Citizenship of the European Union

         
EU member states use a common passport booklet design, burgundy coloured with the name of the member state, its coat of arms and the title "European Union" (in the language(s) of the issuing country and its translation).

Citizenship of the European Union is afforded to qualifying citizens of European Union member states. It was introduced by the 1992 Maastricht Treaty and has been in force since 1993. European Union citizenship is additional to national citizenship.[1] EU citizenship affords rights, freedoms and legal protections to all of its citizens.

European Union citizens have the right to free movement, settlement and employment across the EU. EU citizens are also free to trade and transport goods, services and capital through EU borders, as in national market, with no restrictions on capital movements or duty-fees.[2] Citizens also have the right to vote in and run as a candidate in local elections in the country where they live, European elections and European Citizens' Initiative.

Citizenship of the EU also confers the right to consular protection by embassies of other EU member states when a person's country of citizenship is not represented by an embassy or consulate in the country in which they require protection.[3] EU citizens also have the right to address the European Parliament, European Ombudsman, and EU agencies directly in their own language,[4] given the issue raised is within its competence.[5]

EU citizens also enjoy legal protections of the EU law,[6] specifically the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union[7] and acts and directives regarding e. g. protection of personal data, rights of victims of crime, preventing and combating trafficking in human beings, equal pay, protection from discrimination in employment on grounds of religion or belief, sexual orientation and age.[8][7] The EU also has an office of European Ombudsman whom EU citizens can approach directly.[9]

History

EU citizenship was first introduced by the Maastricht Treaty, and was extended by the Treaty of Amsterdam.[10] Prior to the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, the European Communities treaties provided guarantees for the free movement of economically active persons, but not, generally, for others. The 1951 Treaty of Paris[11] establishing the European Coal and Steel Community established a right to free movement for workers in these industries and the 1957 Treaty of Rome[12] provided for the free movement of workers and services.

However, the treaty provisions were interpreted by the European Court of Justice not as having a narrow economic purpose, but rather a wider social and economic purpose.[13] In Levin,[14] the Court found that the "freedom to take up employment was important, not just as a means towards the creation of a single market for the benefit of the member state economies, but as a right for the worker to raise her or his standard of living".[13] Under the ECJ caselaw, the rights of free movement of workers applies regardless of the worker's purpose in taking up employment abroad,[14] to both part-time and full-time work,[14] and whether or not the worker required additional financial assistance from the member state into which he moves.[15] Since the ECJ has held[16] that a recipient of service has free movement rights under the treaty and this criterion is easily fulfilled,[17] effectively every national of an EU country within another member state, whether economically active or not, had a right under Article 12 of the European Community Treaty to non-discrimination even prior to the Maastricht Treaty.[18]

In the case of Martinez Sala,[19] the European Court of Justice held that the citizenship provisions provided substantive free movement rights in addition to those already granted by union law.

Stated rights

Historically, the main benefit of being a citizen of an EU country has been that of free movement. The free movement also applies to the citizens of European Economic Area countries[20] and Switzerland.[21] However, with the creation of EU citizenship, certain political rights came into being. The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union[22] provides for citizens to be "directly represented at Union level in the European Parliament" and "to participate in the democratic life of the Union" (Treaty on the European Union, Title II, Article 10). Specifically, the following rights are afforded:

Political rights
Rights of free movement
Rights abroad

Free movement rights

European Union

This article is part of a series on the
politics and government
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Article 21 Freedom to move and reside

Article 21 (1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union[22] states that

Every citizen of the Union shall have the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States, subject to the limitations and conditions laid down in this Treaty and by the measures adopted to give it effect.

The European Court of Justice has remarked that,

EU Citizenship is destined to be the fundamental status of nationals of the Member States[25]

The ECJ has held that this Article confers a directly effective right upon citizens to reside in another Member State.[25][26] Before the case of Baumbast,[26] it was widely assumed that non-economically active citizens had no rights to residence deriving directly from the EU Treaty, only from directives created under the Treaty. In Baumbast, however, the ECJ held that (the then)[27] Article 18 of the EC Treaty granted a generally applicable right to residency, which is limited by secondary legislation, but only where that secondary legislation is proportionate.[28] Member States can distinguish between nationals and Union citizens but only if the provisions satisfy the test of proportionality.[29] Migrant EU citizens have a "legitimate expectation of a limited degree of financial solidarity... having regard to their degree of integration into the host society"[30] Length of time is a particularly important factor when considering the degree of integration.

