The man for the Luxembourgish Roots

Interview of the Week Agency LuxCitizenship in New York The Man for the Luxembourg Roots

Especially since Donald Trump stepped onto the political stage in the USA, Daniel Atz, with ancestors in Esch/Alzette, receives numerous inquiries from Americans who want to have the Luxembourg passport.

Interview: Frank Weyrich

Since the Luxembourg government enacted a law that allows foreign citizens to assume Luxembourg nationality if one of their ancestors in direct line was a Luxembourger as of January 1, 1900, interest in this possibility has been unbroken. Currently, the deadline for this re-naturalization expires on December 31, 2025. In the USA, which was swept by a veritable wave of emigration from the Grand Duchy in the 19th century, interest in the land of their ancestors is great. To support US citizens on the path to dual citizenship, Daniel Atz founded an agency in 2016 specifically for this purpose, based in New York. Its sole purpose is to support those interested in their efforts. Atz himself also went through the process some years ago and therefore knows firsthand what matters.

Daniel Atz, was the agency a promising business model for you from the beginning? Not really. In the beginning, it was more intended to share my experience in the field through a blog. The interest was quite modest. Within one year, only a single interested person had contacted me. But then came December 23, 2017, and on that same day I received 20 calls from people inquiring about the possibility of obtaining Luxembourg nationality.

What had happened? Well, the day before, the then US President Donald Trump had pushed through an extensive new tax law in both chambers, that is, in both Congress and the Senate, without there being an opportunity to review or even discuss its content. Normally, such laws require several months.

So the interest in Luxembourg nationality has concrete political motives? I don't have scientific studies on the subject, but I can state from my experience that this is indeed the case. That was the case on the day the Capitol was stormed, that was the case when the abortion law was overturned by the Supreme Court. And also just recently with the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, inquiries shot up. When, on the other hand, Joe Biden withdrew his presidential candidacy and Kamala Harris was designated as the candidate, nothing at all happened with the inquiries. Overall, one can say: Since Donald Trump entered political life, I receive on average 800 inquiries per year to obtain dual citizenship.

[Call Out Text Highlighted in Yellow] Since Donald Trump entered political life, I receive on average 800 inquiries per year to obtain dual citizenship.

[Text over my image] Daniel Atz holds dual citizenship of the USA and Luxembourg. His agency helps US citizens to regain Luxembourg nationality.

Isn't the reservoir of potential interested parties exhausted at some point? I don't see that happening anytime soon. Even though the numbers vary depending on the source, the records in the Library of Congress in Washington indicate that approximately 35,000 Luxembourgers emigrated to the USA – which is certainly too low an estimate. With their children and grandchildren, one can imagine how large the potential actually is. Already today, US citizens with a Luxembourg passport make up two percent of all eligible voters in Luxembourg.

That sounds as if more Luxembourgers live in the USA than in Luxembourg itself? "One can safely assume that. And if one makes the same calculation for Brazil, it will most likely also be the case that there is no country in the world where more Luxembourgers live than in Brazil. The emigrants were as a rule strictly religious people and therefore had many children. In the USA, the twin city Minneapolis–Saint Paul is the city with the most Luxembourg dual citizens. I estimate their number at a little more than 2,000."

How many people have taken the step so far? As far as I know, around 14,000 US citizens have also assumed Luxembourg nationality so far, of which 2,000 through our help.

How does that work in practice? The initiative must come from the people themselves. Before we offer concrete assistance, they must first fill out a questionnaire from which their connection to Luxembourg becomes evident. Then it is also about what they have done in their life so far and what plans they have, should they actually obtain Luxembourg nationality. We also sometimes advise against taking the further steps. If someone has never left their local area in their entire life and there are also no signs that they will ever actually set foot on Luxembourg soil, then there is no reason for us to support them in the process. We want to avoid Luxembourg tax money being used for someone who, in return, does not intend to contribute something to the well-being of the country.

Do you believe that there are many interested parties who will actually come to Luxembourg someday? "That is of course difficult to foresee. However, if one considers that for all citizens with the dual passport, the younger generation also receives the opportunity to live in Luxembourg or, in a broader sense, also in Europe, or to go to school there, then I can well imagine that there will be some who will take advantage of the opportunity."

How did you personally become a Luxembourger? "My great-grandfather came to Esch/Alzette at the end of World War I as an American soldier, where he met my great-grandmother Marguerite Kruchten. The two married in May 1919 and so she followed him to the USA. She must have been an incredible woman. Although she spoke almost no English and lived on the edge of poverty through several strokes of fate, she raised her children in the USA. A friend of mine, who was on tour through Europe with a theater group and had also performed at the Philharmonie, put the bug in my ear about the nationality upon his return to the USA."

How are your relations with Luxembourg? "Through a television report, the contact with my distant relatives was revived, and through that I discovered my heart for Luxembourg. In the meantime, I am here often and for longer periods and can claim that I at least temporarily live here. My center of life is Esch/Alzette, so I am a Minettsdapp. The probably best-known relatives there own the bookshop Diderich."