Naturalisation abroad: the residence route to a second passport

When people think of a second passport, they usually think first of Caribbean islands and investment programmes. Yet the oldest route to a second citizenship is also the cheapest: you move to a country, live there legally, meet the deadlines and become a citizen. No state sells you anything along the way. You earn the passport with time.

That is both the strength and the weakness of this route. Naturalisation costs you little money, but it costs you years. If you plan well, you choose the country to suit your life plan, count the days from the very start and cover the waiting time some other way.

What naturalisation abroad means

Naturalisation means a state accepts you as a citizen even though you were neither born there nor descend from its citizens. The basis is almost always residence. You live legally in the country for a number of years set by law, meet further requirements such as language, a clean record and income, and then apply. In many countries the process ends with an oath or a pledge, followed by the certificate and the passport.

Three things set naturalisation apart from every other route to a second passport:

• It is a route anyone can take. You do not need an Italian grandmother or a fortune for an investment programme. You need a residence permit and patience.
• It demands real presence. Most countries count not just the years on paper but the days you were actually in the country. How that is calculated is covered in the article on years of residence for naturalisation.
• It makes you a citizen like any other. Once you have lived in the country for years, learned the language and taken the oath, you belong, with all the rights that come with it.

For Germans, the route improved fundamentally in 2024. Until then, a German as a rule lost their citizenship on acquiring a foreign one on application, unless they had obtained a retention permit beforehand. Since 27 June 2024 the Nationality Modernisation Act (Staatsangehörigkeitsmodernisierungsgesetz) has been in force. Since then you can acquire a foreign citizenship without losing your German one, and you no longer need permission to do so. Naturalisation abroad is no longer an either/or decision but a genuine second passport.

Naturalisation, descent or investment: three routes to a second passport

There are essentially three routes to a second citizenship, and each follows its own logic. Lay them side by side and you quickly see where naturalisation plays to its strengths.

Citizenship by descent is the route for anyone whose family has roots in Italy, Ireland, Poland or elsewhere. If you would rather invest money than years, you will find the programmes under buying citizenship. A fourth route concerns not you but your children: in some countries, a child born there receives the passport at birth. It is the passport you give your child as a birth present. More on this under birth tourism.

Even so, naturalisation remains the route most emigrants end up taking. The reason is simple: if you are living in Canada, Switzerland or Uruguay for five or ten years anyway, you collect the years of residence along the way. The only question is whether you collect them deliberately or discover at the end that a few months are missing. How the three routes fit together and in what order to tackle them is shown in the second passport roadmap.

Which citizenship is easiest to get?

There are two answers to this question. Measured by the residence period, the fastest countries are in South America. Measured by your life, the easiest passport is the one where you are not sitting out the years but enjoying them.

On the period alone, these countries lead:

• Dominican Republic: With property or a business of your own in the country, six months of continuous residence are enough, otherwise two years. The residence for it comes as an investor from USD 200,000 from the start, plus a test in Spanish and the government's discretionary decision. More in naturalisation in the Dominican Republic and on Dominican Republic.
• Argentina: If you have lived in the country continuously and legally for two years, you can apply for naturalisation. The law takes "continuously" literally: the two years only count if you did not leave the country even once during that time. You apply to the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones. This way of counting comes from Decree 366/2025, on which the Corte Suprema has yet to rule. The same decree set out a route through a relevant investment, regardless of how long you have lived in the country; it has been announced, but nobody accepts applications yet. More on this in naturalisation in Argentina and Argentina's investment route.
• Paraguay: Three years of permanent residence, counted from the decision granting you permanent residence. The application for the Carta de Naturalización goes through the courts. The whole route is set out in naturalisation in Paraguay.
• Uruguay: The constitution grants ciudadanía legal after three years of habitual residence if you live in the country with your family, and after five years without family in the country. On top of that come good conduct and capital, property or a profession. More on this in naturalisation in Uruguay.

Which other countries have short periods and what matters there is covered in the comparison of the fastest naturalisations in the world. There you will also find Peru and Brazil, both of which regularly appear on that list.

What matters is the difference between the period and the effort. For an entrepreneur with clients in Europe, two years in Argentina without a single trip abroad are harder than five years in the US with 30 months of presence. If you work internationally, read the presence rules as closely as the number of years.

How many years of residence do you need? The countries compared

These are the general residence periods of the countries Germans ask about most often, with the main special routes for spouses and certain countries of origin:

Two things stand out at once. First, the European classics are among the slowest routes. If you want a European Union passport through residence, plan for ten years in Spain. Second, the period alone tells you little. Canada counts days rather than years, and the US requires 30 months of actual presence on top of five years with a green card. If you travel too much, you lengthen your route without noticing.

Further countries, from Mexico and Panama to New Zealand, follow rules of their own. How these countries' passports perform on freedom of travel and visa-free access is shown in the passport ranking, and a direct comparison of the investment programmes is under comparison.

Naturalisation in Switzerland, the US and Canada: what Germans need to know

These are the three countries Germans ask about most often, and each follows its own logic.

