Dual citizenship
Dual citizenship for American citizens
Say how you would get the other citizenship and whether you mean to give up the US one: the tool applies the test of US law.
Does a second citizenship put my US citizenship at risk?
US citizenship
Kept
| Potentially expatriating act | No |
| Intent to relinquish | None |
| Loss automatic? | Never: the State Department decides |
Taking a second citizenship by descent does not cost US citizenship.
Dual citizenship means being a citizen of two countries at once, each treating you as its own. For Americans the US side is settled: the State Department states that US law does not require a citizen to choose between US citizenship and another nationality, and that a US citizen may acquire a foreign citizenship by birth, descent or naturalization without asking any US authority. Losing US citizenship requires a potentially expatriating act, such as naturalizing abroad as an adult, performed voluntarily and with the intention of giving up US nationality (8 U.S.C. 1481); it is never automatic. Two duties come with it: you must enter and leave the United States on a US passport, and the United States keeps taxing you on worldwide income wherever you live. Whether you keep the other citizenship depends on the other country: Italy, Ireland, Canada or Poland accept dual citizens, while Austria, Slovakia or Spain's option route set conditions.
44 countries shown
| Country | Keep US citizenship | By descent |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina | YesAn Argentine who naturalizes in a country without a dual-nationality agreement is treated as Argentine for all purposes; the agreement with the US applied only until October 20, 1981. source | Not covered by the source quoted |
| Armenia | YesObtaining another citizenship does not automatically end Armenian citizenship, which is granted or renounced only by presidential decree. source | Adults who are ethnic Armenians by descent can acquire citizenship without residence, proving ancestry with a baptism certificate, a foreign document recording Armenian descent, or a parent's, grandparent's or sibling's ID showing Armenian ancestry, plus kinship records. |
| Australia | YesAustralians have been able to take another citizenship without losing Australian citizenship since April 4, 2002; adults who did so before that date may have lost it under old s. 17. source | Not covered by the source quoted |
| Austria | With conditionsNo renunciation for s. 58c, but acquiring another citizenship after filing costs Austrian citizenship retroactively; outside s. 58c Austria generally forbids dual citizenship. source | Parent only at birth; no limit for descendants of persecuted people (s. 58c) |
| Belgium | YesSince April 28, 2008 a Belgian who voluntarily acquires US citizenship keeps Belgian nationality; before June 9, 2007 it was lost. source | Belgians born abroad after January 1, 1967 who did not mainly live in Belgium between 18 and 28 lose Belgian nationality on their 28th birthday unless they file a declaration to keep it. |
| Brazil | YesSince Constitutional Amendment 131/2023 a Brazilian loses nationality only on express request (or cancelled naturalization), so taking US citizenship no longer costs Brazilian nationality. source | A child born abroad to a Brazilian father or mother is a native Brazilian if registered at a competent Brazilian office, or if they come to live in Brazil and opt for Brazilian nationality (art. 12, I, c). |
| Canada | YesCanada allows multiple citizenship; you need a Canadian passport to fly back to Canada. source | No limit for people born before December 15, 2025; after that, 1,095 days of the parent's presence in Canada |
| China | NoChina does not recognize dual nationality; a Chinese national settled abroad who naturalizes in the US loses Chinese nationality automatically. source | A child born abroad to a Chinese parent is Chinese, except when a Chinese parent has settled abroad and the child acquired a foreign nationality at birth (art. 5), which covers most US-born children. |
| Colombia | YesColombian nationality is not lost by acquiring US or any other nationality (Constitution art. 96). source | Not covered by the source quoted |
| Croatia | YesAcquiring US citizenship does not end Croatian citizenship, which ends only by release, renunciation or treaty; Croatian authorities treat a dual national solely as Croatian. source | Not covered by the source quoted |
| Czech Republic | YesSince January 1, 2014 Czech citizens keep their citizenship when they take another. source | Children and grandchildren of a former citizen (declaration) |
| Denmark | YesSince September 1, 2015 a Dane who takes US citizenship keeps Danish citizenship. source | Not covered by the source quoted |
| Dominican Republic | YesDominicans may acquire a foreign nationality, and acquiring it does not mean losing Dominican nationality (Constitution art. 20). source | Children born abroad to a Dominican mother or father are Dominican even if they hold another nationality by birthplace; at 18 they may declare that they assume dual nationality or renounce one (art. 18.4). |
