Naturalization and Citizenship
Guide to locating citizenship or naturalization records for ancestry, family history, and genealogy research.
What are citizenship or naturalization records?
United States
- Naturalization is the legal process our immigrant ancestors went through to become citizens of the United States. Becoming naturalized meant our foreign-born ancestors could vote, run for a government office, serve on a jury, pay taxes, receive the protection of the law.
- The choice by an ancestor to become a citizen of the United States affected their lives and is an essential part of their story that you will want to document.
- The process of applying for citizenship generally consisted of three major steps:
- Declaration of Intent -
First Papers. The declaration of intent to become a citizen is sometimes referred to as the "first papers".
- Petition for Naturalization -
Second or Final Papers. After meeting the residency requirements (2 years from 1790-1795, 5 years from 1795-1798, 14 years from 1798 to 1802, and 5 years from 1802 to present) an immigrant could petition the court to become a citizen.
- Certificate of Citizenship-
After all requirements were completed, the immigrant was sworn in as a citizen and issued their certificate.
- Passports - If your ancestor had a U.S. passport, your ancestor was a naturalized citizen. The first passports were issued in 1795. A passport was required for travel outside the United States during World War I and World War II. By the end of 1915, passports were recommended, but were optional until 1952. From 1952 to 2009 passports were required for travel in every country except some countries in North, South, or Central America. Passports have been required for U. S. citizens for all travel since 2009.
- Information in early passports included the individual’s name, a description of the individual, and their age. Later passports included a birth place and birth date, naturalization information, and arrival information if foreign born.
Other Countries
While most countries had a process for immigrants to become citizens, some countries (such as Germany) kept citizenship listings for all their citizens and provided proof of citizenship documents for all. Interestingly, citizenship for families in Switzerland was held by town as documented in the Register of Swiss Surnames.
What can you find in citizenship or naturalization records?
United States
- Before 1906, a declaration of intent will give name, the home country, and the date.
- A petition will give name, date and place of birth, occupation, date and port of arrival, and names of witnesses (frequently relatives).
- Starting in 1907, the information in the petition became much more detailed, including:
- Name
- Date and place of birth
- Spouses's name
- Date and place of birth
- Date of arrival
- Port of arrival
- Ship's name
- All children's names and ages, and whether foreign born or U.S.
- Information in early passports included the individual’s name, a description of the individual, and their age. Later passports included a birth place and birth date, naturalization information, and arrival information if foreign born.
Other Countries
Content varies for other countries, but may include some or most of the above items.
How do you find citizenship or naturalization records?
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Some citizenship/naturalization records are online. You should consult the Wiki article on citizenship records for each country to understand how to find and search its citizenship records that are held in other repositories but not published online. |
United Sates Nationwide Collections
- U.S. Naturalization Records, index & images ($)
- U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 index and images ($). Also at MyHeritage.comn, index and images ($)
- Alien Registration, 1940-1944
Sidebar Links to Wiki Articles for U.S. Individual States and Other Country Collections
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Online Genealogical Records Pages
On the main page for each U.S. State page and country page, a blue button leads to a listing of online record collections.
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main page to link to the Online Genealogy Records page.
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- Also, all the available Online Genealogy Records pages are linked at Online Genealogy Records by Location.
FamilySearch Catalog
- Naturalization and citizenship records collected by FamilySearch, usually digitized and online, are listed in the FamilySearch catalog. Enter the name of the country in the "Place Field" and click "Search". A list of record categories will be provided.
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