The study provides an overview of frameworks in place and developments over the past five years across the EU Member States for new migrants to access national citizenship through naturalisation
While the number of new migrants who have arrived in the EU in recent years has increased, the number of individuals granted citizenship of an EU Member State has declined, according to the new EMN study.
All Member States offer the possibility to acquire citizenship through ordinary naturalisation, although the rules differ across countries. For instance, a citizenship or integration test is part of the application procedure in almost half of the Member States. Special naturalisation procedures are available in most Member States and they can include grounds such as exceptional merit or benefit for the country or recovery of lost citizenship. No Member State currently grants citizenship unconditionally to children born on their territories to non-nationals; in general, a minimum residence period is required. Most Member States grant citizenship if an individual would otherwise be stateless, and the majority of them now allow for dual citizenship.
The criteria for granting citizenship and the procedures in place are broadly similar across the Member States but the specific conditions such as processing times, costs to applicants and available support all vary significantly. As an example, the time for processing applications varies from 6 to 48 months and the application costs range from no fee at all to € 1 500, depending on the Member State.
The EMN study found that citizenship is seen by Member States as either the culmination of the integration process or as facilitating the integration process. However, in most Member States, third-country nationals are not actively encouraged to apply for citizenship.
Study also includes information on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the processing of applications for citizenship.
To download the study please click
here.
To download the Inform on the study please click
here.
To download the Flash (one page) of the study please click
here.
Page