The ECJ's case law on citizenship has been criticised for subjecting an increasing number of national rules to the proportionality assessment.[29]

Article 45 Freedom of movement to work

Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union[22] states that

1. Freedom of movement for workers shall be secured within the Union.
2. Such freedom of movement shall entail the abolition of any discrimination based on nationality between workers of the Member States as regards employment, remuneration and other conditions of work and employment.

State employment reserved exclusively for nationals varies between member states. For example, training as a barrister in Britain and Ireland is not reserved for nationals, while the corresponding French course qualifies one as a 'juge' and hence can only be taken by French citizens. However, it is broadly limited to those roles that exercise a significant degree of public authority, such as judges, police, the military, diplomats, senior civil servants or politicians. Note that not all Member States choose to restrict all of these posts to nationals.

Much of the existing secondary legislation and case law was consolidated[31] in the Citizens' Rights Directive 2004/38/EC on the right to move and reside freely within the EU.[32]

Limitations

New member states may undergo transitional regimes, during which their nationals only enjoy restricted access to labour markets in other member states. EU member states are permitted to keep restrictions on citizens of the newly acceded countries for a maximum of seven years after accession. For the EFTA states (Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland), the maximum is nine years.

Following the 2004 enlargement, three "old" member states—Ireland, Sweden and the United Kingdom—decided to allow unrestricted access to their labour markets. By December 2009, all but two member states—Austria and Germany—had completely dropped controls. These restrictions too expired on 1 May 2011.[33]

Following the 2007 enlargement, all pre-2004 member states except Finland and Sweden imposed restrictions on Bulgarian and Romanian citizens, as did two member states that joined in 2004: Malta and Hungary. As of November 2012, all but 8 EU countries have dropped restrictions entirely. These restrictions too expired on 1 January 2014. Norway opened its labour market in June 2012, while Switzerland kept restrictions in place until 2016.[33]

Following the 2013 enlargement, some countries implemented restrictions on Croatian nationals following the country's EU accession on 1 July 2013. As of July 2013, all but 13 EU countries have dropped restrictions entirely.[34] The UK Home Office has announced a bill to this effect.[35]

Acquisition

There is no common EU policy on the acquisition of European citizenship as it is supplementary to national citizenship (EU citizenship is generally granted at the same time as national citizenship is granted, likewise it is removed at the point of removal of national citizenship). Article 20 (1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union[22] states that:

"Citizenship of the Union is hereby established. Every person holding the nationality of a Member State shall be a citizen of the Union. Citizenship of the Union shall be additional to and not replace national citizenship."

While nationals of Member States are citizens of the union, "It is for each Member State, having due regard to Union law, to lay down the conditions for the acquisition and loss of nationality."[36] As a result, there is a great variety in rules and practices with regard to the acquisition and loss of citizenship in EU member states.[37]

Exceptions for overseas territories

In practice this means that a member state may withhold EU citizenship from certain groups of citizens, most commonly in overseas territories of member states outside the EU.

For example, owing to the complexity of British nationality law, a 1982 declaration by Her Majesty's Government defined who would be deemed to be a British "national" for European Union purposes:[38]

This declaration therefore excludes from EU citizenship various historic categories of British citizenship generally associated with former British colonies, such as British Overseas Citizens, British Nationals (Overseas), British Protected Persons and any British subject which does not have the 'right of abode' under British immigration law.

In 2002, with the passing of the British Overseas Territories Act 2002, EU citizenship was extended to almost all British overseas territories citizens when they were automatically granted full British citizenship (with the exception of those with an association to the British sovereign base areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia on the Island of Cyprus).[39] This has effectively granted them full EU citizenship rights, including free movement rights, although only residents of Gibraltar have the right to vote in European Parliament elections. In contrast, British citizens in the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man have always been considered to be EU citizens but, unlike residents of the British overseas territories, are prohibited from exercising EU free movement rights under the terms of the UK Accession Treaty if they have no other connection with the UK (e.g. they have lived in the UK for five years, were born in the UK, or have parents or grandparents born in the UK) and have no EU voting rights. (see Guernsey passport, Isle of Man passport, Jersey passport).[40]

Another example are the residents of Faroe Islands of Denmark which, though in possession of full Danish citizenship, are outside the EU and are explicitly excluded from EU citizenship under the terms of the Danish Accession Treaty.[41] This is in contrast to residents of the Danish territory of Greenland who, whilst also outside the EU as a result of the 1984 Greenland Treaty, do receive EU citizenship as this was not specifically excluded by the terms of that treaty (see Faroe Islands and the European Union; Greenland and the European Union).

