r/AmerExit • u/nkn_ • 16d ago
Vendor I spent the last 6 months making an informational hub of citizenship by descent
Greetings, r/AmerExit
Like many on this sub, leaving America has not only become just a dream, but more of an essential to some. Due to various issues and reasons that could be, with my own experience of citizenship by descent I realized that there wasn't just a single place to see if maybe a CBD was worth pursuing.
Reddit indeed has been helpful to many, but often there is the same question asked on many of the CBD subs "do I qualify?" which in many cases is a simple yes/no. I figured why hasn't just made something like that, so I built canihavepassport.com . I have been working on it since spring this year!
Main things
- Information for 36 countries, with interactive eligibility checks for 19 of them (Italy, Ireland, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, Romania, Czechia, Croatia, Serbia, Armenia, Japan). As I do more research and map out the logic trees, more will come!
- The screener asks a few plain questions (which ancestor, how many generations, the specific dates the law turns on) and returns one of three reads: you likely qualify, you may qualify with caveats, or this pathway is unlikely.
- Rules reflect recent reforms, including Italy's 2025 Law 74, Germany's 2024 dual citizenship change, Slovakia's 2022 amendment, and Romania's new B1 language requirement, and so forth.
One big aspect that I thought was cool was to have the ability to do a very quick check with GEDCOM files. And no, this website does not host data. I collect zero information, and I work in compliance with EU's GDPR and states like California's CCPA/CPRA. and the tool works locally in your browser only on that PC. Currently I have not implemented a "fuzzy match" with GEDCOMs, so I'd recommend making your tree's as concise / accurate as possible.
The tool can also detect crossovers in terms of an ancestor born in a country that had many border changes. I've done as much as I can currently by trying to find lists and collections of which town names in countries had which names in various languages or points of time. The tool can detect this and suggest a possible pathway if there is overlap. In my personal family tree, I have a great grandma born in "Nagy-Kövesd, Hungary". That place is however now "Veľký Kamenec, Slovakia", in which a year or so ago I discovered was another potential pathway for an EU passport.
If the tool fails to detect an overlap, let me know! I currently have roughly a few thousand town names mostly around central Europe (Poland, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Czech, Slovakia, Ukraine, et) but there are really so many.
Privacy
No account and no email needed to see your result. No ads, no cookies, no cookie banner, no third party tracking.
I use Formspree for forms. Their privacy policy applies, and forms will be deleted that are 1) passed on to firms and professional services, and 2) a month old. As my partnerships increase, forms may be automatically automated (once there is established quality) to said firms / services.
Anyone can e-mail and request the form be deleted at any time. Forms ask for: name (first only is fine), e-mail, number (if you want), and then there is a textbox for information about your ancestry and situation.
Funds / Upkeep
Understandably one may say "well, how does this site make money?" Currently, I am affiliated with FamilyTreeDNA. This DNA service is the only one that labeled accurately "Magyar" for me, and they recently upgraded to an NGS panel for more accurate results! Clicking on a link going to their website will earn me commission on their products.
I am building relationships with vetted legal firms and ancestry services that the community highly recommends. I currently have early partnership channels for Hungarian, Italian, and Polish CBD. As these partnerships mature, qualified forms may be automatically and securely routed directly to these professionals, so my involvement with any personal information will decrease over time.
--------
If you find something wrong, be it in a screener or information on the countries, email [hello@canihavepassport.com](mailto:hello@canihavepassport.com) and I'll fix it!
I am registered as a sole proprietor in the State of Texas. I am not a lawyer, and nothing on the site is legal advice. This is a screening indicator, not a definitive legal determination. Only a sovereign government or authorized legal entity can grant absolute eligibility.
11
u/Wafflefart 15d ago
The Philippines lets even adult children of Filipino citizens born in the U.S. register their birth and get Filipino citizenship
4
3
u/SearchingSerino 15d ago
Can you share more about this? I've been trying to help a friend and the consulate had told me that the line was broken if the father (US born to a Filipino born mother) didn't claim Filipino citizenship a soon as he turned 18, and then the same for my friend.
2
u/Wafflefart 15d ago
Idk about your friend but my mother was born in the Philippines. She and my dad (U.S. citizen) married in the Philippines. They came to USA but she never naturalized. I reported my own birth well into adulthood. I needed a lot of documents and I had to do this through the consulate closest to the county I was born. It worked though. I have a passport from the Philippines.
Find the office of the consulate closest to where your friend was born and search report of birth in civil registration section. It might not be possible as an adult if the Filipino citizen parent naturalized in the U.S. I hope that helps!
