Naturalization is an act of acquiring citizenship by migrants in a foreign country after legally living certain number of years, paying taxes, speaking language and fully integrating to culture.
The rules of naturalization vary from country to country but typically include a promise to obeying and upholding that country’s laws. 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 | Naturalizing in years |
Afghanistan | 5 |
Albania | 5 |
Algeria | 7 |
Andorra | 20 |
Angola | 10 |
Antigua & Barbuda | 7 |
Argentina | 2 |
Armenia | 3 |
Australia | 4 |
Austria | 10 |
Azerbaijan | 5 |
Bahamas | 10 |
Bahrain | 25 |
Bangladesh | 5 |
Barbados | 5 |
Belarus | 7 |
Belgium | 5 |
Belize | 5 |
Benin | 10 |
Bhutan | 20 |
Bolivia | 2 |
Bosnia Herzegovina | 8 |
Botswana | 12 |
Brazil | 4 |
Brunei | 12 |
Bulgaria | 10 |
Burkina Faso | 10 |
Burundi | 10 |
Cambodia | 5 |
Cameroon | 5 |
Canada | 3 |
Cape Verde | 5 |
Central African Rep | 15 |
Chad | 5 |
Chile | 5 |
China | 5 |
Colombia | 5 |
Comoros | 10 |
Congo | 10 |
Congo Democratic Rep | 5 |
Costa Rica | 7 |
Croatia | 8 |
Cuba | 5 |
Cyprus | 7 |
Czech Republic | 5 |
Denmark | 9 |
Djibouti | 10 |
Dominica | 12 |
Dominican Republic | 2 |
Ecuador | 3 |
Egypt | 10 |
El Salvador | 5 |
Equatorial Guinea | 40 |
Eritrea | 10 |
Eswatini (Swaziland) | 10 |
Estonia | 8 |
Ethiopia | 4 |
Fiji | 5 |
Finland | 5 |
France | 5 |
Gabon | 5 |
Gambia | 15 |
Georgia | 5 |
Germany | 8 |
Ghana | 5 |
Greece | 7 |
Grenada | 12 |
Guatemala | 5 |
Guinea | 5 |
Guinea-Bissau | 6 |
Guyana | 12 |
Haiti | 5 |
Hong Kong SAR | 7 |
Honduras | 3 |
Hungary | 8 |
Iceland | 7 |
India | 12 |
Indonesia | 5 |
Iran | 5 |
Iraq | 10 |
Ireland | 5 |
Israel | 3 |
Italy | 10 |
Ivory Coast | 5 |
Jamaica | 5 |
Japan | 5 |
Jordan | 4 |
Kazakhstan | 5 |
Kenya | 7 |
Kiribati | 7 |
Korea North | * |
South Korea | 5 |
Kosovo | 5 |
Kuwait | 20 |
Kyrgyzstan | 5 |
Laos | 10 |
Latvia | 10 |
Lebanon | 1 |
Lesotho | 5 |
Liberia | 2 |
Libya | 10 |
Liechtenstein | 10 |
Lithuania | 10 |
Luxembourg | 5 |
Macedonia | 8 |
Madagascar | 5 |
Malawi | 7 |
Malaysia | 10 |
Maldives | 10 |
Mali | 10 |
Macau SAR | 7 |
Malta | 5 |
Marshall Islands | 5 |
Mauritania | 10 |
Mauritius | 5 |
Mexico | 5 |
Micronesia | 5 |
Moldova | 10 |
Monaco | 10 |
Mongolia | 5 |
Montenegro | 10 |
Morocco | 5 |
Mozambique | 10 |
Myanmar | |
Namibia | 10 |
Nauru | |
Nepal | 15 |
Netherlands | 5 |
New Zealand | 5 |
Nicaragua | 5 |
Niger | 10 |
Nigeria | 15 |
Norway | 7 |
Oman | 20 |
Pakistan | 7 |
Palestine | |
Palau | |
Panama | 5 |
Papua New Guinea | 8 |
Paraguay | 3 |
Peru | 2 |
Philippines | 10 |
Poland | 10 |
Portugal | 5 |
Qatar | 25 |
Romania | 8 |
Russian Federation | 5 |
Rwanda | 5 |
St Kitts & Nevis | 12 |
St Lucia | 12 |
Saint Vincent & the Grenadines | 12 |
Samoa | 5 |
San Marino | 30 |
Sao Tome & Principe | 5 |
Saudi Arabia | 5 |
Senegal | 10 |
Serbia | 5 |
Seychelles | 10 |
Sierra Leone | 8 |
Singapore | 12 |
Slovakia | 8 |
Slovenia | 10 |
Solomon Islands | |
Somalia | 7 |
South Africa | 5 |
South Sudan | 10 |
Spain | 10 |
Sri Lanka | |
Sudan | 10 |
Suriname | 5 |
Sweden | 5 |
Switzerland | 10 |
Syria | 5 |
Taiwan | 5 |
Tajikistan | 5 |
Tanzania | 7 |
Timor-Leste (East Timor) | 10 |
Thailand | 5 |
Togo | 5 |
Tonga | 5 |
Trinidad & Tobago | 7 |
Tunisia | 5 |
Turkey | 5 |
Turkmenistan | 5 |
Tuvalu | |
Uganda | 10 |
Ukraine | 5 |
United Arab Emirates | 30 |
United Kingdom | 5 |
United States | 5 |
Uruguay | 5 |
Uzbekistan | 5 |
Vanuatu | 10 |
Venezuela | 10 |
Vietnam | 5 |
Yemen | 10 |
Zambia | 10 |
Zimbabwe | 10 |