Have you ever thought about where you came from? Not where you were born but where your parents, your grandparents, your great grandparents, and so forth came from? It’s quite inspiring and amazing to hear the stories that our ancestors went through. If your from North America, then it’s practically guaranteed that your ancestors came from places in Europe, Africa, or Asia. Maybe they came from tribes in South America. Doesn’t it inspire you to look? Find out if they were of royal blood or if they were rebels. Find out the travels and tribulations that eventually led to you being born where you were. Here’s my recent story.
About 2 years ago, I was sitting at a table sharing a drink with some work colleagues when somehow we began to chat about travel and family roots. At some point I told the women I was speaking with that I had an Irish background. She asked who was from Ireland in my family and I mentioned that I believed my grandparents were but wasn’t sure. She immediately got super excited and told me I should find out because if my grandparents were born in Ireland, I could get citizenship.
Now this got me excited! I’m not even sure if I would use it at this point but it sounded awesome and would also give me access to the EU. I’m still young so who knows what doors it would open up.
As soon as I got home, I called my mom and told her the news. She was excited because this meant she would get citizenship as well. We called the embassy in Canada and mailed them the forms. They don’t make it easy though! We had to find, purchase, and send in birth certificates, marriage certificates, and death certificates for everyone. This took a great deal of time and once submitted, would still take the embassy 18 months to process.
It was no rush for me so we gathered all the necessary information and sent it in. Finally, after about 18-20 months, I just received my Irish citizenship in the mail. I felt so inspired to be a citizen of another country. I love Canada and have no plans of permanently leaving but receiving that document has sparked another quest for me to search more thoroughly for my ancestry.
Next step is getting my Irish passport. I don’t really need it but having 2 passports would make me feel like Jason Bourne. All I need then is a stack of cash and some martial arts skills.
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