Citizenship by Residence Timeline in 196 countries

Residence based Naturalization is the legal act or process by which a third country national of a country acquires the nationality of that country, via long term residence or settlement. Each country has its own laws to naturalize foreigners based on certain conditions. 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..  Naturalization laws in some countries require renouncing previous citizenship. While the average number of years to naturalize for citizenship in 5 years in most countries, the rules are different in every country.

Let us take a look below, on how many years you need to spend to acquire citizenship..

Country	Residence requirement	Notes	Other notes	Multiple citizenship
Afghanistan	5 years			No
Albania	5 years	Continuous residence.		Yes
Algeria	7 years			Yes
Andorra	20 years	Continuous permanent residence. Reduced to 10 years if all mandatory education completed in Andorra.		No
Angola	10 years	Continuous residence.		Partial
Antigua and Barbuda	7 years	Continuous residence. Reduced to 3 years if married to a citizen.		Yes
Argentina	2 years	Continuous residence. Must not exit from the country, and the applicant also must have minimal founds. Naturalization by investment allowed.	Other options, such as “Nationality per option” available	Yes
Armenia	3 years			Yes
Australia	4 years	Lawful residence for 4 years including 12 months as permanent resident.		Yes
Austria	10 years	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		Partial
Azerbaijan	5 years			No
Bahamas	10 years			No
Bahrain	10 years			No
Bangladesh	5 years			Partial
Barbados	5 years			Yes
Belarus	7 years			Yes
Belgium	5 years	Continuous residence.		Yes
Belize	5 years			Yes
Benin	10 years			Yes
Bhutan	20 years	Reduced to 15 years for those with citizen parent.		No
Bolivia	3 years	Uninterrupted residence.		Yes
Bosnia and Herzegovina	8 years	Continuous residence.		Partial
Botswana	10 years			No
Brazil	4 years	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.		Yes
British Overseas Territories	5 years	Unrestricted immigration status required. Physical presence required, with no more than 450 days’ absence in the last 5 years and 90 days in the last year. Reduced to 3 years if married to a citizen.		Yes
Brunei	10 years			No
Bulgaria	5 years	Reduced to 3 years if born in Bulgaria, married to a citizen, or settled in the country before age 18.	EU/EEA/Swiss citizens and spouses of Bulgarians can keep existing citizenship.	Partial
Burkina Faso	10 years			Yes
Burundi	10 years	Reduced to 5 years if married to a citizen.		Yes
Cambodia	7 years			Yes
Cameroon	5 years			No
Canada	3 years	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.		Yes
Cape Verde	5 years			Yes
Central African Republic	35 years		Must have agriculture/property investments and have received a national honour.	No
Chad	15 years			No
Chile	5 years	Continuous residence.		Yes
China	N/A	Permanent residence required. No specific residency period specified in law in mainland China. 7 years minimum residence required in Hong Kong and Macau.	Must have parent or relative from China.	No
Colombia	7 years	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.	Permanent residence required time is reduced to 2 years for those with Colombian children, married with a Colombian, or with Spanish citizenship	Yes
Comoros	10 years			Yes
Congo	10 years			Yes
Costa Rica	7 years			Yes
Croatia	8 years	Continuous residence.		Partial
Cuba	5 years			Partial
Cyprus	7 years	Reduced time period via citizenship by investment programme.		Yes
Czechia	10 years	Reduced to 3 years for EU citizens.		Yes
Democratic Republic of the Congo	5 years			No
Denmark	8 years	Continuous residence.		Yes
Djibouti	10 years			Yes
Dominica	7 years			Yes
Dominican Republic	7 years			Yes
East Timor	10 years			Partial
Ecuador	5 years	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.		Yes
Egypt	10 years			Yes
El Salvador	5 years			Yes
Equatorial Guinea	10 years			No
Eritrea	20 years			Partial
Estonia	8 years	Temporary residence for 3 years, followed by permanent residence for 5 years.	Multiple citizenship tolerated for birthright citizens but not naturalised citizens.	Partial
Eswatini	5 years			No
