route, add the people in your line, and the register lists each document with the rule behind it. For background, read the guides.