Product Code Database
[[File:Naturalization Residence Requirements by Country (Years of Residence).svg|thumb|400px|Residence requirements in years for naturalization by country:
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]] [[File:Jus soli world.svg|upright=1.35|thumb|Countries by birthright citizenship:
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Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the United Nations excludes citizenship that is automatically acquired (e.g. at birth) or is acquired by declaration. Naturalization usually involves an petition or a motion and approval by legal authorities. The rules of naturalization vary from country to country but typically include a promise to obey and uphold that country's laws and taking and subscribing to an oath of allegiance, and may specify other requirements such as a minimum legal residency and adequate knowledge of the national dominant language or culture. To counter multiple citizenship, some countries require that applicants for naturalization renounce any other citizenship that they currently hold, but whether this renunciation actually causes loss of original citizenship, as seen by the host country and by the original country, will depend on the laws of the countries involved. Arguments for increasing naturalization include reducing backlogs in naturalization applications and reshaping the electorate of the country.
Since World War II, the increase in Human migration created a new category of migrants, most of them economic migrants. For economic, political, humanitarian and pragmatic reasons, many states passed laws allowing a person to acquire their citizenship after birth, such as by marriage to a national – jus matrimonii – or by having ancestors who are nationals of that country, in order to reduce the scope of this category. However, in some countries this system still maintains a large part of the immigrant population in an illegal status, albeit with some massive regularizations. Examples include Spain under José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's government, and Italy under Silvio Berlusconi's government. Some countries allow naturalization due to military service.
As a result of Uruguay's unusual distinction between citizenship and nationality (it is the only country in the world that recognizes the right to citizenship without being a national), legal citizens have encountered problems with their Uruguayan passports at airports around the world since 2015. This is due to recommendations in the seventh edition of Doc. 9303 of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which requires that travel documents issued by participating states include the "Nationality" field. The lack of a naturalization path means that the Nationality field in legal citizens' passports indicates their country of birth, which Uruguay assumes to be their nationality of origin. Many countries do not accept passports issued by a country that declares the holder to be a national of another country. As a consequence, it has severely curtailed legal citizens' exercise of the right to free movement, as their travel abroad is often difficult or downright impossible.
Canada instituted a mass naturalization by Act of Parliament with the enactment of the Canadian Citizenship Act 1946.
After annexation of the territories east of the Curzon line by the Soviet Union in 1945, Soviets naturalized en masse all the inhabitants of those territories—including ethnic Polish people, as well as its other citizens who had been deported into the Soviet Union, mainly to Kazakhstan. Those people were forcibly naturalized as Soviet citizens. Later on, Germany granted to the ethnic Germans population in Russia and Kazakhstan full citizenship rights. Poland has a limited repatriation program in place.
In the late 1970s, President Ferdinand Marcos facilitated the mass naturalization of ethnic Chinese in the Philippines.
The most recent massive naturalization case resulted from the Argentine economic crisis in the beginning of the 21st century. Existing or slightly updated right of return laws in Spain and Italy allowed many of their diaspora descendants to obtain—in many cases to regain—naturalization in virtue of jus sanguinis, as in the Greek case. Hence, many Argentines acquired European nationality.
Since the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution grants citizenship only to those "born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof", and the original United States Constitution only grants Congress the power of naturalization, it could be argued that all acts of Congress that expand the right of citizenship are cases of mass naturalization. This includes the acts that extended U.S. citizenship to citizens of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 which made all Native Americans citizens (most of them were previously excluded under the "jurisdiction" clause of the 14th Amendment).
