Length of stay required to get permanent residency

[rg1]

http://www.isla-offshore.com/second-pas ... hip-facts/

In summary, UK is quite easy and straight forward compared to most other EU countries.

Austria: maintains official citizenship-by-investment program. Other than that, a permanent residence in the country during 10 years is required. Dual citizenship is NOT allowed.
Belgium: requires 3 years of residence, dual citizenship is allowed.
Bulgaria: 5 years of residence, dual citizenship is NOT allowed.
Cyprus: 5 accumulated years of residence in the last 8 years period, dual citizenship allowed.
Czech Republic: 5 years of residence, dual citizenship is NOT allowed.
Denmark: 9 years of residence, dual citizenship is NOT allowed.
Estonia: 5 years of residence, dual citizenship is NOT allowed.
Finland: 6 years of residence, dual citizenship is allowed.
France: 5 years of residence, dual citizenship is allowed.
Germany: 8 years of residence, dual citizenship is NOT allowed.
Greece: 10 years, dual citizenship is allowed.
Hungary: 8 years, dual citizenship is allowed.
Iceland: 7 years, dual citizenship is allowed.
Ireland: abolished its citizenship-by-investment program in June 2001. Now a permanent residence in the country during 4 out of 8 years is required. Dual citizenship is allowed.
Italy: 10 years of residence, dual citizenship is allowed.
Latvia: 5 years of residence, dual citizenship is NOT allowed.
Lithuania: There is no formal “citizenship-by-investmentâ€

[global gypsy]

Based on the listing provided, it seems Belgium is the fastest - just 3 years for citizenship, and dual citizenship is allowed?

[slarabee]

Some of the countries listed say dual citizenship not allowed.

But that is only applicable to the country of origin correct?

In other words I am a US natural citizen so no matter what country I become a citizen of I will always retain my US citizenship.

If I am incorrect please explain.

TIA

[global gypsy]

'Dual citizenship not allowed' means exactly what it says.
As an example, if a US citizen takes up German citizenship (Germany does not allow dual citizenship), then they will have to give up their US citizenship.
Hope that's clear.

[86ti]

Germany does not allow dual citizenship.

Oh yes, they do if the other nationality is from the EU.

The list above also has some other flaws. It is right, for instance, that 5 years residence are required in the UK (unless one is the spouse of a UK or Irish citizen or a permanent resident from the EEA) but one also has to be free of immigration restrictions for at least one year which makes it six years minimum. (With the new rules it may even take longer.) In some countries, as far as I know, obtaining citizenship is very much at the discretion of the authorities.

[newperson]

I've always been curious about how Belgium works regarding citizenship. With only apparently three years of legal residence needed before one can lodge a nationality application, it always struck me as being extremely generous.

But is it that simple in practice? I'm guessing that one might need to have permanent residence before being granted citizenship, but that's not mentioned anywhere. Since PR is now somewhat harmonised across the EU, do you need to spend five years plus in Belgium and then apply for permanent residence? And then can you apply immediately for citizenship, as you have been there already for three years? Or does one need to have permanent residence for a certain amount of time before applying for citizenship?

I've looked in quite a few places but have never found definitive answers on either primary or secondary sites. I'm guessing the laws may be different for those on an economic vs. family route, but the process seems very ambiguous and opaque. Even the time it takes to be granted citizenship after the application is unclear. Is it rather quick (unlikely) or do applicants have to wait years before their application is granted by being published in the Official Gazette?

Anyway, if anyone has any answers to anything above I'd be curious to learn more.

Here might be a decent starting point, but again...lots is open to interpretation!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_na ... an_citizen

Edited to add: This thread here seems to answer a lot of questions. But again...not a definitive source:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=526887

From jgombos (about halfway down):

For anyone following this thread: it turns out that 3 yrs isn't even close to reality. There are lots of gotchas. I was quite mislead by Belgium's short residency requirement for naturalization.

It turns out that getting a resident ID card and a residency visa is not "residency", and time in the country with those documents counts for nothing toward naturalization. One must live in a country as a temporary resident for 5 years before applying for permanent residence. Only then does the time count toward naturalization.

So if I finally understand this correctly, after all the confusion, it really takes 8 years to get Belgian citizenship (5 yrs to get permanent residence, and another 3 as a permanent resident to apply for citizenship). At that point, odds are that the applicant will be rejected anyway*.

* I just read that a PhD who spoke Flemish applied for citizenship, and was denied (despite language not being required), suggesting how unlikely it is to acquire parliamentary approval. (ref: http://www.immigrationboards.com/old...opic_id=000253 )

I've read is that you can be almost guaranteed Belgian citizenship "by way of declaration" if you are a permanent resident for 7 years (for a total of 12?). The catch there is that there is an age constraint, such that if you enter Belgium after turning 18 or 19, you don't qualify.

Am I right? It's difficult to find a definitive source on this.

[Tobiasgar]

I 've found that the main requirements are that you're at least 18 years of age, have had your principal residence in Belgium for the last three years, and have ‘genuine attachments’ to the country, such as a job, friends and family, investments and (probably most ‘attaching’ of all) debts. You must complete the relevant forms and provide translated and verified copies of your birth certificate, proof of [Moderator edit: advertising removed] residence in Belgium and any other documents supporting your case, then submit them to the administration of the commune where you live.

Your dossier is processed by the Service des Naturalisations and your case is assessed by the national House of Representatives (Chambre des Représentants), who conduct further investigations if necessary. Eventually, your request for naturalisation becomes part of a legislative act which is then published in the Moniteur belge, the official journal of the national legislature. From the date of publication, you’re officially Belgian and entitled to the same rights (and subject to the same obligations) as other Belgian citizens. Your children under the age of 18 automatically also become citizens, provided they live with you.

If you marry a Belgian citizen or your spouse becomes naturalised while you’re married, you can apply for naturalisation after you’ve been living together in Belgium for three years. The procedure is a simplified version of the full naturalisation process, and if you were married in Belgium you can use the same birth certificate you provided for the registration of your marriage, which saves you translation and verification fees.

[dalebutt]

most of the country listed dual citizen is not allowed is incorrect, you can have dual citizenship in the Netherlands that am sure about and almost all EU15 accept dual citizenship

[boloney]

most of the country listed dual citizen is not allowed is incorrect, you can have dual citizenship in the Netherlands that am sure about and almost all EU15 accept dual citizenship

What if someone was born in the UK as British Citizen to Polish parents? Is s/he also Polish? I don't want my kids loose British Citizenship by optaining Polish passport.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

The citizenship law of every country on earth is complicated and sometimes bizarre. You can find whole articles which barely scratch the surface, and are still complicated. To suggest that one line per country can capture the essence of the situation is a bit silly. Take what you read with a proverbial grain of salt!

And remember that the people produced this "list" are trying to sell you their services!

[mastermind]

There is an excellent website with details on many countries' legislation on citizenship acquisition: http://eudo-citizenship.eu/country-profiles (choose a country, click "go to country profile" and then download a country report there)