For many Americans, obtaining dual citizenship can provide a meaningful connection to their family heritage while creating new opportunities to live, work, study, retire, own property, or conduct business in another country.
But proving eligibility for citizenship in another country often requires much more than completing an application.
Applicants may need to obtain multiple generations of U.S. vital records, court records, naturalization documents, background checks, and other supporting documentation. Depending on the country and the document involved, those records may also need to be certified, notarized, apostilled or authenticated, and translated before the foreign government will accept them.
The challenge is that there is no single document process that applies to every dual-citizenship application.
The correct process depends upon several factors, including:
- The country where citizenship is being requested
- The basis for citizenship, such as ancestry, descent, marriage, or another qualifying relationship
- The type of document being submitted
- The U.S. state or federal agency that issued the document
- The requirements of the foreign consulate, embassy, civil registry, or citizenship authority
- Whether certified translations are required
- Whether an Apostille or another form of authentication or legalization is required
Understanding these distinctions before obtaining and processing your documents can help prevent unnecessary expense, rejected documents, and delays.
Success Signings LLC assists individuals with preparing U.S. documents for international use through our Apostille and Authentication Facilitation Services.
What Documents Are Commonly Required for Dual Citizenship?
Every country’s requirements are different, but applicants seeking citizenship through ancestry, descent, marriage, or other qualifying circumstances are frequently required to document both their own identity and their relationship to the person through whom citizenship is being claimed.
This can create a chain of documents extending across several generations.
For example, someone claiming citizenship through a parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent may need records establishing the relationship from one generation to the next.
Birth Certificates
Birth certificates are among the most frequently requested documents in dual-citizenship applications.
Depending upon the application, an applicant may need certified birth certificates for:
- The applicant
- Parents
- Grandparents
- Great-grandparents
- Other ancestors through whom citizenship is being claimed
For U.S. birth certificates, applicants generally need to obtain the appropriate certified copy from the state or local vital-records authority responsible for the record.
A standard photocopy of a birth certificate should not be assumed to be sufficient.
If an Apostille is required, the certification and Apostille process will generally be determined by the state in which the vital record was issued—not necessarily the state where the applicant currently lives.
For example, an Arizona resident applying for citizenship through ancestry may have been born in California, have a parent born in New York, and have a grandparent born overseas. Each document may therefore require a different retrieval or preparation process.
Marriage Certificates
Marriage records can be essential for establishing relationships between generations, documenting name changes, or proving the marital relationship upon which an application is based.
Applicants may need certified marriage records for themselves, their parents, grandparents, or other ancestors.
As with birth certificates, the appropriate version of the record generally must be obtained from the government authority responsible for issuing or maintaining it.
If the document requires an Apostille, it typically follows the process applicable to the state where the record originated.
Death Certificates
Death certificates may be needed when an ancestor through whom citizenship is being claimed is deceased.
These records can help establish family relationships and complete the documentary chain between generations.
Depending upon the country and application requirements, a certified death certificate may need to be authenticated with an Apostille before submission.
Divorce Decrees and Court Records
Divorce records can become important when they explain a change in marital status or surname or establish the legal history connecting family records.
Some countries may request a certified copy of a final divorce decree or other court record rather than an ordinary photocopy.
Court-issued documents can have their own certification requirements, so applicants should determine exactly what version of the record the foreign citizenship authority requires before ordering it.
Name Change Documents
One of the more complicated parts of an ancestry-based citizenship application can be reconciling differences between names appearing on records created decades apart.
Names may have changed because of:
- Marriage
- Divorce
- Adoption
- Court-ordered name changes
- Immigration
- Transliteration from another language
- Spelling variations in historical records
Applicants may therefore be asked to provide marriage certificates, divorce decrees, court orders, or other records explaining the difference.
Some countries may also have procedures for correcting or addressing discrepancies between documents. Because these are country-specific legal or citizenship requirements, applicants should confirm the appropriate procedure with the relevant foreign authority or qualified legal professional.
Naturalization Records and Certificates of Naturalization
For citizenship-by-descent applications, an ancestor’s U.S. naturalization history can be particularly important.
The foreign government may need to determine whether or when an ancestor became a U.S. citizen, because that event can potentially affect whether citizenship in the ancestral country was retained and could pass to subsequent generations.
