10 Hardest Countries to get Dual Citizenship

Overview

Picking a country to move your life to can be a lengthy and uncertain process. There are so many factors to consider, such as fitting into the community, securing finances, gelling with the political or religious systems, finding ideal housing, and more.

Getting citizenship on top of these issues is the last worry you need. Unfortunately, dual citizenship can be extremely difficult to get for you and your dependants, depending on which country you have set in your heart.

Many countries make it extremely difficult to secure one citizenship, let alone dual, due to overpopulation, economic or political issues, and the price of naturalisation. Many countries will require you to renounce citizenship before they will even consider you.

The list of top 10 hardest countries to get dual citizenship is by no means exhaustive, as gaining citizenship is a situational affair. The process can take anything from months to years to decades.

Page Contents

• Overview
• Citizenship
• Dual Citizenship
• The 10 hardest countries to get dual citizenship
• What country has the strictest citizenship laws?
• Continued
• China
• Austria
• What country has the strictest citizenship laws?
• Which are the 5 hardest European countries for obtaining citizenship?
• How can IAS help?

Citizenship describes an agreement between people and states containing important rights and privileges which gives an additional national identity.

The best rights associated with being a citizen include freedom of expression, freedom of travel, financial and political benefits, and voting rights.

Citizenship and nationality are commonly interchanged for delineations of legal ties between people and a state.

‘National identity’ or the preferred legal word ‘Citizenship’ uses a broader definition to define a formal identity as a person’s right or duty and practice of this status.

In general dual citizenship or dual-nation citizenship is a type of citizenship in which a single person holds two nationalities simultaneously from a foreign country or countries.

You are allowed to have dual citizenship and more. The 2006 South African Nationality Act stipulates that any South African citizen over the age of 18 who wish to hold dual citizenship must first apply to retain their South African nationality.

Applicants would be required to be granted permission by the South African High Commission to become a dual citizen in the UK prior to applying for UK citizenship or a UK passport as stated by the South African Citizenship Act.

If you don’t obtain this prior permission, you will automatically lose your South African nationality on the voluntary acquisition of foreign citizenship.

If you do lose your South African citizenship this way it is possible to have it re-instated but this is a complex process.

Switzerland

Gaining Swiss citizenship poses a 10 years naturalisation timeline, which is one of Europe’s longest processes to obtain citizenship.

If you’re not already a citizen of the EU or EEA, you’ll need a ‘C residence permit’ to live and work in Switzerland.

You’ll need to speak one of Switzerland’s national languages (German, French, Italian, and Romansh) to B2 level and write it to A2 level.

The citizenship by naturalization process involves three approval stages: confederation, canton, and commune. Individual cantons and communes can set their own requirements for the process, making it even more challenging.

Saudi Arabia

A country renowned for its wealth in oil, Saudi Arabia is a rich desert land and religious Islamic Mecca. Only granting citizenship to ‘generally moral people’, the rules of naturalisation mirror Qatar’s.

Nevertheless, you can be a citizen when you have renounced any previous nationality and converted to Islam.

Speaking Arabic is a must, and the minister of the interior has the final decision over whether to approve a citizenship application.

These factors and more make Saudi Arabia one of the hardest countries to get citizenship.

Vatican City

There have only been about 800 Vatican citizens worldwide, there are currently 450 people living there.

The Vatican citizenship is unattainable for ordinary people. Other forms of citizenship including ancestry and marriage are not included.

Unlike other countries, Vatican citizenship only lasts until it meets all the requirements for the visa. The retirement guards and cardinals transferred from Rome have no nationality.

Cardinals who live in Vatican City or Rome, as well as diplomats, are also considered citizens. A Vatican passport is a passport issued by the Holy See or by Vatican City State.

The clergy (those who contribute to the operation of the Vatican City religiously such as working members for the Catholic church) and the Swiss Guards who ‘defend’ the Vatican City are the only people allowed to reside inside the Vatican City. Unless you work in one of these roles, it is impossible to reside in the Vatican City.

Kuwait

Next door to Saudi Arabia is the state of Kuwait, another oil-rich desert nation.

Here, acquiring citizenship by naturalization is similarly challenging. You have to live in Kuwait for a minimum of 20 years before applying.

Not only that, but you’ll need to speak fluent Arabic and be a Muslim, either by birth or conversion.

Like most of its Arabian Gulf neighbours, Kuwait doesn’t recognize dual citizenship.