Summary of member states' nationality laws

This is a summary of nationality laws for each of the twenty-eight EU member states.[42]

Member State Acquisition by birth Acquisition by descent Acquisition by marriage Acquisition by naturalisation Multiple nationality permitted
Austria Austria

Persons born in Austria:

  • at least one of whose married parents is an Austrian citizen
  • out of wedlock and whose mother is Austrian citizen
  • who is foundling and is found out under the age of 6 months

Austrian nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

  • 6 years' residence if married for at least 5 years (and general citizenship conditions are met, including German language proficiency)
  • 6 years' residence if born in Austria, citizen of another EEC country, granted asylum, or "exceptionally integrated"
  • depending on fulfillment of other conditions, up to 30 years' residence
Only allowed with special permission or if dual citizenship was obtained at birth (binational parents [one Austrian, one foreign] or birth in a jus-soli country such as USA and Canada)
Belgium Belgium

Persons born in Belgium who:

  • are stateless
  • are foundlings
  • lose any other nationality before 18
  • have a parent born in Belgium
  • have a birth or adopted parent resident in Belgium for at least 5 of the past 10 years

Belgian nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

  • Belgian citizen father
Yes—after 3 years cohabitation in Belgium
  • 5 years' residence—can petition federal government
  • 10 years' residence—automatic by request at city hall
  • 2 years' residence (stateless persons)
Yes
Bulgaria Bulgaria

Persons born in Bulgaria who:

  • are stateless
  • are foundlings

Bulgarian nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

  • The applicant should be at least 18 years old;
  • have permission for permanent or for long-term residence in Bulgaria since at least 3 years;
  • have not been investigated or sentenced by the Bulgarian authorities;
  • have income or occupation;
  • be able to speak and write in Bulgarian;
  • renounce previous citizenship (not applicable to citizens of the EU and EEA countries, Switzerland and countries with reciprocity agreement with Bulgaria; dual citizenship is allowed for them);
  • have marriage to Bulgarian citizen since at least 3 years and the marriage is actual.
  • The applicant should be at least 18 years old;
  • have permission for permanent or for long-term residence in Bulgaria since at least 5 years;
  • have not been investigated or sentenced by the Bulgarian authorities;
  • have income or occupation;
  • be able to speak and write in Bulgarian;
  • renounce previous citizenship (not applicable to citizens of the EU and EEA countries, Switzerland and countries with reciprocity agreement with Bulgaria; dual citizenship is allowed for them).
  • Yes - for Bulgarian citizens by birth;
  • Yes - for naturalised citizens of the EU and EEA countries, Switzerland and countries with reciprocity agreement with Bulgaria[43]
Croatia Croatia Persons born in Croatia:
  • At least one parent is a Croatian citizen
  • who is foundling (but such citizenship can be revoked if later established both parents were foreign citizens)
Croatian nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

Conditions: born to Croatian parents born after March 1, 1991 and if parents are married at the time of birth, Croatian citizenship of mother the father is required should the parents happen to marry at some time after birth, citizenship is automatically granted to child retroactively. If the child is over 14 at that time, child's consent is needed. ?

  • 8 years' residence (can be shortened)
  • 8 years' residence
  • sufficient knowledge of Croatian language
Yes, but persons seeking to become Croatian citizens by naturalisation are to renounce foreign citizenship unless applying by 'privileged naturalisation' (e.g. descendants of Croatian emigrants)
Cyprus Cyprus

Persons born in Cyprus who:

  • are stateless
  • are foundlings

Cypriot nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

  • 3 years' residence
  • 7 years' residence
Yes
Czech Republic Czech Republic

Persons born in the Czech Republic:

  • who are foundlings
  • whose parents are both stateless, and at least one of whom is a Czech permanent resident
No
  • Holders of a Czech permanent residence permit for at least 5 years (or 3 years for EU citizens), with real/factual residence in Czechia totalling at least half the relevant period (absences not exceeding 2 months (or 6 months for serious reasons) not being relevant)
  • Holders of a Czech permanent residence permit (at the date of the application), and lawfully resident in Czechia for 10 years, with real/factual residence in Czechia totalling at least 5 years (absences not exceeding 2 months (or 6 months for serious reasons) not being relevant)
Yes, effective January 1, 2014[44]
Denmark Denmark

Persons born in Denmark who:

  • are foundlings
  • Persons who have at least one parent with Danish citizenship.
  • 6 years' residence if married for at least 3 years
  • 9 years' residence (holders of a permanent residence permit)
  • 8 years' residence (refugees and stateless persons)
  • 2 years' residence (citizens of a Nordic country, i.e. Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden)
Yes, effective September 1, 2015[45]
Estonia Estonia[46]

Persons born in Estonia who:

  • are foundlings
  • Persons who have at least one parent with Estonian citizenship.

