European Union citizenship has several benefits including visa-free travel to many countries around the world and the chance to live in any EU member states.
EU citizenship is not exclusive to only those born to parents who are EU nationals. It is automatically granted to anyone who holds the nationality of an EU country.
There several ways to become an EU citizen, aside from by right of birth. One of the most common ways to become an EU citizen is by naturalization.
Citizenship by naturalization means that a person must in a particular EU Member State for a minimum period of time as prescribed by the country in addition to other conditions such as:
- Learning the Member State’s national language
- Knowing the laws of that country and having adjusted to its way of living
- Having a clean police record
- Having a secure and sufficient income
In some EU Member States, non-EU nationals who met the above conditions can gain citizenship in five years of residency, the lowest number of years obtainable There are eleven countries which offer citizenship after five years:
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Czech Republic
- Finland
- France
- Greece
- Ireland
- Latvia
- The Netherlands
- Portugal
- Sweden
Marrying a EU national can shorten the required period in some of the EU countries such as Greece and Slovenia, where the period is reduced to three years instead of seven years and ten years respectively.
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.