In the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah, mass naturalization also occurred during the administration of United Sabah National Organisation (USNO) and Sabah People's United Front (BERJAYA's) Muslim-dominated political parties to increase the Muslim population in the territory by naturalising immigrants and refugees from the mainly-Muslim dominated areas of Mindanao and Sulu Archipelago of the Philippines and Sulawesi of Indonesia.
| Continuous residence. | ||
| Continuous permanent residence. Reduced to 10 years if all mandatory education completed in Andorra. | ||
| Continuous residence. | ||
| Continuous residence. Reduced to 3 years if married to a citizen. | ||
| Continuous residence. Must not exit from the country, and the applicant also must have minimal founds. Naturalization by investment allowed. | Argentine Citizenship, Juridico Virtual – Buenos Aires – Republica Argentina | |
| Lawful residence for 4 years including 12 months as permanent resident. | Australian Citizenship Act 2007, The Department of Immigration and Border Protection | |
| Reduced to 6 years for people born in Austria, EU/EEA citizens, or those deemed "exceptionally integrated". Multiple nationalities allowed only by birth or with special permission. 10 years for refugees | ||
| Possess several nationalities , Royaume de Bélgique – Affaires étrangères, Commerce extérieur et Coopération au Développement/Koninkrijk België – Buitenlandse Zaken | ||
| Reduced to 15 years for those with citizen parent. | ||
| Uninterrupted residence. | ||
| Continuous residence. | ||
| Uninterrupted permanent residence. Reduced to 1 year of residence for individuals with a Brazilian spouse or child, as well as for citizens of Portuguese language countries. | ||
| Reduced to 3 years if born in Bulgaria, married to a citizen, or settled in the country before age 18. | ||
| Reduced to 5 years if married to a citizen. | ||
| Three years' permanent residence required. Physical presence required for at least 1,095 days in the 5 years prior to application, with any time spent as a temporary resident counted as half, up to a maximum of 365 days. | ||
| Continuous residence. | ||
| Permanent residence required. No specific residency period specified in law in mainland China. 7 years minimum residence required in Hong Kong and Macau. | ||
| Requires 5 years of permanent residence, which is usually acquired after having a migrant visa for 2-5 years, depending on the type of visa. | ||
| Continuous residence. | The Government of the Republic of Croatia: Migration Policy | |
| Reduced time period via citizenship by investment programme. | "Residency Permits in Cyprus (EU)" Elma Global, second-citizenship.org, as of 3 June 2017 | |
| As permanent resident. Reduced to 3 years for EU citizens. | ||
| Continuous residence. | Udlændinge-, Integrations- og Boligministeriet, Foreign citizens applying for Danish nationality – In English | |
| Temporary residence for 2 years followed by permanent residence for 3 years. Reduced for those with Ecuadorian family members. Absences must be less than 90 days per year. | ||
| Lawful residence for 5 years out of the previous 10 years. | ||
| Continuous residence. Reduced to 5 years in some cases (required language skills, spouse of a Finnish citizen, stateless), or 2 years as a citizen of another Nordic country. | ||
| Continuous residence. Reduced to 2 years for applicants with a master's degree in France. Reduced to 0 year for applicants with French as their mother tongue who can justify a minimum of 5 years of schooling in French in a country where one of its official languages is French. | ||
| Consecutive lawful residence. | ||
| Continuous residence, with a settlement permit. Reduced to 3 years with integration course. Reduced to 3 years in the case of special integration measures (B2 level German language knowledge and in some cities 1 year of eligible volunteering). | ||
| Continuous residence. | ||
| Continuous residence during 12 months immediately before the application. Resident for 11 out of the 14 years before the 12-month period. | ||
| Legal residence. | ||
| "Reckonable" residence for 5 of the preceding 9 years. Reduced to 3 years if married to a citizen. Continuous residence for 12 months prior to application. | ||
| Resident for 3 years in the previous 5 years. Must have permanent residence right. may obtain citizenship upon arrival by the Law of Return. | ||
| Continuous residence. Reduced to 2 years if married to a citizen, 3 years with citizen grandparent, 4 years for EU nationals, or 5 years for refugees or stateless people. | ||
| Continuous residence. Reduced to 3 years if married to a citizen. | ||
| Applicable to foreign women marrying Kuwaiti citizen, but not foreign men. | ||
| Continuous residence. | ||
| 10 years of Permanent residency | ||
| Years of residence under the age 20 count double. | ||
| Continuous residence as a permanent resident. Reduced to 7 years if married to a citizen. | ||
