How to prepare your family tree
Everything our team needs to see the direct line between you and your European ancestor — what to prepare, how to fill in the tree, and which documents help.
Four steps to your review
The family tree is the foundation of your file. It shows our team the “bloodline bridge” — every generation between you and the ancestor who held the European connection.
Direct line only
You don’t need to fill in every box. We only need the direct branch that connects you to Europe: each ancestor in that line, and the husband or wife of each.
Relatives who are not part of that chain — uncles, aunts, cousins, the other side of the family — are not required.
Why the spouses?
Next to each ancestor in the line, add their legal spouse. Marriage details let us verify the marriage records along the line, which citizenship laws look at closely.
Who goes where
Start with yourself at the bottom and work upwards, one generation at a time, until you reach your European ancestor.
Full legal name
Exactly as on official documents — the original spelling, no nicknames or shortened names. For yourself, as on your birth certificate.
Date of birthDD/MM/YYYY
Day first, then month, then year: 04/09/1925 is 4 September 1925.
Place of birthTown, country
Borders in Central and Eastern Europe moved many times — write the place as you know it, and we check which country it belonged to at the time.
Date of marriageDD/MM/YYYY
The legal date of marriage. If you don’t know it, write “Unknown”.
Online form
On the Family Tree form each level has boxes marked “EU parent”, “EU grandparent”… for the ancestors in your line, and a “Spouse” box beside each.
Printable template
On the template, boxes are labelled by relation (father, mother…). Fill in your line and tick EU line on each person in it. It is also the last page of the PDF guide.
Documents that help
Gather what you already have. You don’t need every document before you start — the family tree comes first, and nothing else is needed until our team contacts you.
- Birth certificatesFor you and for each person in your direct line.
- Marriage certificatesFor each couple in the line — your ancestor and their spouse, generation by generation.
- Your ancestor’s European papersAnything that shows their European connection — for example an old passport, an identity card, or citizenship papers.
- Name changesIf a name was changed or spelled differently over the years, any record that shows it.
- Anything else the family keptFamily records, letters or photos of documents — they can point the research in the right direction.
Missing records?
That’s common. Our network of researchers works with municipal, religious and military archives in Europe to find birth records, marriage acts and citizenship papers — or a legal equivalent when the original is lost.
Accuracy matters
European authorities are strict about names and dates. Make sure what you write matches your certificates exactly. If something is unknown, write “Unknown” — never guess.
Frequently asked
Do I need to fill in every box?
No. Only the direct branch that connects you to Europe, plus the spouse of each ancestor in it.
What if I don’t know a date or a place?
Write “Unknown”, or what you do know, and add a note. Please don’t guess — a wrong detail is harder to correct than a missing one.
My ancestor’s town is in a different country today.
Write it as you know it. A town in today’s Ukraine may have been Hungarian, Czechoslovak or Polish in your grandfather’s day — we check it for you.
Which countries and routes are possible?
It depends on where — and when — your ancestor lived. See “Ancestry routes at a glance” on our Services page.
Does submitting the tree guarantee citizenship?
No. Our team verifies your data against historical records to determine the feasibility of your case.
Send us your family tree
Fill it in online — it goes straight to our team — or send the completed template to info@approvedeu.com.
Important legal note: Submitting a family tree does not guarantee citizenship. This guide is general guidance only, not legal advice. Requirements change; every file is confirmed against the current law and the competent authority. Questions? info@approvedeu.com · +32 470 91 27 05