Naturalisation refers to the range of procedures to grant citizenship of a given country to a foreign national on the basis of the notion of the individual’s ‘genuine link’ or ‘genuine connection with the state. Naturalized citizens are also dual nationals but depends on the state if dual nationality is permitted or not.
There are three types of naturalization that exist in EU member states. Here are the important differences
- Ordinary naturalisation – residence-based naturalisation, which does not foresee any waivers of conditions normally envisaged for applicants (eg. residency, language, culture, civic test).
- Discretionary naturalisation on grounds of national interest – fully discretionary naturalisation, where authorities waive all or almost all naturalisation conditions.
- Discretionary facilitated naturalisation on grounds of national interest –discretionary naturalisation, where authorities waive some but not all naturalisation conditions.
In addition to these three modes, there are further 24 types of acquisition of citizenship in the European Union, which include the
- Facilitation of conditions for certain ethnic groups (e.g., Sephardic Jews in Spain and Portugal; ethnic kin in Hungary, Bulgaria,
- Romania, Italy, etc.; citizens of other EU Member States);
- on grounds of family links (e.g., full or partial adoption);
- on humanitarian grounds (e.g., refugees, stateless, etc.);
- on grounds of socialisation (e.g., completion of school), etc.
Each of these 24 modes is accompanied by specific conditions, waivers, and procedures.