No (unless married to an Estonian citizen before 26 February 1992)

  • 8 years' residence

Estonia does not recognize multiple citizenship. However, Estonian citizens by descent cannot be deprived of their Estonian citizenship, and are de facto allowed to have multiple citizenship.

Finland Finland

Persons born in Finland who:

  • are stateless, or
  • are foundlings

(Possibility to obtain citizenship by declaration exists for inborn aliens who have lived a major part of their childhood in Finland.)

Finnish nationality is acquired by descent from a Finnish mother, and from a Finnish father under one of the following conditions:

  • Minimum residence requirement of four years of residence.
  • Five years of residence (or a total of seven years of residence since age 15) in Finland; and
  • knowledge of at least one of Finnish, Swedish or Finnish sign language.
  • Reductions apply under certain conditions.
Yes
France France

At birth, persons born in France who:

  • Are stateless.
  • Aged 13-16, upon the parent's request, having resided habitually in France since the age of 8.
  • Aged 16-18, upon their own request, having resided in France for 5 years (continuously or discontinuously) since the age of 11.
  • Aged 18, automatically for persons born in France, having resided in France for 5 years (continuously or discontinuously) since the age of 11.

[47]

French nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

  • Through parentage (right of blood):[48]
  • The child (legitimate or natural) is French if at least one parent is French.
  • 4 years' marriage; also, after 5 years outside France
Yes
Germany Germany

Persons born in Germany, if at least one parent has resided in Germany for at least 8 years and holds a permanent residence permit

German nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:
  • Through parentage (right of blood)
  • Member of recognised historical German community abroad (e.g. in the Balkans, Kazakhstan); Also granted to children/grandchildren of those deprived of citizenship by the Nuremberg Laws
  • 2 years of marriage and 3 years of continuous residence in Germany
  • 8 years' residence
  • 7 years' residence (if an integration course has been completed)
  • 6 years' residence (if especially well integrated and has a very high command of the German language, or a refugee or stateless person)
  • No residence (victims of Nazi persecution)

No, unless:

Greece Greece

Persons born in Greece who:

  • have a parent born in Greece
  • are foundlings
  • are stateless

Greek nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

  • Member of recognised historical Greek community abroad in countries of ex-USSR
  • Ethnic Greek of different citizenship accepted to military academies, or inscribes to serve to the army, or enlists as a volunteer in time of war
  • Child or grandchild of a Greek Citizen
  • 3 years of continuous residence in Greece and has an offspring from the marriage
  • 10 years residence in the last 12 years
  • 5 years residence in the last 12 years for refugees
  • Sufficient knowledge of Greek language, Greek history, and Greek culture in general
  • Athlete of an Olympic Sport, with 5 years residence in the last 12 years, who fulfills the conditions of being a member of the Greek National Team of that sport, as these are stated by the international laws for that sport
Yes
Hungary Hungary

Persons born in Hungary who:

  • are foundlings
  • are stateless

Hungarian nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

  • At least one parent is a Hungarian citizen
  • Any person of Hungarian ethnicity, which has to be proven by
  1. sufficient level of Hungarian language
  2. demonstrating at least one ancestor born in the Kingdom of Hungary (no limit on number of generations).
Yes After 3 years
  • After 8 years and meeting conditions of good character
  • After 5 years if
    • born in Hungary
    • resided in Hungary in their pupillage
    • stateless
  • After 3 years if
    • married to a Hungarian citizen
    • has a minor child that is Hungarian citizen
    • adopted by a Hungarian citizen
    • refugee in Hungary
Yes
Republic of Ireland Ireland

Persons born in Ireland:

  • are automatically an Irish citizen if he or she is not entitled to the citizenship of any other country.
  • entitled to be an Irish citizen if at least one parent is:
    • an Irish citizen (or someone entitled to be an Irish citizen).
    • a resident of the island of Ireland who is entitled to reside in either the Republic or Northern Ireland without any time limit on that residence.
    • a legal resident of the island of Ireland for three out of the 4 years preceding the child's birth.