| Reduced to 3 years if married to a citizen. Continuous residence for 12 months prior to application. | ||
| Reduced to 5 years if of African race or with Commonwealth or Malawian ties. | ||
| Continuous residence. Must be Muslim. | ||
| Reduced requirement via citizenship by investment programme. | "Malta slammed for cash-for-passport program" Politico, August 2016 | |
| Reduced to two years for spouses of Mexican citizens. Mexican citizens by naturalization are generally not allowed to have multiple citizenship. | ||
| Reduced to 8 years for stateless persons or refugees. | ||
| Continuous residence. | ||
| Continuous residence. | ||
| Naturalization not allowed. | ||
| Continuous residence for 5 years, or continuous residence for 2 years with 10 years total residence, with a "non-temporary" residence permit required for naturalization. Reduced to three years for the spouse or partner of a Dutch citizen. | ||
| Permanent residency required, normally after two years' residence with a temporary visa. Australian citizens/ Permanent Residents are eligible for immediate permanent residence under the Trans-Tasman Travel Agreement. Must be present for 1,350 days during the five years and 240 days in each of the five years. | Residence Requirements, The Department of Internal Affairs of New Zealand | |
| Continuous residence. | ||
| Continuous residence. | ||
| Resident in Norway for 8 years out of the previous 11 years. Absences of up to 2 months per year allowed. | Citizenship by application, UDI – Norwegian Directorate of Immigration | |
| Naturalization not allowed. | ||
| Continuous residence. | ||
| Continuous residence. | ||
| Continuous residence. The residency requirement is reduced to five years if an applicant is employed by the Government of the Philippines, has made significant economic or scientific contributions to the state, married to a Filipina woman, has taught in a Philippine school for at least two years, or was born in the country. | ||
| Resident for 10 years or permanent resident for 3 years. Permanent residence requirement reduced to two years in some cases. | ||
| Continuous residence. Reduced to three years for spouses of Portuguese citizens. | Lei Orgânica 2/2018, a statue from July 5, 2018. | |
| Continuous residence. Reduced to 3 years if married to a citizen or 1 year for valued specialists and refugees. | ||
| Reduced to 10 years if married to a citizen. | ||
| Continuous residence. | ||
| Total residence of 10 years. Continuous residence for 5 years prior to application. Reduced to 3 years for spouses of citizens. | ||
| Continuous residence. | ||
| Reduced to 3 years if married to a citizen. | Nationality Law, Ministry of Government Legislation | |
| Reduced to 2 years for natural-born nationals of Ibero-American countries, Portugal, Andorra, Equatorial Guinea, and the Philippines. | Ute Müller: "Reiche Ausländer kaufen maßgeschneiderte Pässe für Europa" Die Welt from 13. January 2019 | |
| You must have been living in Sweden for a certain period , Migrationsverket | ||
| Must hold C permit (settled foreign national). Years of residence between age of 8 and 18 count double, with a minimum of 6 years residence. | Regular naturalisation, Swiss Confederation | |
| Continuous residence. Residence requirement waived for spouses and children of citizens. | ||
| Continuous residence. | ||
| Continuous residence. | Turkish Nationality , Nüfus Müdürlüğü, My Merhaba.com | |
| Reduced to 7 years for citizens of Arab descent. Reduced to 3 years for citizens of Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain. | ||
| Non-EU/EEA/Swiss citizens must have indefinite leave to remain (ILR) for 12 months before applying. Residency requirement for ILR is generally 5 years. | ||
| Continuous Green card for 5 years. Reduced to 3 years for spouses of US citizens. Physical presence for at least 30 of the 60 months preceding the application. Cannot be absent for more than 6 months at a time. | ||
| Reduced to 3 years if residing with spouse or children (Legal Citizenship, not nationality). | ||
| Reduced to 5 years for natural-born citizens of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Latin American or Caribbean countries. | ||
The naturalization process starts with a written application. Applicants must submit three copies, written with a ball-point or fountain pen, to national authorities, and to provincial authorities in the Ministry of Public Security and the Public Security Bureau. Applicants must also submit original copies of a foreign passport, a residence permit, a permanent residence permit, and four two-and-a-half inch long pictures. According to the conditions outlined in the Nationality Law of the People's Republic of China, authorities may also require "any other material that the authority believes are related to the nationality application". "Guide and Instructions of Naturalization of Chinese Nationality" , Hengyang, China website
The fee for naturalisation is €55, except in French Guiana, where it is €27.50.