A U.S. Certificate of Naturalization is a federal document. Federal documents can follow a different authentication process from state-issued vital records.
Applicants should therefore avoid assuming that a federal document can simply be sent to the same Secretary of State handling their birth or marriage certificates.
FBI Background Checks and Other Criminal Record Checks
Depending upon the country and type of citizenship application, an applicant may be required to provide an FBI Identity History Summary or another criminal-record or police clearance document.
An FBI background check is a federal document, which means its Apostille or authentication process differs from the process for a state-issued birth or marriage certificate.
Some countries may also request state or local police records in addition to, or instead of, an FBI background check.
This distinction is important because sending a federal document through a state Apostille process can result in delays or rejection.
Copies of U.S. Passports and Identification Documents
Applicants may be asked to provide copies of a current U.S. passport or other identification.
However, the receiving authority may specify exactly how that copy must be prepared.
Depending upon the requirements, a passport copy may need an appropriate copy certification or an affidavit notarization before subsequent authentication.
Applicants should confirm the exact requirement before having a passport or identification document copied or notarized.
Affidavits, Declarations and Supporting Statements
Some citizenship applications require personally executed documents such as affidavits, declarations, statements, or authorizations.
Unlike a government-issued vital record, these documents may require the applicant to sign before a Notary Public.
The type of notarization matters.
A document requiring a sworn statement, for example, may involve a different notarial act than a document requiring acknowledgment of a signature. The receiving authority or document instructions should determine the required form.
Success Signings LLC provides both traditional notarization and, for eligible documents when acceptable to the receiving authority, Remote Online Notarization services.
Understanding Certified Copies vs. Notarized Documents
These terms are frequently confused during international document preparation.
A certified copy issued by a government agency is not the same thing as a photocopy that has been notarized.
For example, if a foreign citizenship authority requests a certified copy of a birth certificate, the applicant may need an official certified record from the appropriate vital-records agency. Simply photocopying an ordinary birth certificate and asking a notary to notarize the copy may not satisfy the requirement.
Similarly, documents issued by courts, schools, federal agencies, and other government authorities can have their own certification requirements.
This is one reason it is important to determine what type of document is required before beginning the Apostille process.
What Is an Apostille and Why Is It Required?
An Apostille is a certificate used to authenticate qualifying public documents for use between countries where the Hague Apostille Convention applies.
The Apostille helps the receiving country verify the authenticity of the signature, seal, or official capacity associated with the underlying public document.
It does not certify that the information contained in the document is true, nor does obtaining an Apostille automatically guarantee that a foreign citizenship authority will accept a particular document.
For a more detailed explanation, read What to Know About Apostille Documents.
State Apostilles vs. Federal Apostilles
One of the most important distinctions for dual-citizenship applicants is whether a document originated at the state or federal level.
State-Level Documents
Documents commonly processed through state-level authentication procedures can include qualifying:
- Birth certificates
- Marriage certificates
- Death certificates
- Divorce decrees
- Court records
- Notarized affidavits
- Powers of Attorney
- Certain academic documents
- State and local records
The correct authority generally depends upon where the document was issued or notarized.
Federal-Level Documents
Federal documents follow a different authentication path.
Examples potentially relevant to citizenship applications include:
- FBI background checks
- Certificates of Naturalization
- Federal court records
- Certain records issued by federal agencies such as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), or National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
Federal documents requiring an Apostille for international use generally follow the applicable federal authentication procedure rather than being submitted to an individual state’s Secretary of State.
Success Signings LLC Apostille and Authentication Facilitation Services can help coordinate the appropriate processing path based upon the document and destination country.
What If the Country Does Not Use the Apostille Process?
Not every international document follows the same procedure.
When the Apostille Convention does not apply between the United States and the country where the document will be used, the document may need to go through an authentication and legalization process instead.
Depending upon the country and document, this can potentially involve state certification, federal authentication, and/or legalization through the appropriate foreign embassy or consulate.
Because international requirements can change, applicants should verify current requirements before processing their documents.
Translations for Dual Citizenship
Authentication is only one part of the process.
Many citizenship applications require U.S. documents written in English to be translated into the official language of the country processing the application.
Depending upon the country, the receiving authority may require a:
- Professional translation
- Certified translation
- Sworn translation
- Government-regulated translator
- Translator’s Certificate of Accuracy
- Notarized translator declaration or affidavit
The sequence can also matter.