Irish nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

  • if at the time of birth, at least one parent was an Irish citizen.
  • if you have an Irish citizen grandparent born on the island of Ireland. The parent would have automatically been an Irish citizen. Grandchild can secure citizenship by registering themselves in the Foreign Births Register. Citizenship gained via the Foreign Births Register can only be passed on to children born after the parent themselves were registered.
  • 3 years of marriage or civil partnership to an Irish citizen
  • 5 years of residency in Ireland, of which 1 (one) year immediately before application
    • The residency period can be waived, in the discretion of the Minister of Justice, for a person of "Irish descent or associations".
Yes
Italy Italy

Persons born in Italy who:

  • are foundlings
  • are stateless

Italian nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

  • 2 years of legal residence in Italy (3 years if living abroad) through naturalisation
  • 10 years' residence, no criminal record and sufficient financial resources
  • 7 years' residence for children adopted by Italian citizens
  • 5 years' residence for refugees or stateless individuals
  • 4 years' residence for EU member states nationals[49]
  • 3 years' residence for descendants of Italian grandparents and for foreigners born in Italy
Yes
Latvia Latvia

Persons born in Latvia who:

Latvian nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

    • After 5 years of permanent residence
    Starting from October the 1st, 2013 hereby listed persons are eligible[50] to have dual citizenship with Latvia:
    • citizens of member countries of EU, NATO and EFTA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland)
    • citizens of Australia, Venezuela, Brazil, New Zealand
    • citizens of the counties that have had mutual recognition of dual citizenship with Latvia
    • people who were granted the dual citizenship by the Cabinet of Ministers of Latvia
    • people of Latvian or Livonian ethnicity or exiles registering citizenship of Latvia[51]
    • people who have applied for dual citizenship before the previous Latvian Citizenship law (1995).
    Lithuania Lithuania

    Persons born in Lithuania who:

    • are stateless.

    Lithuanian nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

    • at least one parent is a Lithuanian citizen
    • at least one direct ancestor was Lithuanian citizen during the period of 1918-1940.
    • 7 years of permanent residence and demonstrating Lithuanian language ability
    No
    Luxembourg Luxembourg

    Persons born in Luxembourg who:

    • are stateless, or
    • are foundlings, or
    • have a parent born in Luxembourg
    Yes

    3 years' residence and marriage to a Luxembourgish citizen

    • 5 years' residence, including 12 months continuous residence immediately preceding the citizenship application
    Yes
    Malta Malta
    • Persons born in Malta between 21 September 1964 and 31 July 1989
    • Persons born outside Malta between 21 September 1964 and 31 July 1989 to a father with Maltese citizenship through birth in Malta, registration or naturalisation
    • Persons born on or after 1 August 1989, inside or outside Malta, to at least one parent with Maltese citizenship through birth in Malta, registration or naturalisation

    Maltese nationality is acquired by descent under the following condition:

    • Direct descendant, second or subsequent generation, born abroad of an ascendant who was born in Malta of a parent who was also born in Malta.
    Yes

    5 years of marriage to a Maltese citizen (if de jure or de facto separated, then still living together five years after the marriage) or a widow/widower of a Maltese citizen five years after the marriage

    5 years of residence

    Yes
    Netherlands Netherlands

    Persons born in Netherlands who:

    Dutch nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

    • Persons with a Dutch parent
    • 3 years of residence and demonstrating Dutch language ability
    After 5 years uninterrupted residence, with continuous registration in the municipal register

    No, unless:[52][53]

    Persons over 18 with multiple nationalities must live in the Netherlands or the EU for at least one year out of every ten years, or receive a Dutch passport or a nationality certificate every ten years.

    Poland Poland
    • A child born to a Polish parent.
    • Children born or found in Poland acquire Polish citizenship when both parents are unknown, or when their citizenship cannot be established, or if determined to be statelessness.

