Getting an EU passport

Everyone wants an EU passport these days. You can work, live and play in any European Union country. I got mine recently and wish to document this task, so....

What is the EU?

The European Union (EU) - previously known as the European Community (EC)- was founded after the Second World War to unite the nations of Europe economically and to help ensure peace in the region. Today, the EU boasts a fully integrated internal market in which citizens, as well as goods and services, can move freely across national borders.
The countries include Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, United Kingdom, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Finland, and Sweden. On October 9, 2002 in Brussels, the European Commission recommended the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus, and Malta. Candidates Bulgaria and Romania are expected to join in 2007. For more information, visit the EU website

How do I get the EU passport?

Becoming an EU passport holder is unfortunately a messy task. All I can say is that you will become very friendly with the consulate office.

There is the obvious reasons why you can become an EU citizen:

1. You were born in one of the countries that represent the EU. Check above list.

2. Your parents or grandparents were born in one of the countries and are still citizens of that country, that is they have not become citizens of the country they live in. For example; You were born in Australia yet your Dad is still an Italian citizen.

3. When you were born your parents were still a citizen of one of the countries yet gave up their citizenship after your birth. See my example below.

The way I got my EU passport was through my mother even though she was born in Australia. My grandparents came to Australia and started a family. When my mother was born they were STILL Italian citizens. They decided to become Aussie citizens after her birth and continued to have children. This means my mother, through the jure sanguinis rule is a dual citizen.

Any other reasons will need to be dealt individually by your consulate office. Also visit the EU website and the website I have listed at the end of this post.

What paperwork do I need and how much does it cost?

Well well well, I can tell you that the paperwork is the hardest thing about obtaining your passport. Some documents you need right away include:

Your birth certificate,

Parents birth certificate,

Parents marriage certificate,

Your parents certificate of residency or citizenship certificate.

In the situation where you are using your grandparents as an avenue to the EU passport, it gets harder because you need their birth certificates and more than likely they dont have them. Guess what, you need to get them from overseas. A simple email in my case to the city council where they were born was enough. They sent me an email version and a paper version to my home address.

When you visit your relevant consulate please make sure you ask as many questions as possible. Each representative I spoke to had poor english and there was paperwork everywhere. Not to mention the Italian consulate in Melbourne is only open until 1.00pm. So you need to get there early. Im talking 8.30am before they even open as the queue is evident.

If the country you are applying to obtain your citizenship and then inturn passport is part of the Hague Convention you will need to stamp each document with an Apostille. They cost $60.00 AUD each. I had 4 docuements that needed stamping. These documents are to be all original and will not be given back to you. They get sent and kept in the province/town in the country your obtaining your citizenship from. My paperwork is located in the 'Bassano di grappa' office in Venice, Italy.

Finally presenting all this paperwork and waiting about 10 working days, I was an Italian citizen and had my EU passport. Took me approximately a year. But you can do it faster if you can afford it and take time of work easier. :)

For further information on different avenues the only website that was clear enough visit - http://www.italiamerica.org/id71.htm#1