A new study has revealed the countries where it is hardest and easiest to get citizenship, with Portugal ranking the fourth in Europe.
The research, conducted by the Canadian immigration agency CanadaCIS, examined the latest Eurostat data on immigration spanning from 2009 to 2021. The goal was to identify countries with the highest and lowest percentages of third-country residents gaining citizenship.
The ten countries where obtaining nationality is least challenging are more dispersed compared to the most difficult ones. Four are situated in Northern and Western Europe, and one is in Southern and Southeastern Europe. In each of these countries, at least 5 percent of third-country residents obtain citizenship annually.
Sweden emerges as the most accessible country, with nearly one in ten (9.3 percent) non-EU residents acquiring citizenship, surpassing the EU average by more than double. Sweden boasts the highest acceptance rates for both genders, with women holding a slight advantage at a 10.02 percent acceptance rate compared to 8.66 percent for men.
Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Iceland follow as the second to fifth easiest countries to acquire nationality, with acquisition rates exceeding one in 25 (4 percent).
Portugal secures the fourth position among the 32 European countries where obtaining citizenship is relatively straightforward. The survey, reported by NM, indicates that more than three in every 50 (6.6 percent) residents from third countries become citizens in Portugal.
