The Easiest Countries To get citizenship In 2024

We all want to get citizenship in another country for many reasons. For some, it might be for security and safety. For others, it might be for the flexibility of having multiple citizenships. Whatever your reason, finding the easiest countries to get citizenship is important. At the same time, we know how complicated the process and application are.

You must understand your eligibility, provide documents, and make sense of complex foreign bureaucracy. The list goes on, which is why we will go through everything you need to know about the easiest countries to get citizenship from in this article. By the end of this article, you will have learnt;

• Types of citizenships
• Breakdown of the ways to get citizenship
• Easiest Countries To Get Citizenship by Investment
• Easiest Countries To Get Citizenship by Descent
• Countries With the Easiest Citizenship By Naturalization

Types of citizenships

There are a few types of citizenship you should look out for. Citizenship by investment, by decent, by naturalization, are a few of them and we will address each one.

Citizenship by investment:

Some countries will offer you citizenship in exchange for some financial contribution.  If you’ve got a good amount to invest in their economy, they will be willing to give you citizenship in exchange.

These investments can be done through real estate, charity, or investing in public debt. The amount will vary depending on the country of your choice and the number of applicants gunning for the same citizenship process.

Citizenship by descent:

This type of citizenship is common when at least one parent is a national of the nation you want to get citizenship from. It is applicable in cases of ancestors (if your grandparent or great-grandparent were born in your country of choice then you can apply for citizenship by descent from that country).

Although every country has different rules when it comes to this type of citizenship, you have to be willing to prove that you have a bloodline link to that country.

The process for this type of visa can be a complicated one, which is why you must look deeply and provide the supporting documents that you need to get a second passport from your country of choice.

Citizenship through Naturalization:

The primary qualification for Citizenship through Naturalization is, that you need to get residency first in the country of your choosing then you apply for citizenship after you’ve stayed for a period of time. Again, how long you will stay depends on the country’s policy.

For countries like Argentina, you need to stay a minimum of two years before you can apply for citizenship. Portugal on the other hand requires at least 5 years before you can become a citizen.

You may also need to meet other requirements like passing language or history test during your citizenship process.

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Breakdown of the ways to get citizenship

Route	Base	Stay Requirements	Language and culture test
Through Descent	Blood relatives	No	Depends on the country
Naturalization	Living in the country for a period	Yes	Yes
Marriage	Registered marriage	Yes	Depends on the country
Investment	Investment	Depends on the country	Depends on the country

Easiest Countries To Get Citizenship by Investment

Some countries make it easy for you to get their citizenship once you have the money to invest in their economy. Here are some of the countries that make it easy to get citizenship by investment;

Malta

Malta offers an MIIP (Malta‘s individual investor program) which provides you with an easy route to obtain EU (European Union) citizenship.  You are required to make an investment of at least 690,000 EUR in the local economy through real estate or charity donations.

Depending on the size of your investment, you may have to live in Malta for 2-3 years before you qualify to apply for citizenship by investment.

Requirements for Malta’s Citizenship

• You should be 18 years and above
• No criminal records
• You should meet the investment and donation requirements
• Have an international health insurance policy

Portugal

If you rea willing to invest at least 250,000 EUR through real estate donation or capital transfer, then Portugal will offer you citizenship. You also qualify for the Portugal golden visa funds, and when you get your golden visa you’ll have the right to live In Portugal.

However, you have the option to live anywhere else but you visit and stay in Portugal for at least 7 days in the first year and 14 days every 2 years. You can then apply for citizenship after 5 years. The beauty of Portugal citizenship is, that you don’t have to spend all 5 years of residency in the country if you don’t want to.

Requirements for Portugal citizenship

• Your investment in the Portuguese economy must remain intact for at least 5 years
• You must meet the minimum requirements to stay in Portugal
• You must not have a criminal record
• No outstanding tax payment in Portugal

Turkey

Turkey is one of the easiest countries to get citizenship from. It only takes about 3 to 4 months to get approval for your application. This makes it one of the fastest ways to get a second passport.

With your Turkish passport, you have access to visa-free travel to about 120 countries and you don’t need to spend time in the country. The minimum amount to invest is 400,000 USD and real estate is the best option to invest in the country.