United States

While the United States was originally populated largely by migrant citizens, immigration and citizenship have become increasingly difficult since the mid-1980s and the War on Terrorism.

Unless one enters the United States by his or her family member or by applying to work, permanent resident status is difficult. Some refugees are granted asylum through special categories, some are granted by lottery.

With a tumultuous political system and a huge wealth/class disparity, many U.S citizens finances are at an all time low, even worse than the 2008 financial crash. The attitude towards immigrants and those with asylum status in the U.S has not been a positive one, especially within the last 20 years.

If an individual wanted to gain citizenship, the process itself may not be as hard as the competitors on this list. However, it is the process post application that makes the U.S a difficult place to be a dual citizen, as individuals will be tied to its socio-political issues.

Qatar

Qatar is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. A small peninsula in the Arabian Gulf and neighbours with Saudi Arabia, it is smaller than the state of Connecticut and part of the United Arab Emirates.

Its wealth comes from prosperity in natural gas and a small population. If you are planning to naturalise in Qatar as a non-national, you will need to reside in Qatar for at least 25 years before you will be considered for permanent citizenship.

Not only this, but applicants will have to prove fluent Arabic language skills as well as secure finances and convert to Islam if you aren’t Muslim.

Qatar refuses dual citizenship, so applicants will have to renounce their original nationality to become a Qatari citizen.

Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein is another one of the wealthiest countries worldwide, with a GDP rate similar to Monaco.

Liechtenstein’s economy has been greatly enhanced by its regional and global integration through memberships to multilateral organizations such as the European Free Trade Associations, European Economic Area, and the World Trade Organization.

It is renowned for its historic medieval castles, as well as being a culture steeped in art history and alpine landscapes.

Although Liechtenstein is not part of the EU, it is part of the EEA, meaning its citizens have full freedom to move across the European Union countries and the European Economic Area.

The most simple way to become a Liechtenstein citizen is by a Spouse Visa. This usually takes 5 years to naturalise. However, if this is not relevant to you then you will have to wait 30 years in order to naturalise.

This is unless a permanent resident of Liechtenstein can personally vouch for you and vote to have your naturalisation time reduced by 10 years.

Bhutan

The Himalayan fortress of Bhutan poses some of the worlds most stringent rules for those wishing to naturalise. Known for its dzongs, monasteries, and varied sub tropic vistas to snow peaked mountains sits proudly between China and India, it is a touch larger than Montenegro.

The beautiful Buddhist Bhutan offers some of the worlds most dramatic landscapes, however even citizens cannot enjoy the freedoms that most parts of the world are used to. The rules on Bhutanese citizens encroaches on their personal lives.

For instance, tobacco and smoking products are illegal, ill word of the Bhutanese King is forbidden, traditional dress must be worn by working people, as well as no traffic lights, no hunting or fishing, and more.

Naturalisation lasts 20 years unless you have means of Descent, and even once you have reached naturalisation your citizenship can be revoked by Bhutanese officials without legally giving reason.

As well as this, even if you are a citizen, it can be revoked for speaking ill against the King or Queen.

China

Despite its enormous population, China has not released specific legal instructions for naturalising. It states, individuals can ‘try’ to become a Chinese citizen, even if they have relatives in China, have settled in China, or any other reason.

Individuals seeking to naturalise in China will have had to have been living in China for a ‘long time’, but no specific amount of time has ever been released.

This ominous reluctance to welcome new citizens makes China one of the hardest countries to get citizenship for.

Austria

Most of the EU countries make the citizenship by naturalization process fairly easy.

But Austria is an exception. It’s one of the hardest countries in the European union to get citizenship.

For starters, Austria has one of the EU’s longest timelines to citizenship. You’ll need to maintain unbroken residency in the country for a minimum of 10 years before applying for naturalization.

What’s more, Austria wants you to sign a binding agreement in which you promise to learn the German language to the required standard (B2).

If you manage to reach B2 level quickly, you’ll be rewarded with a reduced timeline of just six years’ residency.

Bhutan and South Korea The Bhutan Citizenship Act requires both parents of a child who has received Bhutan citizenship to gain citizenship. Those who live with just a single Bhutanese parent can apply for nationality citizenship within 15 years.

Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Monaco are five countries in Europe which make immigration difficult especially in foreign countries that allow unauthorized immigrants. Compared to Portugal, which is the easiest country in Europe to get citizenship.