Can I Get EU Citizenship Through a Great-Grandparent? (The Answer Depends on the Country)

It is one of the most common questions in EU citizenship research: my great-grandparent came from Ireland, Italy, Germany, or Poland — does that qualify me?

The answer is not a simple yes or no. It depends entirely on which country your great-grandparent came from, and in some cases, on specific historical dates and circumstances that vary by family.

Ireland: grandparent is the limit for the standard route

Ireland's Foreign Births Register — the primary path to Irish citizenship by descent — is limited to grandchildren of Irish-born people. If your closest Irish connection is a great-grandparent, the standard Foreign Births Register route is not available to you.

There is an exception worth knowing: if your grandparent (the child of your Irish-born great-grandparent) was themselves registered in the Foreign Births Register before your parent was born, then your parent could be registered, and you could register on the basis of your parent's citizenship. This is how Irish citizenship can be extended beyond the grandparent generation — but only if each generation registered before the next was born.

There is also a discretionary pathway — citizenship through Irish associations under Section 16 of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956. This pathway requires establishing genuine ties to Ireland and is entirely at the discretion of the Irish Minister for Justice. It is not a reliable route and is used rarely.

Italy: great-grandparent no longer qualifies for new applications after March 27, 2025

Under Italy's previous rules, there was no generation limit for Italian citizenship by descent. A great-great-grandchild could qualify. That changed with Law 74/2025, which was upheld by Italy's Constitutional Court on March 12, 2026.

For new applications filed after March 27, 2025, Italian citizenship by descent is limited to people with a parent or grandparent born in Italy who held exclusively Italian citizenship at the relevant time.

If your application was filed on or before March 27, 2025, the previous rules apply and your great-grandparent may still qualify your case.

Two Italian pathways remain open regardless of generation: the 1948 judicial pathway (for lines running through a woman who transmitted citizenship before January 1, 1948), and two-year Italian residency (any person of Italian descent, no generational limit).

Germany: you cannot qualify through a great-grandparent alone — but your parent might

Germany is strict: citizenship cannot skip a generation. You cannot inherit German citizenship from a grandparent or great-grandparent if your parent never held it.

However, this does not necessarily mean great-grandparent ancestry is irrelevant. If the chain from great-grandparent to grandparent to parent to you was intact and each generation held citizenship, you may qualify. The question is whether your parent — and grandparent — may have inherited German citizenship without realizing it.

One exception has no generation limit: Article 116(2) of the German Basic Law, which covers descendants of people who lost German citizenship due to Nazi persecution between 1933 and 1945. If any ancestor lost citizenship due to persecution, all descendants can potentially reclaim it regardless of generation.

Germany legalized dual citizenship on June 27, 2024, so there is no longer any need to give up your US passport if you confirm German citizenship.

Poland: potentially yes — but only if the chain was never broken

Poland is the most generous of the four countries on this question. There is no generation limit in Polish citizenship law. A great-grandchild, great-great-grandchild, or even more distant descendant of a Polish citizen can potentially qualify — as long as the citizenship was passed down through each generation and never broken.

The critical issue: ancestors who naturalized as US citizens between 1920 and 1951 automatically lost Polish citizenship at that moment. If your great-grandparent came to America and became a US citizen in 1935, their Polish citizenship ended in 1935 and the chain did not continue.

If your great-grandparent never naturalized, or only naturalized after 1951, the chain may be intact through however many generations stand between them and you — provided no other generation broke the chain either.

For Polish-American families with great-grandparent connections, the first step is finding your ancestor's US naturalization record at archives.gov. That date determines everything.

The legacy angle: why this matters more than most people think

Many families dismiss EU citizenship research when they find out their closest European connection is a great-grandparent. But the question worth asking is not just 'do I qualify today?' — it's 'does anyone in my family qualify?'

If your parent qualifies but has not yet applied, their citizenship would pass to you and your siblings. In Poland's case with no generation limit, even a distant ancestor's intact chain could open a path for the whole family.

EU citizenship is one of the most durable things a family can carry forward. The right to live and work across a continent, visa-free travel to approximately 190 countries, domestic tuition at European universities — these advantages compound over generations.

Summary: can I get EU citizenship through a great-grandparent?

Ireland:  No (FBR grandparent limit). Discretionary route exists but is rarely granted.

Italy:  No for new applications after March 27 2025. Yes if filed before. 1948 judicial path and 2-yr residency unaffected.

Germany:  Not directly — parent must have held citizenship. Article 116(2) persecution path has no generation limit.

Poland:  Potentially yes — no generation limit, but chain must be unbroken. Pre-1951 naturalization is the most common chain-breaker.

→ Check your eligibility free: tagivelegacy.com/eligibility

This post is educational guidance based on publicly available law as of March 2026. It is not legal advice. Individual cases vary significantly. Start with the free eligibility check at Tagive Legacy to determine which rules apply to your specific family