    Polish nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

    Yes
    • 3 years of residence with permanent residence permit card under the condition of speaking Polish language proven by certificate
    • 2 years of residence with permanent residence permit card acquired on the basis of marriage with Polish citizen and condition of speaking Polish language proven by certificate
    • 1 year of residence with permanent residence permit card acquired on the basis of Polish ethnicity or by possessing Pole's Card and condition of speaking Polish language proven by certificate
    • 10 years of lawful residence (under any type of residence permit/visas) and possession of permanent residence card with condition of speaking Polish language proven by certificate
    Yes but in Poland, Polish identification must be used and the dual citizen is treated legally as only Polish
    Portugal Portugal

    Persons born in Portugal who:

    • are stateless
    • are foundlings
    • have a birth parent resident in Portugal for at least 10 years on a valid residence permit
    • have a birth parent with citizenship of a Lusophone country and resident in Portugal for at least 6 years on a valid residence permit

    Portuguese nationality is transmitted by descent under one of the following conditions:

    • A person married to a Portuguese national for at least 3 years can apply to be registered as a Portuguese national as a matter of right, provided that the registration is applied for during the marriage (and not after its dissolution by death or divorce). Nationality takes effect upon registration and is not retroactive, and is not lost by the dissolution of the marriage.
    Yes
    Romania Romania

    Persons born in Romania who:

    • are foundlings
    • have Romanian parents

    Romanian nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

    • 5 years' residence in Romania
    • 8 years' residence
    • 4 years' residence (EU citizens)
    Yes[54]
    Slovakia Slovakia

    Persons born in Slovakia who:

    Slovak nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

      • After 5 years' residence in Slovakia, and living in Slovakia without any immigration restrictions at the time of application
      • 8 years' residence (5 years until a permanent residence is acquired plus 3 years of permanent residence)
      Dual citizenship is only permitted to Slovak citizens who acquire a second citizenship by birth or through marriage; and to foreign nationals who apply for Slovak citizenship and meet the requirements of the Citizenship Act.[55][56]
      Slovenia Slovenia

      A child born in Slovenia is a Slovenian citizen if either parent is a Slovenian citizen. Where the child is born outside Slovenia the child will be automatically Slovenian if:

      • both parents are Slovenian citizens; or
      • one parent is Slovenian and the other parent is unknown, is of unknown citizenship or is stateless.

      A person born outside Slovenia with one Slovenian parent who is not Slovenian automatically may acquire Slovenian citizenship through:

      • an application for registration as a Slovenian citizen made at any time before age 36; or
      • taking up permanent residence in Slovenia before age 18.

      Children adopted by Slovenian citizens may be granted Slovenian citizenship.

      Slovenian nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

      • A person of "Slovenian origin" up to the fourth generation in direct descent or a former Slovenian citizen may be naturalised without any residence requirements.
      • A person who is married to a Slovenian citizen for at least two years may be naturalised after one year's residence in Slovenia
      • A total of 10 years residence in Slovenia, including 5 years continuous residence before the application
      • Dual citizenship is generally permitted in Slovenia, except for certain persons seeking to become Slovenian citizens by naturalisation they are to renounce any foreign citizenship (the requirement to renounce foreign citizenship may be waived upon special application).
      Spain Spain

      Persons born in Spain who:

      • are stateless, or
      • are foundlings
      • Children of Spanish citizens
      • 1[57] year of marriage to a Spanish citizen and residence in Spain
      Sweden Sweden[58]

      Persons born in Sweden who:

      • are stateless, or
      • are foundlings (cancelled if parents found)

      Swedish nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:

      • 3 years' marriage in case residing in Sweden, 10 years in case living abroad with a Swedish spouse and has 'strong ties' to Sweden, by family visits and such
      • 5 years normal residence permit (not the time limited residence/work permit/Study Permit) and must hold Swedish permanent residence permit at the time of applying or person with a visa intended for settlement in Sweden with 5 years residence in Sweden.
      • 2 years if citizen of a Nordic country (i.e. Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway)[59]
      Yes
      United Kingdom United Kingdom

      Persons born in United Kingdom who are "British by birth" (see separate article)

      British nationality is acquired by descent under one of several conditions. See separate article section of "British by descent" for details.

      • 3 years' residence (must be without any immigration restrictions on date of application)[60]
      • 5 years' continuous residence, with at least 12 months' residence without any conditions (the last year of which without any immigration restrictions, i.e. Indefinite Leave to Remain or permanent residence as an EU citizen)[60]
      Yes

      Loss of EU citizenship due to member state withdrawal

      The general rule for losing EU citizenship is that European citizenship is lost if member state nationality is lost,[61] but the automatic loss of EU citizenship as a result of a member state withdrawing from the EU is the subject of debate.[62]

      One school of legal thought indicates that the Maastricht treaty created the European Union as a legal entity, it then also created the status of EU citizen which gave an individual relationship between the EU and its citizens, and a status of EU citizen. Clemens Rieder suggests a case can be made that "[n]one of the Member States were forced to confer the status of EU citizenship on their citizens but once they have, according to this argument, they cannot simply withdraw this status.". In this situation, no EU citizen would involuntarily lose their citizenship due to their nation's withdrawal from the EU.[62]