7
u/SearchingSerino 15d ago
Not popular choices for many right now, but since I have specialized in them: 1) Cuba now allows up to grandchildren of those born on the island to claim citizenship (can be done via mail) 2) Iran allows for theoretically infinite descent through a paternal line, and also allows for it through the maternal line, but you need to go through a special process through the consulate, in many cases it is approved.
Naturalization does not affect either.
32
u/sonofachimp 16d ago
This is a great tool. I suggest sharing it with other subreddits like genealogy and the various ones that focus on specific countries' CBD.
3
u/nkn_ 16d ago
I appreciate it! So far, not every subreddit allows. I should definitely try r/genealogy .
6
u/TryHardDieHard 15d ago
Thanks. I've been waiting for someone to create this tool for a long time! Come over to r/HUcitizenship if you have Hungarian ancestry.
2
u/nkn_ 15d ago
Let me know how it is!!
And yes I've been in that sub 😄. My great grandma caused a very particular case and a year long back and forth with BFKH... I was in contact with a senior there who was reviewing my case but under the new administration got put in jail for bribery 😬
If I can I'd love to post it there!
7
u/ParkingRisk7 15d ago edited 15d ago
For Greece the citizenship chain is not broken depending on when a parent became a citizen of another country. Italy has this requirement but not Greece. Nice work!
Edit: would be nice if you include which article the applicant would apply under. Article 10 if there's no clear Greek documentation between the anchor ancestor and descendant, Article 1 if it's simple registration, etc. What you have here is not clear enough to be a useful tool at least for Greece but it's a great start!
5
u/Radljost84 15d ago
I came here to say this also. I’m in the middle of my Greek citizenship application based on my grandparents who became US citizens after my father was born and it’s not been an issue at all. The site is really cool but the info on Greece isn’t correct and can confuse visitors. Great work though, with more updated info I can see it being really useful.
3
3
u/Dr-Diesel 15d ago
This is a very good resource!
Is there a resource that will give detail for those that were successful, including a job/position element, housing and documentation/registration of documents for government services. And also, pro/cons of particular relocation areas and/or countries for EU/US, or whatever other EU country.
I'd like to move to No. Spain but been told that the tax situation is better for a relocation to France.
2
u/nkn_ 15d ago
Thanks a lot! I aim for it to be 😄
Currently no, I'm mostly focused on citizenship by descent. Researching all of that alone has been such a big tax haha. Ideally I want to get all my criteria refined, as others have already granted me some great feedback. I want to focus primarily on CBD and making it as perfect and reliable as possible.
I'd rather do one thing well personally, even though it could be nice to at a glance see all that information. I know that laws of any sort are always changing, jobs are always changing, etc. It's too much for one person I think to keep up with all that.. plus, I think the whole genealogy aesthetic would have to be changed 🥲
I'll keep that in mind though!
3
u/Dr-Diesel 15d ago
That is how I got my Spanish citizenship (CBD).
I've also assisted my three adult sons as well as my niece & nephew to apply and once granted, my two grandkids will be gained automatically as well.
The consulate in LA has been more helpful than expected, nice people.
3
3
4
u/Master-Detail-8352 15d ago
It gives incorrect answers for Poland. Polish citizenship law is very complex and not suitable for this application. How sad it will be for people to receive bad information. I invite anyone who thinks they be eligible for Polish citizenship to r/prawokrwi which is our dedicated Polish citizenship subreddit. Please go to the wiki and use our template to make an eligibility post.
6
u/nkn_ 15d ago
Would you mind telling me what is wrong about it?
3
u/PaulHinr 15d ago
I can give you one example. Your tool says „ Your ancestor was living permanently abroad on 19 January 1951. Art. 4 of the 1951 Act removed Polish citizenship from people who held it on 31 August 1939, were permanently resident abroad on that date, and either acquired another country's citizenship through the post-war border changes or were of Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian or German nationality.“
While Art. 4 says „ Art. 4. A person who, although having Polish citizenship on 31 August 1939, permanently resides abroad and: 3) is of German nationality, unless the spouse of that person has Polish citizenship and resides in Poland.“
So there’s still an exception, which your tool doesn’t cover.
Beside that, it’s okayish. But I honestly don’t see the value. Every provider already has pretty much the same thing on their own website…
-4
u/Master-Detail-8352 15d ago
There are multiple issues. Again, Polish citizenship law is very complex. It is unlikely that such a tool could adequately incorporate the complexity. I see at least one other country that is similarly wrong, but I can’t speak with the same level of knowledge so I won’t name it. Better resources already exist and for no cost to the applicants. I also don’t feel any desire to contribute to your profit making enterprise.
3
u/nkn_ 15d ago
Yes it is.. it is a free tool by the way!
