Want to move to Europe? These are the EU countries welcoming the most - and least - new citizens

EU countries granted a grounds fig of citizenships successful 2021, caller figures show.

A full of 827,300 radical obtained citizenship successful EU subordinate states successful 2021 - an summation of 98,300 connected 2020.

The 14 per cent leap tin beryllium partially attributed to a pandemic-era backlog, but besides reflects an upward inclination connected 2019, erstwhile 706,400 caller citizenships were granted.

85 per cent of caller citizens were not antecedently citizens of different EU country.

Which countries granted the astir citizenships successful 2021?

Spain granted the highest fig of caller citizenships successful 2021, welcoming 144,800 caller residents.

The state was intimately followed by France and Germany (130,000 caller citizens each), Italy (121,500) and Sweden (89,400).

Becoming a national tin beryllium a agelong and arduous process - but it’s not arsenic hard crossed the bloc.

If you’re wealthy, respective countries connection citizenship by concern schemes. People who acquisition a spot successful Greece worthy much than €500,000 tin use for citizenship 7 years aboriginal - arsenic agelong arsenic they person lived determination during that clip and paid taxes. In Malta, you tin get citizenship done concern successful conscionable 18 months, provided you tin cough up €700,000 for real estate.

Most radical go citizens done the much accepted way of naturalisation - surviving and moving successful the state for respective years.

Which countries are easiest - and hardest - to get citizenship in?

In 2021, Sweden granted 10 citizenships per 100 nonmigratory non-nationals - the highest naturalisation complaint successful the bloc. Sweden was followed by the Netherlands (5.4 citizenships per 100 nonmigratory non-nationals), Romania (4.6), Portugal (3.7) and Belgium and Spain (both 2.7).

In immoderate parts of Europe, getting citizenship is uncommon, adjacent for radical who person lived determination for years.

Lithuania granted conscionable 0.2 citizenships per 100 nonmigratory non-nationals, followed by Latvia (0.3), Estonia (0.5), and Czechia, Croatia and Slovakia (all 0.7).

Immigration rules alteration importantly from state to country. In Austria, for example, you person to beryllium nonmigratory for astatine slightest a decennary earlier you are eligible for citizenship - and indispensable to larn to talk German to a precocious schoolhouse standard.

Are countries granting much citizenships than they utilized to?

Most countries are granting much citizenships than they person successful erstwhile years. France granted an further 43,900 citizenships successful 2021 compared to successful 2020.

Germany recorded the 2nd largest summation successful implicit presumption (18,800 other citizenships successful 2021), followed by Spain (an further 17,700), Sweden (an further 9,200) and Austria (an further 7,200).

However, 10 EU countries recorded a alteration successful the fig of citizenships granted. Italy granted 10,300 less citizenships successful 2021 compared to 2020.

Relative to section population, Sweden granted the highest fig of citizenships, astatine 8.6 per 1000 people, intimately followed by Luxembourg (7.8 per 100 people) and the Netherlands (3.6 per 1000 people). This is antithetic to the ‘naturalisation rate’ - it compares the fig of caller citizens to the full population, not conscionable nonmigratory non-nationals.

Who are the EU’s caller citizens?

Most of Europe’s caller citizens travel from Morocco and Syria.

86,200 Moroccans were granted EU citizenship successful the EU, making up 10.4 per cent of caller citizens. More than 2 thirds (71 per cent) of these radical became citizens successful Spain oregon France.

Syrians are the adjacent largest radical of caller citizens (83,500, 70 per cent of whom settled successful Sweden and the Netherlands), and Albanians (32,300, 70 per cent of whom settled successful Italy).

Albanians were followed by Romanians (3.5 per cent of the total), Turkish radical (3.1 per cent), Brazilians (2.5 per cent), Algerians (2.3 per cent), and Ukrainians (2.2 per cent).

The median property of caller citizens successful the EU was 32. About a 4th were children betwixt 0 and 14 years old.