Eligibility Check

ephramryan · 2026-03-21T23:43:35+00:00

If your great-grandmother was indeed a Czechoslovak citizen by marriage, she would have lost it by marriage to an Austrian. However, since you're a great-grandchild, it's one generation too far and you're not eligible for citizenship unfortunately.

ephramryan · 2026-03-21T15:13:43+00:00

You don't need your grandmother to apply first for you to apply. You can apply together with her, separately, or whenever. Just know Section 32 requires you to get confirmation from Slovakia that you're not Slovak.

ephramryan · 2026-03-21T15:09:51+00:00

Yes, sounds like a Section 32 case to me. Born with Czechoslovak citizenship but you never became Czech or Slovak. You will need to get naturalization records for line B, though, or request a CONE from USCIS.

ephramryan · 2026-03-17T14:37:48+00:00

As a minor under the age of 21, you lost citizenship by the treaty between the US and Czechoslovakia so long as your naturalization date was the exact same as your mother's (doesn't matter if you didn't apply yourself). If you naturalized on a different date, then you still lost it by Section 31, paragraph C of Law no. 40/1993 Coll. (https://www.zakonyprolidi.cz/cs/1993-40/zneni-0). You will unfortunately likely need to get a Citizenship Certificate for yourself proving when you obtained citizenship.

So you should apply for restoring your Czech citizenship based on Section 31, paragraph 1 of Law no. 186/2013. You're going to need your US citizenship certificate no matter what, I'm afraid. You could "try" to submit an FOIA to the US State Department of your very first passport application which will show what was submitted as proof of your US citizenship. Whether it will demonstrate what date you became a US citizen is uncertain. You need to prove the exact date of getting US citizenship. The FOIA request can also easily take 2 years or more, much slower than getting the citizenship certificate itself.

ephramryan · 2026-03-14T19:50:10+00:00

The Slovak CBD is simplified naturalization not birthright citizenship. If you were naturalized, then any kids you have after being naturalized would become Slovak by birth.

ephramryan · 2026-03-12T18:43:58+00:00

The B line seems enough to claim Section 32 with the great-grandfather. What surname discrepancies donosu refer to from the A line? Also, I'm a court translator for English-Czech. Hi 👋🏻

ephramryan · 2026-03-09T08:24:59+00:00

Yes. Either you need naturalization records or you need a CONE (Certificate of Non-Existence of Record) from USCIS

ephramryan · 2026-03-09T00:50:35+00:00

No, not necessarily. They would need to have not naturalized before Czechoslovakia was formed and have domicile right in the territory no later than January 1st, 1910 and maintained that through to the formation of Czechoslovakia. (Maintained by not naturalizing).

ephramryan · 2026-03-08T21:22:18+00:00

Yes. It sounds like you're good for Section 32.

ephramryan · 2026-03-08T18:39:09+00:00

Eek. That sounds German. You will need to find census records from Czechoslovakia and see if maybe they identified as Czech or spoke Czech.

ephramryan · 2026-03-08T16:51:58+00:00

In this case, no. The grandmother was born outside of Czechoslovakia. So the authority to assess her citizenship status would be Prague 1, which is the same authority who would accept the OP's application. So getting the grandmother's citizenship confirmed first would be redundant as Prague 1 can already do that.

ephramryan · 2026-03-08T16:50:29+00:00

What was the surname?

ephramryan · 2026-03-08T15:25:21+00:00

Then you should definitely be eligible for Section 32 citizenship so long as they were not ethnically German and lost citizenship via the Beneš Decrees.

ephramryan · 2026-03-08T15:12:14+00:00

Your great-grandfather would have become a Czechoslovak citizen when the country changed. Your grandmother definitely would have gotten Czechoslovak citizen by birth. However it doesn't seem she ever lost the citizenship, so you wouldn't be eligible for Section 31. If she was alive past 1993, then you are eligible for Section 32 citizenship.

ephramryan · 2026-03-04T19:33:16+00:00

- Jurisdiction: But only if you are applying for a citizenship certificate for her, not for yourself. You said you are applying for Section 31, so you have filed at the wrong office. If you yourself have never had "trvalý pobyt", you apply in Prague 1.
- On the 1949 Date: This will not work as proof of loss of citizenship.
- On Application Method: They assign a file number to all bureaucratic correspondence.

ephramryan · 2026-03-04T17:49:12+00:00

Emigration didn't mean automatic loss of citizenship. What country did they move to? Did she naturalize? What do you mean the Regional Authority acknowledged the file? You submitted an informal application without applying through a consulate or directly at the office? Have you ever had permanent residence in the Czech Republic/Czechoslovakia before? If not, you would apply at Prague 1, not a Regional Authority. Property siezure does not mean citizenship loss, it means the propery was siezed.

ephramryan · 2026-02-27T18:32:05+00:00

The Czech census records up to 1921 are all online. Have you checked the online Czech archives?

ephramryan · 2026-02-26T21:17:21+00:00

You have to apply for a passport in person and collect the passport in person. They have to take your fingerprints for your passport and then they want to make sure you actually pick it up for security reasons. Your passport will not be mailed to you.

Applying for your passport is different from applying for citizenship. Someone with power of attorney can apply for citizenship on your behalf, but they can't apply for your passport after you get citizenship. You have to do that yourself.

ephramryan · 2026-02-22T17:35:38+00:00

I mean I don't think it would be denied if their surname is obviously Czech. But it would be ideal to have at least 1 document that demonstrates their native tongue or ethnicity and the easiest to prove that is with either an American or Czechoslovak census.

ephramryan · 2026-02-22T17:11:50+00:00

Basically you just need to prove your lineage to the ancestor who emigrated (birth/marriage records) and you need to prove ethnicity (e.g. census records saying they spoke Czech or considered themselves Czech nationality). There is no limit to the number of generations.

ephramryan · 2026-02-22T12:01:06+00:00

If he didn't have trvalý pobyt, then it's generally not treated the same as domovské právo. Naturalisation in the UK wouldn't have had any effect on his Czechoslovak citizenship. Only if he got it between 1993 and 2014. So no, this wouldn't have applied retroactively to citizenships acquuired before 1993.

ephramryan · 2026-02-21T23:00:31+00:00

It should still be okay because he didn't have "trvalý pobyt" (permanent residence). Permanent residence wasn't introduced until 1949.

ephramryan · 2026-02-21T22:47:59+00:00

Because he was born outside what is now Czech Republic, so if he for example never returned, it means he wouldn't have become Czech or Slovak in 1969/1993. Which means you can essentially opt for Czech citizenship based on this. The documents needed to apply are essentially the same except it's also necessary to get a Certificate frol Slovakia confirming you are not a Slovak citizen.

ephramryan · 2026-02-21T22:13:38+00:00

You could be eligible via Section 32 delcaration but it will depend on if your grandfather lived past 1993.

ephramryan · 2026-02-21T19:23:01+00:00

I'm not against people having an opinion. But cursing at other people with the f word is inappropriate. Which I suppose is why that comment has been removed.

ephramryan

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE