Now the news on this topic comes out almost every week, and most of it is about the same thing: fraudulent schemes, criminal cases, cancelled passports and new exams. Countries that issued passports to descendants for decades have started tightening the rules. Some are introducing language requirements, some demand residence in the country, and some are discussing whether to remove the programme altogether.
Below, we look at what is happening in Romania, Moldova and Armenia, and why we believe it is not worth delaying if you have ancestry.
Romania: even the very possibility for descendants is in question
Article 11 of Romania’s Citizenship Law No. 21/1991 allows citizenship to be restored not only to former citizens, but also to their descendants up to the third degree of kinship, including people from present-day Moldova and parts of Ukraine. This mechanism became the basis for widespread abuse: in recent years citizenship was obtained on a mass scale through fake family histories, fictitious registration and forged citizenship certificates. Romania’s General Prosecutor’s Office is investigating citizens who used forged documents, and some unlawfully issued passports have already been cancelled.
On 15 September 2026, Bill B509/2026 was introduced in the Senate. It excludes descendants from the circle of persons entitled to restore citizenship. The simplified procedure would remain only for those who personally held Romanian citizenship and lost it. Everyone else would have to look for other grounds, while the general naturalisation procedure usually requires long-term residence in the country. In the explanatory note, the authors refer to the volume of applications, the difficulty of verifying documents across several generations and investigations into document forgery.
The bill contains no transitional provisions, so it is unclear under which rules already filed applications will be examined. The bill is still at an early stage and may change, but the direction is clear: Romania is moving from reviewing individual cases to reconsidering the very basis for acquiring citizenship.
Moldova: everyone now has to sit the exam
Moldova took a different path and did not close the programme, but it removed the simplified regime for descendants. Since 24 December 2025, a new citizenship law has been in force: an exam in the Romanian language and the Constitution is mandatory even for those applying by descent or for restoration, although they previously benefited from a simplified procedure. Applications may now be filed only in person, intermediaries have been removed from the process, and the vetting of applicants has become more thorough.
The reason is familiar. According to parliament, around 100 attempts to obtain citizenship using forged documents or documents of unknown origin were identified in the country.
The exam is manageable if you prepare systematically. But it is no longer a formality; it is a separate stage for which time and effort need to be planned.
Armenia: for now, it is still possible without the language
Against this background, Armenia currently looks like one of the most accessible options. Ethnic Armenians are exempt from the requirement to know the Armenian language, to have lived in the country for three years and to pass a Constitution test. Ancestry may be confirmed through oneself, a parent, a grandmother or a grandfather.
But the trend here is the same. On 10 September 2026, Armenia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs published a bill that changes the rules for the diaspora. For ethnic Armenians, it proposes at least two years of lawful residence and a minimum of 366 days of actual presence in the country, while ancestry would be confirmed by a special commission of the Ministry. The oath would be taken only in Armenia, and the state duty would increase fivefold, from 50,000 to 250,000 drams.
The motives are the same as in neighbouring countries. In 2025, more than 32,000 citizenship applications were filed in Armenia, a historic high, and the Ministry directly links that growth to applications from ethnic Armenians from Russia, who often seek a passport primarily for travel.
There is some good news in the transitional period. If the amendments are adopted in their current form, they will enter into force on 1 January 2028, and applications filed before that date will be examined under the old rules. In other words, there is still time to apply without the language and without relocation. How much time remains in practice depends on how quickly the bill passes parliament.
What follows from this?
The logic is the same everywhere. Ancestry-based programmes are not closed in a single day, but every wave of fraud adds a new barrier: an exam, mandatory residence, personal filing, a commission on ancestry. And in Romania’s case, even the very possibility for descendants is already in question.
Those who apply before the changes usually proceed under the old rules. Those who delay get the new ones. Yet the Romanian bill shows that even this is not a guarantee: if there are no transitional provisions, already filed cases may also fall under the new rules.
That is why, if you truly have ancestry, we do not see much sense in waiting. Searching for archival documents by itself takes months, and starting only after the law changes means almost certainly falling under the new requirements.
A separate note on “ancestry turnkey” offers. If you do not have genuine grounds, but someone promises you a passport in a couple of months and “documents for an ancestor”, that is not a service — it is participation in a scheme. The consequences can catch up with you even years later, up to cancellation of citizenship and criminal prosecution, and the Romanian story shows this very clearly.
And if there is no ancestry?
Then a second option may be citizenship by investment. The logic is different here: the criteria are set out in the law, the amount is known in advance, and the review concerns the origin of funds rather than archives that are a century old.
There are enough options on the market: Turkey, Vanuatu, São Tomé and Príncipe, the Caribbean countries, and Argentina may soon join them. But each programme has its own entry threshold, timeframes and restrictions, including those related to the applicant’s citizenship, so there is no universal solution.
Which route is right for you depends on your family history, citizenship and budget. Write to us: we will check whether you have real grounds for citizenship by ancestry, assess your documents, and if there is no ancestry, we will select an investment programme that truly works for your passport.
