Certified Translation for Birthright Citizenship
Translating Legal Texts for Birthright Citizenship
Certified, notarized, sworn legal translation services and certified Apostille translation services are often required in birthright citizenship cases. There are many benefits of dual citizenship, yet few understand how widely available it is for many people. That is especially true for people with a European birthright or heritage. Dual citizenship does not mean giving up any rights as a U.S. citizen. What dual citizenship means is the ability to travel more freely, access more global services, have fewer restrictions, be eligible for more benefits, and attain status as a “person of the world.” Nowhere is this truer than when you gain dual citizenship with full access to the European Union.
In that vein, anyone who wishes to take advantage of dual citizenship will need to complete documents in more than one language and obtain certified, notarized, and sworn translation services. The easiest way to accomplish that is to get the help of an experienced legal translation company. We welcome you to contact us at All Language Alliance, Inc. We provide services for lawyers and non-lawyers alike. Contact us today by filling out “Hire a Certified Translator or Interpreter” form on the right.
All European Union Countries Allow Dual Citizenship
As of now, there are 28 countries in the European Union (EU): Austria, Italy, Belgium, Latvia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Croatia, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Malta, Czechia, Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Estonia, Portugal, Finland, Romania, France, Slovakia, Germany, Slovenia, Greece, Spain, Hungary, Sweden, Ireland, United Kingdom. Although each country remains legally separate, the union functions similar to the U.S. in some significant ways. Most importantly, there is a common currency and easy border crossings. While it is possible that you may be stopped for a security check at a border, it is more common to see only a blue square sign bearing the European Union circle without a checkpoint.
With regard to citizenship, every EU country has some form of the jus sanguinis principle, which translated means the “right of blood.” That means that you can be a citizen of the country based on a blood relation connection to that country. For example, if your mother is French, then you can be a citizen of France based on the jus sanguinis principle.
There are other approaches giving citizens of colonies and former colonies the right to motherland citizenship as well. Some countries also recognize the right of people to regain citizenship whose ancestors were forced out for ethnic reasons (such as in WWII and other conflicts).
Becoming an Irish Citizen is Among the Most Lenient
Becoming a naturalized citizen of Ireland only requires an “association” with a living or dead citizen. The association is loosely defined as relation by blood, kinship, or even adoption. Any of those associations need to only relate to someone who was an Irish citizen (either alive or dead).
In fact, the association to an Irish citizen is even more broadly defined as “someone who was entitled to be an Irish citizen.” To better understand how lenient a standard that is, note that anyone having a relative whose grandparent was born in Ireland can become a citizen. It does not even have to be your grandparent.
In Belgium, Citizenship is a Little More Complicated
Belgium is at the other end of the spectrum when compared to Ireland. It has several requirements that vary by your year of birth and legal relationship to your parent.
• Any child can become a citizen who was born before 1967 to a legally recognized father (father only) who is a Belgium citizen.
• Any child born between 1967 and 1984 can become a citizen if a legitimate father (citizen) is recognized before 1985.
• If a child was born after 1985, one of these conditions must be met:
o Born in Belgium to at least one Belgium citizen; or
o If born outside of Belgium, the child must have a parent born in Belgium or in a Belgium territory before 1960 or 1962 depending on the territory; or
o A parent born in a territory requests citizenship for the child within 5 years of birth. Or the parent fails to make the request and the child becomes stateless.
This more-difficult process makes it clear that Belgium does not want to encourage citizenship for people born abroad. Fortunately, most EU countries are much less restrictive.
Considering the legal requirements to obtain dual citizenship, it is always a good idea to use a reputable legal translation service to prepare your certified document translations.
Most EU Countries Want to Connect with Those Having Heritage Abroad
Most EU countries make it relatively easy to obtain citizenship although it often must be done within a specific number of years after birth of a child. For instance, Germany requires parents living abroad on or after January 1, 2000 to register the child’s citizenship within one year.
Other countries are much more lenient by relying on heritage rather than the parents’ citizenship (similar to Ireland). Croatia liberally grants citizenship to children (and their spouses) whose great-grandparents were citizens. Bulgaria may be the most liberal with the only requirement being that a person have Bulgarian origins. Although these requirements are much easier to meet, your chances for success always improve greatly when a legal translation service prepares your paperwork.
Some People Qualify for EU Citizenship Without Having Family Members Who Are Citizens
Following WWII, several EU countries began correcting what they consider “injustices done by others.” Accordingly, Germany is much more liberal towards people with Jewish heritage. Today, people need only submit a simple two-page form stating they (or their descendants) were former German citizens. Some additional paperwork may be required to validate the request. As recently as 2010, Hungary wrote new laws correcting injustices from WWI.
The long and short of it is that millions of people in the U.S., and all over the world, have the right to gain dual citizenship with a country in the European Union. Many people wanting the broader freedoms, rights, and benefits that come with dual citizenship fall within laws allowing it.
You can get the process started by contacting the certified legal translation and apostille service All Language Alliance, Inc. Get in touch with us today to obtain apostille translation services and certified, notarized and sworn document translation from English to French, German, Italian, Spanish, Croatian, Bulgarian, Czech, Portuguese, Slovak, Polish, Swedish, Danish, Latvian, Mongolian, Chinese, Lithuanian, and other languages and to discuss your legal translation projects requiring notarized Certificates of Accuracy to apply for birthright citizenship. We can also assist you with obtaining official certified English copies of your ancestors’ old naturalization and citizenship records, such Certificate of Arrival; Declaration of Intention; the United States of America Petition for Citizenship; Affidavits of Witnesses; Oath of Allegiance, and other historical immigration and naturalization records of deceased immigrants, getting them apostilled and provide official certified translations thereof.
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