Applicants should determine whether the foreign authority requires the translation to occur before or after the underlying document is apostilled or authenticated.
Success Signings LLC can coordinate professional and certified translation services as part of the international document-preparation process when appropriate.
Remote Online Notarization for Applicants Living Outside the United States
Dual-citizenship applicants do not always live in the United States.
An American living overseas may discover that an affidavit, declaration, authorization, Power of Attorney, or other supporting document needs to be notarized in the United States.
For eligible documents, Remote Online Notarization may provide a convenient option by allowing the signer to appear before an authorized Arizona Remote Online Notary using secure audio-video technology.
However, applicants should first determine whether the foreign government, consulate, citizenship authority, or other receiving organization will accept a remotely notarized electronic document.
Acceptance should never be assumed simply because the notarization itself is legally valid under the applicable U.S. law.
A Practical Document Checklist for Dual-Citizenship Applicants
Before beginning the process, determine which documents the foreign citizenship authority requires and create a list organized by the person and generation to whom each record belongs.
Common documents can include:
- Birth certificates
- Marriage certificates
- Death certificates
- Divorce decrees
- Name-change records
- Adoption records
- Naturalization records
- Certificates of Naturalization
- FBI background checks
- State or local criminal-record checks
- Passport copies
- Affidavits and declarations
- Powers of Attorney
- Court records
- Proof of residence
- Other documents establishing the family relationship or citizenship claim
For each individual document, determine:
- Who issued it?
State, county, local, federal, court, educational institution, or another authority? - What form is required?
Original, certified copy, notarized document, or another specified version? - Does it require an Apostille or authentication?
- Which authority has jurisdiction to authenticate it?
- Does it need to be translated?
- What type of translation is acceptable?
- How recently must the document have been issued?
- Does the foreign authority impose any special formatting or certification requirements?
Answering these questions before processing the documents can save considerable time.
Why Dual-Citizenship Document Preparation Can Become Complicated
A single citizenship application may contain documents from several U.S. jurisdictions and multiple generations.
Consider an applicant living in Arizona who is applying for citizenship through a grandparent.
The applicant might need an Arizona marriage certificate, a California birth certificate, a New York death certificate, an FBI background check, a federal naturalization document, a notarized affidavit, and translations of the completed records.
Those documents cannot necessarily be handled through one identical Apostille process.
Some may need certified copies. Some may need notarization. Some may receive state Apostilles. Federal records may require federal processing. Translations may have separate requirements.
That is why document preparation should be approached as a document-by-document process rather than simply an Apostille order.
How Success Signings LLC Can Help
Success Signings LLC provides Apostille, Authentication, notarization, document retrieval, and translation coordination services for individuals preparing U.S. documents for use internationally.
Depending upon your documents and destination country’s requirements, our services may include:
- Reviewing document-processing requirements
- Coordinating retrieval of certain certified records
- Traditional notarization
- Remote Online Notarization for eligible documents
- State Apostille facilitation
- Federal Apostille and authentication facilitation
- Embassy or consular legalization coordination when applicable
- Certified translation coordination
- Submission and tracking
- Domestic or international return shipping
Our goal is to help clients identify the correct processing path before documents are submitted, reducing the risk of avoidable delays and rejected paperwork.
You can learn more about our complete Apostille and Authentication Facilitation Services or explore additional international document topics on the Success Signings Blog.
Preparing to Apply for Dual Citizenship?
If you are applying for dual citizenship through ancestry, descent, marriage, or another qualifying route and need U.S. documents prepared for international use, contact Success Signings LLC before beginning the authentication process.
Knowing what document is required, where it originated, how it must be certified, and where it will ultimately be used can make the difference between an efficient process and having to start over.
Your Success Is Our Success.
Contact Success Signings LLC to discuss your dual-citizenship documents and the notarization, certification, Apostille, authentication, or translation services that may be required.
Success Signings LLC is a private, independent third-party notary and document facilitation service and is not a government agency or law firm. Success Signings LLC does not provide legal or immigration advice or determine eligibility for citizenship. Citizenship, document, authentication, translation, and acceptance requirements are established by the applicable foreign government, consulate, embassy, citizenship authority, and other receiving organizations and may change. Applicants should confirm current requirements with the appropriate authority or qualified legal professional.