The fee for standard naturalisation is €255, while it is €51 per dependent minor child naturalised along with their parent. The fee may be waived in cases of extreme hardship or public interest.
Prior to 27 June 2024, people naturalising as German citizens were generally required give up their previous nationality, with exceptions made for European Union and Switzerland citizens (provided that the law of their country of origin did not prohibit the acquisition of another citizenship) and citizens of countries where renouncing one's citizenship was too difficult or humiliating (e.g. Afghanistan), prohibitively expensive (e.g. the United States) or legally impossible (e.g. Argentina). The Act on the Modernization of Citizenship Law that came into force in 2024 made multiple citizenship possible.
Following these reforms, Indian nationality law largely follows the jus sanguinis (citizenship by right of blood) as opposed to the jus soli (citizenship by right of birth within the territory).
In 2019, a Citizenship Amendment Act was passed by the Parliament of India. This Act aims at fast tracking citizenship for illegal immigrants and refugees fleeing religious persecution for people of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian faiths who have entered India on or before 31 December 2014 from the neighbouring countries of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
A foreign citizen can apply to become an Indonesian citizen with the following requirements:
Any application for citizenship is granted by the President of Indonesia.
On July 14, 1952, the Israeli parliament enacted the Israeli Nationality Law. The Nationality Law naturalized all citizens of Mandated Palestine, the inhabitants of Israel on July 15, 1952, and those who had legally resided in Israel between May 14, 1948, and July 14, 1952. The law further clarified that naturalization was available to immigrants who had arrived before Israel's creation, immigrants who arrived after statehood was granted, and those who did not come to Israel as immigrants but have since expressed desire to settle in Israel, with restriction. Naturalization applicants must also meet the following requirements: be over 18 years of age, have resided in Israel for three out of the five preceding years, have settled or intend to settle permanently in Israel, have some knowledge of Hebrew, and have renounced prior nationality or demonstrated ability to renounce nationality after becoming a citizen of Israel.
Because of Israel's relatively new and culturally mixed identity, Israel does not grant citizenship to people born on Israeli soil. Instead, the government chose to enact a jus sanguinis system, with the naturalization restrictions listed above. There is currently no legislation on second-generation immigrants (those born in Israel to immigrant parents). Furthermore, foreign spouses can apply for citizenship through the Minister of the Interior, but have a variety of restrictions and are not guaranteed citizenship.Weil, Patrick. "Comparing Twenty-Five Nationality Laws." Citizenship Today: Global Perspectives and Practices. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press, 2001. 16–35. Print
The requirements are as follows:
The Article 16 of 1957 Malaysian Constitution also stated a similar condition previously.
There is also a possibility to naturalize in a simplified order, in which certain requirements will be waived. Eligible for that are people, at least one parent of whom is a Russian citizen living on Russian territory; people, who lived on the territories of the former Soviet republics but never obtained citizenships of those nations after they gained independence; people, who were born on the territory of RSFSR and formerly held Soviet Union citizenship; people married to Russian citizens for at least 3 years; people, who served in Russian Armed Forces under contract for at least 3 years; parents of mentally incapacitated children over 18 who are Russian citizens; participants of the State Program for Assisting Compatriots Residing Abroad; and some other categories. About Citizenship of Russian Federation , 31 May 2002 N 62-ФЗ
People who naturalise as Spanish citizens must usually give up their previous nationality, as Spanish law takes a restrictive approach to multiple citizenship.
Any person who immediately prior to the commencement of the act had been a South African citizen via naturalization, had been deemed to be a South African citizen by registration, or had been a citizen via naturalization of any of the former states now composing South Africa is now considered to be a naturalized citizen of South Africa.