Ethiopia	4 years			No
Fiji	5 years	Lawful residence for 5 years out of the previous 10 years.		Yes
Finland	8 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.		Yes
France	5 years	Continuous residence. Reduced to 2 years for applicants with a master’s degree in France. Reduced to 0 years 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.		Yes
Gabon	10 years			No
Gambia	10 years		Dual citizenship allowed if married to a citizen.	Yes
Georgia	10 years	Consecutive lawful residence.		No
Germany	5 years			Yes
Ghana	5 years			Yes
Greece	7 years	Reduced to 3 years for EU citizens.		Yes
Grenada	7 years			Yes
Guatemala	10 years			Partial
Guinea	5 years			Yes
Guinea-Bissau	5 years			Yes
Guyana	7 years			Yes
Haiti	5 years			Yes
Honduras	3 years			Partial
Hungary	8 years	Continuous residence.		Yes
Iceland	7 years			Yes
India	12 years	Continuous residence during 12 months immediately before the application. Resident for 11 out of the 14 years before the 12-month period.		No
Indonesia	5 years			No
Iran	5 years	Legal residence.		Partial
Iraq	10 years			Yes
Ireland	5 years	“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.		Yes
Israel	3 years	Resident for 3 years in the previous 5 years. Must have permanent residence right. Jews may obtain citizenship upon arrival by the Law of Return.		Partial
Italy	10 years	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.		Yes
Ivory Coast	5 years			Partial
Jamaica	5 years			Yes
Japan	5 years(recommended 10 years through operational policy[186])	Continuous residence. Reduced to 3 years if married to a citizen.		No
Jordan	15 years			Partial
Kazakhstan	5 years			No
Kenya	7 years			Yes
Kiribati	7 years			Partial
Kuwait	15 years	Applicable to foreign women marrying Kuwaiti citizen, but not foreign men.		No
Kyrgyzstan	5 years	Continuous residence.		Partial
Laos	10 years	10 years of Permanent residency		No
Latvia	10 years			Partial
Lebanon	5 years			Yes
Lesotho	5 years			No
Liberia	2 years		Must be Black African or Black African descent[207]	Yes
Libya	10 years			Partial
Liechtenstein	10 years	Years of residence under the age 20 count double.		No
Lithuania	10 years	Continuous residence as a permanent resident. Reduced to 7 years if married to a citizen.		No
Luxembourg	5 years	Reduced to 3 years if married to a citizen. Continuous residence for 12 months prior to application.		Yes
Madagascar	5 years			No
Malawi	7 years	Reduced to 5 years if of African race or with Commonwealth or Malawian ties.		Yes
Malaysia	12 years			No
Maldives	12 years	Continuous residence. Must be Muslim.[225]		Yes
Mali	5 years			Yes
Malta	5 years	Reduced requirement via citizenship by investment programme.		Yes
Marshall Islands	7 years			No
Mauritania	5 years			No
Mauritius	5 years			Partial
Mexico	5 years	Reduced to two years for spouses of Mexican citizens. Mexican citizens by naturalization are generally not allowed to have multiple citizenship.		Partial
Micronesia	5 years		Must be the child or spouse of a citizen of Micronesia.	No
Moldova	10 years	Reduced to 8 years for stateless persons or refugees.		Yes
Monaco	10 years	Continuous residence.		No
Mongolia	5 years			No
Montenegro	10 years			Partial
Morocco	5 years	Continuous residence.		Yes
Mozambique	5 years			Yes
Myanmar	Impossible			No
Namibia	5 years			Partial
Nauru	7 years		Must be the child, spouse or descendant of a Nauruan national.	Yes
Nepal	15 years			No
Netherlands	5 years	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.	Multiple citizenship allowed in limited cases, generally with special permission required.	Partial
New Zealand	5 years	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.[261]		Yes
Nicaragua	4 years			Partial
Niger	10 years			Yes
Nigeria	15 years	Continuous residence.		Yes
North Korea	N/A			No
North Macedonia	8 years	Continuous residence.		Yes
Norway	8 years	Resident in Norway for 8 years out of the previous 11 years. Absences of up to 2 months per year allowed.		Yes
Oman	20 years			No
Pakistan	5 years			Partial
Palau	N/A			Yes
Panama	5 years	Continuous residence.		No
Papua New Guinea	8 years			Partial
Paraguay	5 years			Partial
Peru	5 years	Continuous residence.		Yes
Philippines	10 years	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.[288]		Partial