Requirements for Turkey citizenship

• You need to be over the age of 18
• Clean criminal records
• You’ve never stayed in Turkey illegally
• You’ve made a qualifying investment.

Easiest Countries To Get Citizenship by Descent

Besides citizenship by birth, other countries offer citizenship by descent. This program allows applicants who are born outside of the county to obtain a passport. Citizenship by descent can be a complicated process so you want to be careful when applying for this process. Here are some of the easiest countries to get citizenship by descent;

Italy

Italy is one of the easiest countries in which to get citizenship by descent. You just have to have an ancestor who was a citizen of Italy post 1861. The downside is the lineage must not be broken. This simply means that no ancestor of yours has revoked their nationality or gotten another citizenship from another country before the next generation.

Poland

Poland citizenship also requires you to have an ancestor just like Italy, only this time its post 1900. This means your ancestor has to be born in 1900 or later. If your ancestor meets these criteria then you can apply for citizenship by descent from Poland. It’s important to note that your lineage must not be broken just like that of Italy.

New Zealand

If you are born outside of New Zealand, but one of your parents is a national, you can apply for citizenship. New Zealand is one of the easiest countries in which to get citizenship by descent. The process is straightforward. You have to complete the form and send every necessary document alongside the required fee to process your citizenship.

Some other countries that offer citizenship by descent include;

• Hungary
• India
• Latvia
• South Korea
• Malaysia
• Spain.

Easiest Countries To Get Citizenship By Birth

Let’s say you were born in the United States, that automatically makes you a citizen of the US. However, children born to diplomats and government employees from other nations will not be granted US citizenship even when they are given birth to on American soil.

But here are some other countries that will offer you citizenship by birth;

• Peru
• Argentina
• Barbados
• Jamaica
• Fiji
• Mexico
• Uruguay
• Panama
• Cuba
• Brazil
• Dominica

Other countries like South Africa, Italy, Colombia, Australia, and the Netherlands will not offer you citizenship by birth. They might offer you but only on special occasions.

Countries With the Easiest Citizenship By Naturalization

This type of citizenship involves having legal residency in the country for a period which eventually qualifies you for citizenship. This is dependent on the country and circumstance. Many countries provide shorter residency time frames while others have longer periods.

Residency doesn’t mean you have to live in the country. Each country has different rules when it comes to qualifying for their citizenship. Let’s have a closer look at countries and their different rules;

Countries with 2-year residence requirements

Here are the countries with 2-year residence requirements

• Argentina
• Peru

Three-year residence requirement

Here are the countries with 2-year residence requirements

• Canada
• Serbia
• Isreal
• Poland
• Ecuador
• Paraguay
• Honduras

Four-year residence requirement

Here are the countries with 4-year residence requirements

• Brazil
• Ethiopia

Five-year residence requirement

Here are the countries with 2-year residence requirements

• Chile
• Albania
• Belgium
• Australia
• Ireland
• Barbados

Naturalization Timeframe in Different Countries

5+ Years	10+ years	15+ years	20+ years
Belgium	Bulgaria	Andorra	Bahrain
Canada	Czech Republic	Austria	Bhutan
Portugal	Italy	China	Equatorial Guinea
Russia	Lithuania	Palau	Kuwait
USA	Switzerland	UAE	Syria
Sweden	Spain	Saudi Arabia	Liechtenstein

Income Visa And How They Can Be Of Help To You

An income visa or retirement visa, or visa for those with independent means is a type of visa that proves to a country that you are financially self-sufficient.

This type of visa can make it easier for you to get citizenship in most countries. A lot of countries will provide you residency if you are willing to prove that your income will meet your living expenses.

This kind of visa has different restrictions and requirements for example;

• If you earn a minimum of 800EUR monthly, you are eligible for the Feriberufler visa. This visa allows you residency rights in Germany. You might also get employed in Germany on this visa.
• If your annual income is 26,000 EUR, you might be eligible for a non-loyal visa valid for one year and gain residency in Spain. You can also apply for permanent residency in the country.
• With an annual income of 7,200 EUR, you can be eligible for Portugal’s D7 passive income visa.
• To gain residency in Nicaragua, you must show a monthly income of $750 and $150 for every dependent on your residency visa.

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