Those wishing to apply for naturalization in the future must apply to the Minister of Home Affairs and must meet a slew of requirements. First, naturalization applicants must be over the age of 18 and must have been a permanent resident of South Africa for five years prior to application (prior to 2010, the permanent residence requirement was one year prior to application and for four out of the eight years prior to application). Applicants must also demonstrate good character and knowledge of the basic responsibilities and privileges of a South African citizen. The ability to communicate in one of the official languages of South Africa is also required. Applicants must show the intention to reside in South Africa after naturalization, and they are required to make a declaration of allegiance. The Constitution of South Africa states that national legislation must provide for the acquisition, loss and restoration of citizenship.
Being a naturalized South African citizen is a privilege, not a right. Even after meeting all the requirements and going through the naturalization process, the minister holds the right to deny citizenship."South African Citizenship Through Naturalization." Immigration Assistant. N.p., 21 July 2009. Web. 1 Dec. 2011. Foreign spouses of South African citizens can apply for naturalization after two years of marriage, but is subject to potential denial of the minister. The minister can also grant citizenship to minors, if their parent applies for them.
The minister also holds the power to revoke naturalization at any time for specific reasons listed in the Act. Reasons for revoking the naturalization certificate include marrying someone who is a citizen of another country and holding citizenship in another country, or applying for citizenship of another country without prior authorization for retention of citizenship. If a permanent resident is denied naturalization, he or she must wait at least one year before reapplying.
For those not married to or in a civil partnership with a British citizen, the requirements are:
The INA states the following:
The Naturalization Act of 1795 set the initial rules on naturalization: "free, White persons" who had been resident for five years or more. An 1862 law allowed honorably discharged Army veterans of any war to petition for naturalization after only one year of residence in the United States. An Act to define the Pay and Emoluments of certain Officers of the Army, and for other purposes, 17 July 1862, §21. An 1894 law extended the same privilege to honorably discharged five-year veterans of the Navy or Marine Corps. Laws enacted in 1919, 1926, 1940, and 1952 continued preferential treatment provisions for veterans.Schulze, Lorine McGinnis (2003). Naturalization Records in the USA", Retrieved April 23, 2005
Following the Spanish–American War in 1898, Philippine citizens were classified as US nationals, and the 1917 Jones–Shafroth Act granted US citizenship to natives of Puerto Rico. But the 1934 Tydings–McDuffie Act reclassified Filipinos as aliens, and set a quota of 50 immigrants per year, and otherwise applying the Immigration Act of 1924 to them.
The Magnuson Act repealed the Chinese Exclusion Act. During the 1940s, 100 annual immigrants from British India and the Philippines were allowed. The War Brides Act of 1945 permitted soldiers to bring back their foreign wives and established precedent in naturalization through marriage. The Immigration Act of 1965 finally allowed people from all nations to be given equal access to immigration and naturalization.
Illegal immigration became a major issue in the United States at the end of the 20th century. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, while tightening border controls, also provided the opportunity of naturalization for illegal aliens who had been in the country for at least four years. Today, lawful permanent residents of the United States are eligible to apply for US citizenship after five years, ("The term 'naturalization' means the conferring of nationality of a state upon a person after birth, by any means whatsoever."); ("A person not a citizen who owes permanent allegiance to the United States, and who is otherwise qualified, may, if he becomes a resident of any State, be naturalized upon compliance with the applicable requirements of ....") (emphasis added). unless they continue to be married to a US citizen, in which case they can apply after only three years of permanent residency. "Citizenship Through Naturalization" , ImmigrationAmerica
The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 streamlined the naturalization process for children adopted internationally. A child under age 18 who is adopted by at least one US citizen parent, and is in the custody of the citizen parent(s), is now automatically naturalized once admitted to the United States as an immigrant or when legally adopted in the United States, depending on the visa under which the child was admitted to the United States. The Act also provides that the non-citizen minor child of a newly naturalized US citizen, whether by birth or adoption, also automatically receives US citizenship.
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