Documents for citizenship by descent
Repatriation and citizenship-by-descent programmes — the Israeli Law of Return, the German programme for late resettlers, the Polish Card, Italian citizenship jure sanguinis and the like — almost always rest on a chain of documents proving descent, from the applicant back to the ancestor through whom the right arises. The basic set is birth and marriage certificates for the applicant, the parents and, where needed, more distant ancestors, plus archival statements where documents have been lost.
Needed almost always
- The base document of the chain of descent for any repatriation programme Route
- How many generations the chain covers depends on the programme Route
- Not apostilled; a notarised copy or translation is usually needed
- Needed where a surname changed through marriage anywhere in the chain Route
Often requested
- Needed where a name changed other than through marriage Route
- Needed where the registry record is lost or belongs to another state Route
- Requested where the ancestor through whom the right arises has died Route
- Required by programmes that involve relocation and resident status, such as late resettlers in Germany Route
Sometimes needed
What usually takes longest is collecting archival documents on ancestors: where a registry record has been lost, or where a relative was born in territory now belonging to another state, an archival statement is needed and sometimes a request to another country's archive. That part is unpredictable and no checklist can set a timescale for it. The second common gap is not allowing for programmes changing their rules or closing to new applicants.
The full list, the evidence of descent and the procedure are set by the particular consulate, repatriation authority or body responsible for the programme. What follows is a general guide to the types of document most often involved.
Israel, under the Law of Return, requires Jewish descent through a grandparent or parent to be proved with birth and marriage certificates along the whole chain, apostilled and translated into Hebrew or English. Germany accepts applications from late resettlers (Spätaussiedler) and their descendants through the Bundesverwaltungsamt, with German descent proved by relatives' documents and a language test. Poland has accepted Polish Card applications only through the mos.cudzoziemcy.gov.pl portal since 27 April 2026, with Polish descent required through at least one parent, grandparent or two great-grandparents. Portugal closed the Sephardic descent route to new applicants in May 2026; applications filed before Lei Orgânica n.º 1/2026 took effect are considered under the previous rules.
Questions
Can the same apostilled birth certificate be used for different repatriation programmes?
What if an ancestor was born in the USSR in territory that now belongs to another country?
Is the Portuguese citizenship route for Sephardic descendants really closed?
Does the translation have to be made by a sworn translator in the destination country rather than in Russia?
How long does it take to collect the documents for a repatriation programme?
We can prepare the whole set
Translation, copies, apostille and legalisation for every document on the list, with courier delivery across Russia.