Poland	10 years	Resident for 10 years or permanent resident for 3 years. Permanent residence requirement reduced to one year in some cases.		Yes
Portugal	10 years	Continuous residence. Reduced to three years for spouses of Portuguese citizens. Reduced time period via citizenship by “Golden Visa” investment programme.		Yes
Qatar	25 years			No
Romania	8 years			Yes
Russia	5 years	Continuous residence. Reduced to 3 years if married to a citizen or 1 year for valued specialists and refugees.		Yes
Rwanda	10 years			Yes
Samoa	5 years			Yes
San Marino	20 years	Reduced to 10 years if married to a citizen.		No
São Tomé and Príncipe	5 years			No
Saudi Arabia	10 years			No
Senegal	5 years			Yes
Serbia	6 years			Partial
Seychelles	10 years		Dual citizenship only for native born citizens who obtain another citizenship for work or through marriage.	Partial
Sierra Leone	5 years			Yes
Singapore	Arbitrary	Foreigners can register for citizenship after two years of permanent residence.[320]	A minimum of 6 months legal residence is required to be eligible for permanent residence, resulting in the citizenship pathway/eligibility of 2.5 years.[321]	No
Slovakia	8 years			Partial
Slovenia	10 years	Total residence of 10 years. Continuous residence for 5 years prior to application. Reduced to 3 years for spouses of citizens.		Partial
Solomon Islands	7 years			Yes
Somalia	7 years			Partial
South Africa	5 years	Continuous residence.		Yes
South Korea	5 years	Reduced to 3 years if married to a citizen.	Males are required to do military service.	Partial
South Sudan	10 years			Yes
Spain	10 years	Reduced to 2 years for natural-born nationals of Ibero-American countries, Portugal, Andorra, Equatorial Guinea, and the Philippines.		Partial
Sri Lanka	5 years			Partial
St. Kitts and Nevis	14 years			Yes
St. Lucia	7 years			Partial
St. Vincent and the Grenadines	7 years			Yes
Sudan	10 years			Yes
Suriname	5 years			No
Sweden	8 years	Continuous residence		Yes
Switzerland	10 years	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.		Yes
Syria	5 years			Yes
Taiwan	5 years			Partial
Tajikistan	5 years			Partial
Tanzania	5 years			No
Thailand	5 years	Continuous residence. Residence requirement waived for spouses and children of citizens.		Partial
Togo	5 years			Yes
Tonga	5 years			Yes
Trinidad and Tobago	7 years			Yes
Tunisia	5 years	Continuous residence.		Yes
Turkey	5 years	Continuous residence.		Yes
Turkmenistan	7 years			No
Tuvalu	7 years			Yes
Uganda	20 years		Dual nationality permitted. Three or more nationalities not permitted.	Partial
Ukraine	5 years			Yes
United Arab Emirates	30 years	Reduced to 7 years for citizens of Arab descent. Reduced to 3 years for citizens of Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain.	Multiple nationality allowed only in limited, exceptional cases since 2021.	Partial
United Kingdom	5 years	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.		Yes
United States	5 years	Continuous lawful permanent residence 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.		Yes
Uruguay	5 years (Legal Citizenship, not nationality)	Reduced to 3 years if residing with spouse or children (Legal Citizenship, not nationality).	Uruguay distinguishes between citizenship and nationality and does not offer a naturalization path for immigrants. Uruguayan nationals are persons who were born in Uruguay or are children or grandchildren of Uruguayan natural citizens. Legal citizenship has special characteristics, the persons who acquire it keep their nationality of origin. Legal citizens acquire political rights but do not acquire nationality as natural citizens do. This peculiar distinction between citizenship and nationality has caused problems with legal citizens’ passports at airports around the world and restricted their freedom of movement.[may be outdated as of April 2025]	Yes
Uzbekistan	5 years			No
Vanuatu	10 years			Yes
Vatican City	N/A			Yes
Venezuela	10 years	Reduced to 5 years for natural-born citizens of Spain, Portugal, Italy, Latin American or Caribbean countries.		Yes
Vietnam	5 years		The state only recognizes Vietnamese citizens with one nationality, unless otherwise provided.	Partial
Yemen	5 years			No
Zambia	5 years			Yes
Zimbabwe	5 years			Yes