If my mother is born in portugal, am i a citizen? Can i travel to other...

[Brea]

...European countries easily? Soon i will be turning 18 and i am planning to travel to France i have studied French for the past 4 years. I'm contemplating if i should live there or not. My mother is a natural born citizen of Portugal, ( she was born there and she came to the US at age 18) so since my mother was born in Portugal does that mean that i am automatically a citizen? Also, if i'm a citizen of Portugal then does that mean that i will easily be able to travel to other European countries? Such as France or the UK?

[kate]

yes it can be relatively easy to travel provided you have the money ,proper paperwork (passport etc.) and you know where you are coming from ,you dont really even have to know where your going. I am assuming from your question your mother gave birth to you in the usa , so that would make you a united states citizen. now if my assumption is correct you now know where you are from . add that with money and a passport and you're all set to spread your wings and fly unless you want to travel by boat because i would not suggest for you to swim to europe.

[Nada]

If you have a parent that was born in another country, you have a right to become a citizen of that country, it is not an automatic thing. You still have to apply for citizenship-you can do this through the Portuguese embassy or consulates. Be prepared to prove your mother was born in Portugal.

When, and only when you have applied for and become a citizen of Portugal can you apply for a passport.

Just apply for a US passport-you can fly to all those countries without visas.