| El Salvador | YesSalvadorans by birth have the right to dual or multiple nationality and lose it only by express renunciation (Constitution art. 91). source | Children of a Salvadoran father or mother born abroad are Salvadorans by birth (art. 90, 2º). |
| Finland | YesFinland has allowed multiple citizenship since the Nationality Act 359/2003 came into force on June 1, 2003; the Act has no rule ending Finnish citizenship on naturalization abroad. source | A child of a Finnish mother is Finnish at birth, and of a Finnish father if married to the mother (as enacted in 2003); a Finn who also holds another citizenship keeps Finnish citizenship at 22 only with sufficient ties to Finland (s. 34). |
| France | YesNo renunciation of US citizenship; French nationals who take another nationality keep French nationality unless they declare otherwise. source | No limit in law, but blocked after 50 years abroad without French papers (art. 30-3) |
| Germany | YesAccepted generally since June 27, 2024; losses before that date stay. source | No limit, if every link was still German when the next child was born |
| Greece | YesTaking another citizenship does not end Greek citizenship without the Interior Minister's permission. source | No limit, generation by generation, each one registered in Greece |
| Hungary | YesHungary does not ask you to give up US citizenship. source | No limit for simplified naturalization, with a conversation in Hungarian |
| India | NoIndian citizenship ends automatically when an Indian acquires US citizenship (Citizenship Act s. 9); the Indian passport must be surrendered. OCI is a visa status, not dual citizenship. source | Not covered by the source quoted |
| Ireland | YesIreland allows dual citizenship. source | Parent born in Ireland (automatic) or grandparent born in Ireland (register) |
| Italy | YesNo renunciation of US citizenship (art. 11 of Law 91/1992). source | Parent or grandparent only, since March 28, 2025 |
| Jamaica | YesJamaicans do not lose Jamaican citizenship by becoming citizens of another country, as stated by the government information service; renunciation is a formal, voluntary declaration. source | Not covered by the source quoted |
| Japan | NoA Japanese national who acquires US citizenship by choice, for example by naturalization, loses Japanese nationality automatically; people dual from birth must choose by 20 if dual before 18. source | A child of a Japanese parent is Japanese at birth, but a child born abroad who also gets a foreign nationality at birth loses Japanese nationality unless a parent files a reservation of Japanese nationality with the birth notification within 3 months. |
| Latvia | YesExiles and their descendants keep any citizenship; others may keep the US one, as a NATO country. source | Any generation, from a citizen on June 17, 1940 |
| Lithuania | With conditionsUS citizenship can be kept only if the ancestor was exiled or left Lithuania before March 11, 1990; otherwise it must be renounced. source | Children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of a citizen before June 15, 1940 |
| Mexico | YesA Mexican by birth cannot lose Mexican nationality; you enter and leave Mexico as a Mexican. source | No limit since May 18, 2021: each generation registers in turn |
| Netherlands | With conditionsAn adult Dutch citizen who voluntarily takes US citizenship loses Dutch citizenship unless one of three exceptions applies (born and living in the US, 5 years' US residence as a minor, or spouse's citizenship); a US-born child who is Dutch from birth keeps both. source | Not covered by the source quoted |
| New Zealand | YesNew Zealand allows dual or multiple citizenship. source | Not covered by the source quoted |
| Norway | YesAllowed since January 1, 2020. source | Parent only, Norwegian when you were born |
| Philippines | YesThe Philippines allows dual citizenship, but a natural-born Filipino who naturalized in the US must retain or reacquire Philippine citizenship by oath under RA 9225; it is not automatic. source | Not covered by the source quoted |
| Poland | YesTolerated: Poland treats a dual citizen solely as Polish on its territory. source | No limit, if every link was still Polish when the next child was born |
| Portugal | YesNo renunciation required; Portuguese nationality ends only by a declaration of the person. source | Parent, or grandparent with a language and culture test since May 19, 2026 |
| Romania | YesRomanian citizenship is lost only by withdrawal, approved renunciation or other cases set by law, not by taking US citizenship. source | Former citizens who lost Romanian citizenship for reasons not attributable to them, and their descendants up to the third degree, can regain or be granted it and keep their foreign citizenship (art. 11). |
| Singapore | NoSingapore does not allow adult citizens to keep another citizenship: the Constitution provides for deprivation on acquiring a foreign citizenship, and ICA's renunciation route is for citizens 21 or older who have acquired another country's citizenship. source | Not covered by the source quoted |
| Slovakia | With conditionsNo renunciation of US citizenship is asked, but a Slovak citizen who later naturalizes abroad loses it, save exceptions. source | Parent, grandparent or great-grandparent born in Slovakia (discretionary grant) |