      Another school of legal thought indicates that the Maastricht treaty created the European Union as a legal entity, but it does not have a direct legal relationship with its citizens and EU citizenship is not comparable with any other citizenships and is not additional to the member state citizenship. EU citizenship is only a special feature that member states can offer their citizens. The relationship between an EU citizen and the EU as an organization, is therefore only legally through the member state. In this situation, when the member country leaves, the ex-member country can no longer offer that special feature to its citizens, thus (for example with respect to Brexit) British citizens would no longer be EU citizens.[63]

      It is likely that only a court case before the European Court of Justice would be able to properly determine the correct legal position in this regard, as there is no definitive legal certainty in this area.

      Greenland

      All citizens of Greenland are eligible for EU citizenship under its OCT status, even following Greenland's withdrawal from the EU in 1985, because they remain eligible for Danish passports (which confer EU citizenship) or Greenlandic (which do not).[64] Greenland, however, was not a member state of the EU and is not a sovereign nation state unlike, for example, the United Kingdom.

      Danish opt-out

      Denmark obtained four opt-outs from the Maastricht Treaty following the treaty's initial rejection in a 1992 referendum. The opt-outs are outlined in the Edinburgh Agreement and concern the EMU (as above), the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) and the citizenship of the European Union. The citizenship opt-out stated that European citizenship did not replace national citizenship; this opt-out was rendered meaningless when the Amsterdam Treaty adopted the same wording for all members. The policy of recent Danish governments has been to hold referendums to abolish these opt-outs, including formally abolishing the citizenship opt-out which is still technically active even if redundant.


      Popularity

      As Citizenship of the European Union is rather popular, around 500000 British people applied to Irish citizenship during first half 2017 with the possible intention to keep Citizenship of the European Union before Brexit starts[65].