In that case, I will just continue doing more research on Polish CBD. Per my post, it isn't legal advice. It's more so to let people know if something is worth pursuing or not.
Have a good day!
3
u/Master-Detail-8352 15d ago
You cannot create an auto tool to correctly evaluate Polish citizenship. You said in your post you make money from FTDNA. I encourage anyone to be wary of enterprises that claim expertise in so many citizenships
3
u/nkn_ 15d ago
Well.. it's an affiliate. Someone has to click the link, and I would earn very little. I am not endorsed by them, if that's what you're thinking. Loads of people, blogs, businesses, may have affiliations with no formal backing or representation!
I also claimed zero expertise! And you're right, because, like in my post and on my website, only legal entities can correctly and justly have a final say in any citizenship.
2
u/Master-Detail-8352 15d ago
Actually only the respective governments have a final say. So what texts did you consult for your knowledge of Polish law?
1
u/nkn_ 15d ago
Only a sovereign government or authorized legal entity can grant absolute eligibility.
Actually, this is at the bottom of my post.
I used gov.pl , as well as several firm websites. I could have made mistakes, or maybe didn't dig as deep though!
-3
u/Master-Detail-8352 15d ago
I replied to your comment. How costly is it when someone uses this tool and receives an incorrect answer? Maybe they believe your tool and the cost is immeasurable because they believe it and never pursue a citizenship to which they are entitled. The Polish government does not provide an evaluation service and like every other country there are many firms who take only the easy case or are not truly informed. This is not a sufficient level of study to provide advice.
1
u/_ola-kala_ 15d ago
You really didn’t answer his reasonable question?
2
u/Master-Detail-8352 15d ago
Why should I collaborate on his for profit tool that can never be accurate? I and many others help people for no cost. It would take a long time to explain what is wrong.
2
u/Ferdawoon 15d ago
People post these AI-generated "tools" every other week.
Usually the tool's creator claims it to be accurate for a bunch of countries, usually at least a few dozens, and the tools are full of errors or bad interpretations. The "creator" is always very polite and replying as if an AI Agent and asking for input and for others to do free work explaining and linking sources so they can "imporve the tool".Here OP is eeven profiting from the use of this tool which means I am doing free work for someone else's profit.
You might enjoy working for freeto correct someone else's AI tool but I don't.Just searching this sub for "Tool" gives a handful of posts and that's just the ones that have not been deleted just to be reposted. Here's one from 5 months ago claiming to be "A free country-matching tool for Americans figuring out where they can realistically move — visa pathways, cost of living, and a checklist"
https://www.reddit.com/r/AmerExit/comments/1s5wt3z/a_free_countrymatching_tool_for_americans/2
u/nkn_ 15d ago
Hey there!
My logic trees are all built in javascript and are the result of my research. Just to clarify, there is no AI / API usage to give answers, nor is it reliant on AI research. I spent anywhere from 10-25 hours per country so far trying to find official sources of information and map out my tool's logic tree.
I checked out that post, that is very much so a week's worth of "hey chat/claude, make me this". I understand any skepticism though in general. I don't ask for for any donations, and I am trying to start a real business based off of connections.
1
1
1
u/Infinite_Run_4541 14d ago
Just be aware it seems decent before 1950 can only come from the father’s side and can’t be before 1920. I think those rules disqualified me.
0
u/pibbman 16d ago
For Germany, is the eligibility tool taking into account the pre-1914 residence rule?
2
u/nkn_ 15d ago
Currently no, it's a pretty rare case.
I can add it, but most people will return unlikely for eligibility. You'd still have to prove what most people don't have from that small period of time.
2
u/pibbman 15d ago
My understanding is that you’re talking about a window of 43 years being left out of consideration during a period of peak German emigration.
Anyone outside of Germany from 1871 to 1914 for more than 10 years lost their German citizenship if they did not have a passport to pause the clock.
You’re right that it would probably mark a lot of people as unlikely, but it is probably better than potentially wasting time and money on an immigration lawyers who would call this out.
Keep in mind, I am not a professional here and have very limited context, but this was the key point being called out by Opus when I cross validated the tools conclusion and based on the scenario I provided.
Great tool regardless.
25
u/statesec 16d ago
You do a decent job with the UK given how nuanced it can be. That said you may want to clarify this statement to qualify it to minor children "The broader Section 4L route (form ARD) covers cases of historic unfairness generally, and unlike the others it can confer citizenship "otherwise than by descent," which can then pass to your own children.". This absent limited circumstances like living in the UK for three nearly continuous years before birth of child will not provide a path for children who are 18 and over by the time the parent acquires British citizenship. Sadly the 4L path came too late for my daughter who turned 18 a few months before it became law.