| Slovenia | YesSlovenian law has no automatic loss when a Slovenian citizen acquires US citizenship. source | Not covered by the source quoted |
| South Korea | With conditionsA Korean who voluntarily acquires US citizenship loses Korean nationality at acquisition; dual nationality from birth is tolerated within the nationality-choice system. source | A person whose father or mother is a Korean national at the time of the person's birth is Korean at birth (Nationality Act art. 2), and must then choose under the choice system. |
| Spain | With conditionsAn option under art. 20 requires a declaration renouncing US nationality before Spanish authorities; Spaniards by origin keep both. source | Parent born in Spain (option at any age); grandchildren only through the Democratic Memory Law, closed on October 22, 2025 |
| Sweden | YesAllowed since July 1, 2001. source | Parent only, Swedish when you were born |
| Switzerland | YesSwitzerland has accepted dual nationality without restriction since January 1, 1992; a Swiss citizen who becomes a US citizen keeps Swiss citizenship. source | Not covered by the source quoted |
| Ukraine | With conditionsSince Law 4502-IX of June 18, 2025, an adult Ukrainian loses citizenship by voluntarily taking another one only if it is an aggressor state's or a state whose citizens cannot use Ukraine's simplified procedure; whether the US is on that list was not checked. source | A person whose parents, or one parent, were Ukrainian citizens at the time of birth is a Ukrainian citizen, wherever born (art. 7). |
| United Kingdom | YesDual citizenship is allowed in the UK. source | One generation born abroad (a parent born in the UK) |
| Vietnam | With conditionsVietnam's default is a single nationality unless the nationality law provides otherwise; since July 1, 2025 some applicants may keep a foreign nationality with close Vietnamese relatives and the President's permission. source | Not covered by the source quoted |
The United States does not ask you to choose; the other country's law decides whether you keep its citizenship.
Rules read and verdicts built by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How verdicts are built
The four rules US law sets
| Rule | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| No choice required | You can acquire another citizenship and keep yours |
| US passport at US borders | Enter and leave the United States as an American |
| Loss only with intent | A voluntary act plus the intention to give up US nationality |
| Citizenship-based taxation | Worldwide income stays reportable to the IRS |
What can, and cannot, cost US citizenship
The law lists seven potentially expatriating acts: naturalizing in a foreign state after 18, swearing allegiance to a foreign state, serving in a foreign army at war with the United States or as an officer, holding certain foreign government posts, a formal renunciation before a US consul, a renunciation in wartime on US soil, and treason. None of them ends citizenship by itself. The State Department presumes that a person who naturalizes abroad or swears a routine oath intends to keep US citizenship. Loss happens when the person asks for it and the Department approves a Certificate of Loss of Nationality.
Recognition by descent is not even on the list. An Italian or Irish consulate that records you as a citizen confirms a status you are deemed to have from birth; there is no application for naturalization and, in most cases, no oath.
Allegiance to two countries
Dual nationals owe allegiance to both countries and must obey both sets of laws. In the country of your other nationality, US consular help may be limited, because that country treats you as its own citizen. Military service is the classic example: a country with conscription may call up a dual national who settles there, whatever the US passport says. Before a long stay, read the country's rules; the table of countries links each one.
Money: the part that follows you
The United States taxes citizens on worldwide income wherever they live (IRS). A second passport does not change that, but living abroad and holding foreign accounts brings reporting duties: the FBAR when accounts exceed $10,000 at any time of the year, Form 8938 above higher thresholds, and the foreign earned income exclusion of $132,900 for 2026 for those who work abroad. The tax page for dual citizens runs each test.
Where the other country decides
Whether you keep both depends on the other side. Most countries in the family tree checker accept dual citizens, but not all on the same terms: Austria's declaration for descendants of people persecuted by the Nazi regime requires you to take any other citizenship before filing, Slovakia withdraws its citizenship from people who later naturalize elsewhere, and Spain's option route asks for a declaration renouncing US nationality, a formality under Spanish law that does not, by itself, end US citizenship. The table above filters them. For pairs that matter most to American families, see US and Canadian dual citizenship and US and Italian dual citizenship.