      See also

      References

      1. "EU citizenship - European Commission".
      2. The Four Freedoms
      3. Article 20(2)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
      4. CONSOLIDATED VERSIONS OF THE TREATY ON EUROPEAN UNION AND THE TREATY ON THE FUNCTIONING OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
      5. Uprawnienia wynikające z obywatelstwa UE
      6. "The citizens of the Union and their rights - EU fact sheets - European Parliament".
      7. 1 2 Impact of EU membership on equality and human rights
      8. "Protection of personal data - European Commission".
      9. Co nam daje obywatelstwo Unii Europejskiej – czyli korzyści płynące z obywatelstwa UE
      10. Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Denmark. "The Danish Opt-Outs". Archived from the original on 14 October 2007. Retrieved 24 November 2007.
      11. Article 69.
      12. Title 3.
      13. 1 2 Craig, P.; de Búrca, G. (2003). EU Law: Text, Cases and Materials (3rd ed.). Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 706–711. ISBN 0-19-925608-X.
      14. 1 2 3 Case 53/81 D.M. Levin v Staatssecretaris van Justitie.
      15. Case 139/85 R. H. Kempf v Staatssecretaris van Justitie.
      16. Joined cases 286/82 and 26/83 Graziana Luisi and Giuseppe Carbone v Ministero del Tesoro.
      17. Case 186/87 Ian William Cowan v Trésor public.
      18. Advocate General Jacobs' Opinion in Case C-274/96 Criminal proceedings against Horst Otto Bickel and Ulrich Franz at paragraph [19].
      19. Case C-85/96 María Martínez Sala v Freistaat Bayern.
      20. "EEA Agreement". European Free Trade Association. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
      21. "Switzerland". European Commission. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
      22. 1 2 3 4 Treaty on the Function of the European Union (consolidated version)
      23. This right also extends to "any natural or legal person residing or having its registered office in a Member State": Treaty of Rome (consolidated version), Article 194.
      24. Antigua and Barbuda (UK), Barbados (UK), Belize (UK), Central African Republic (France), Comoros (France), Gambia (UK), Guyana (UK), Liberia (Germany), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (UK), San Marino (Italy), São Tomé and Príncipe (Portugal), Solomon Islands (UK), Timor-Leste (Portugal), Vanuatu (France)
      25. 1 2 Case C-184/99 Rudy Grzelczyk v Centre public d'aide sociale d'Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve .
      26. 1 2 Case C-413/99 Baumbast and R v Secretary of State for the Home Department, para. [85]-[91].
      27. Now article 20
      28. Durham European Law Institute, European Law Lecture 2005, p. 5.
      29. 1 2 Arnull, Anthony; Dashwood, Alan; Dougan, Michael; Ross, Malcolm; Spaventa, Eleanor; Wyatt, Derrick (2006). European Union Law (5th ed.). Sweet & Maxwell. ISBN 978-0-421-92560-1.
      30. Dougan, M. (2006). "The constitutional dimension to the case law on Union citizenship". European Law Review. 31 (5): 613–641.. See also Case C-209/03 R (Dany Bidar) v. London Borough of Ealing and Secretary of State for Education and Skills, para. [56]-[59].
      31. European Commission. "Right of Union citizens and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States". Retrieved 26 December 2007.
      32. Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States.
      33. 1 2 "Free movement of labour in the EU 27". Euractiv. 25 November 2009. Retrieved 27 December 2009.
      34. "Work permits". Your Europe - Citizens.
      35. "UK bill proposing work restrictions on Croatian nationals". 18 October 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
      36. Case C-396/90 Micheletti v. Delegación del Gobierno en Cantabria, which established that dual-nationals of a Member State and a non-Member State were entitled to freedom of movement; case C-192/99 R v. Secretary of State for the Home Department, ex p. Manjit Kaur. It is not an abuse of process to acquire nationality in a Member State solely to take advantage of free movement rights in other Member States: case C-200/02 Kunqian Catherine Zhu and Man Lavette Chen v Secretary of State for the Home Department.
      37. Dronkers, J. and M. Vink (2012). Explaining Access to Citizenship in Europe: How Policies Affect Naturalisation Rates. European Union Politics 13(3) 390-412; Vink, M. and G.R. de Groot (2010). Citizenship Attribution in Western Europe: International Framework and Domestic Trends. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 36(5) 713-734.
      38. Wikisource: Declaration by the UK on 31 December 1982 on the definition of the term "nationals"
      39. British Overseas Territories Act 2002, s.3(2)
      40. Protocol 3 to the 1972 Accession Treaty
      41. Protocol 2 to the 1972 Accession Treaty
      42. See the EUDO Citizenship Observatory for a comprehensive database with information on regulations on the acquisition and loss of citizenship across Europe.
      43. "Lex.bg - Закони, правилници, конституция, кодекси, държавен вестник, правилници по прилагане". lex.bg.
      44. http://www.mzv.cz/consulate.newyork/en/visa_and_consular_information/about_czech_citizenship_and_dual/new_citizenship_legislation_of_the_czech.html
      45. "Dobbelt statsborgerskab". justitsministeriet.dk.
      46. "Citizenship Act". riigiteataja.ee.
      47. "Nationalité française : enfant né en France de parents étrangers". Government of France. 2017-03-16.
      48. http://www.consulfrance-newyork.org/Nationality
      49. "Criteria underlying legislation concerning citizenship". Ministero Dell'Interno. Archived from the original on 2013-03-10. Retrieved June 2014. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
      50. DELFI (26 May 2013). "Двойное гражданство: у посольств Латвии прибавится работы". DELFI.
      51. "PMLP - Error 404". pmlp.gov.lv.
      52. Losing Dutch nationality
      53. Renouncing your current nationality
      54. http://cetatenie.just.ro/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=phPO-UBU_zQ%3d&tabid=42&mid=405
      55. "Slovak Citizenship Requirements & Application". Slovak-Republic.org. Retrieved 2013-09-26.
      56. Futej & Partners, Memorandum: Extensive amendment to the act on Slovak state citizenship (PDF), Bratislava
      57. http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/web/rielcano_en/contenido?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/elcano/elcano_es/zonas_es/demografia+y+poblacion/ari4-2014-gonzalez-enriquez-price-spanish-and-european-citizenship
      58. Law (2001:82) on Swedish citizenship
      59. "Krav för medborgarskap för dig som är nordisk medborgare" (in Swedish). Migrationsverket. 5 January 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
      60. 1 2 "Become a British citizen". www.gov.uk.
      61. http://www.ilecproject.eu/sites/default/files/GUIDELINES%20INVOLUNTARY%20LOSS%20OF%20EUROPEAN%20CITIZENSHIP%20.pdf
      62. 1 2 http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2324&context=ilj
      63. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2016/577971/EPRS_BRI(2016)577971_EN.pdf
      64. "Passport - Greenlandic and Danish". www.sullissivik.gl. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
      65. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-latest-news-irish-passport-apllications-british-citizens-ireland-eu-rights-ambassador-daniel-a7876186.html

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