Switzerland: ten years and three levels

Switzerland grants ordinary naturalisation to anyone who has lived in the country for at least ten years, three of them within the five years before the application, and holds a C settlement permit (Niederlassungsbewilligung C). Depending on the canton, you submit the application to the municipality or to the canton. The federal government sets only minimum requirements; the cantons can add further integration criteria and require a higher level of language.

For Germans, Switzerland is therefore a long but highly predictable route. If you already work in Zurich, Basel or Zug, you collect the years as you go. What matters is that the C permit arrives in time, because without it the application stays blocked, however many years you have already spent in the country. All the details, including facilitated naturalisation for spouses, are in naturalisation in Switzerland.

USA: five years with a green card and 30 months in the country

For naturalisation, the US requires five years as a Lawful Permanent Resident, in other words with a green card. Of those, you must have been physically present in the US for at least 30 months and have lived for at least three months in the state or USCIS district where you apply. On top of that come good moral character, written and spoken English, a test on history and government, and the Oath of Allegiance.

The real bottleneck is the green card, not the naturalisation. How you get there in the first place and what the Gold Card and EB-5 are about is covered in Buying a US passport?. The procedure with Form N-400, the interview and the civics test is described in detail on the US citizenship and naturalization page. The US passport is especially valuable for Germans; what tax consequences come with it is explained in German-American dual citizenship and on the taxes page.

Canada: 1,095 days, and every single one counts

Canada counts in days rather than years. You need permanent resident status and must have been physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days in the five years before you apply, at least 730 of them as a permanent resident. If you were liable to tax in Canada, you must also have filed your tax return for at least three of those five years. If you are between 18 and 54, you prove your English or French and pass a test on rights, responsibilities, history and institutions.

The advantage of this calculation: you can see every day how far you have come. The drawback: every day abroad is a day missing. The route from visa through permanent residence to passport is set out in Canadian citizenship for Germans, and what a birth in Canada means for your child is covered in birth in Canada.

Europe: Spain, the UK, Ireland and the Mediterranean islands

At first glance, a second European passport looks superfluous for Germans, since as an EU citizen you already enjoy freedom of movement. Europe is still interesting: because of the UK and Ireland, because of Switzerland, and because a second EU passport means a second state that protects you if your first one refuses you a passport.

Spain: ten years and a renunciation declaration

For nationality by residence, Spain requires ten years of legal, continuous residence immediately before the application. Shorter periods apply to certain groups: five years for recognised refugees, two years for nationals by origin of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal, and for Sephardic Jews. One year is enough, among other cases, if you have been married to a Spanish citizen for a year and are not separated.

One thing you must know before you start: for acquisition through residence, the Código Civil requires an oath to the King and the Constitution and a declaration that you renounce your previous nationality. Nationals of the countries listed there and Sephardic Jews are exempt. What that means for your German passport belongs in your planning from day one and is covered in naturalisation in Spain.

The UK and Ireland

For British citizenship, you usually live in the UK for five years and then, in most cases, hold permanent residence for twelve months, in other words Indefinite Leave to Remain or Settled Status. Spouses of British citizens can apply straight away with three years in the country and permanent residence. The route with a second passport in view is set out in the article on British citizenship; the application procedure in detail is explained on the page on applying for British citizenship (in German).

Ireland requires five years of reckonable residence, the last year before the application without a break; spouses and civil partners of Irish citizens need three years of marriage and three years of residence on the island. Only time with a valid residence permission counts. The second passport from Dublin is described in naturalisation in Ireland, and if you have Irish grandparents, read the article on the Irish passport by descent first. The conditions, fees and timeline of the Irish procedure are explained in detail in Irish naturalisation.

Portugal, Malta, Cyprus

Portugal has been a favourite of German emigrants for years. The periods that apply to naturalisation there today are covered in naturalisation in Portugal. With Malta and Cyprus, it pays to keep the residence route strictly apart from everything circulating under the heading of investment. How both countries naturalise today is shown in the articles on naturalisation in Malta and the Cypriot passport. If you are looking for an EU passport without years of residence, read Buying an EU passport.

Naturalisation in Latin America: the short timelines

Latin America is the region of short routes. The three shortest periods in the overview are all there: two years in Argentina, three years in Paraguay, three or five years in Uruguay. Add a relaxed way of life, low costs and countries that have welcomed emigrants for generations.

Besides Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, these countries are worth a close look:

• Mexico: from Residente Permanente to a Mexican passport, with a language and history test.
• Brazil: citizenship by naturalisation in the continent's largest country.
• Peru: one of the routes that appears in every comparison of the fastest naturalisations.
• Colombia: from visa to Colombian passport.
• Costa Rica: citizenship through residence in Central America.
• Panama: naturalisation for Germans, with the well-known residence programmes as the starting point.
• Dominican Republic: naturalisation in the Caribbean without an investment programme.
• Curaçao: which citizenship residence on the island opens up.

You organise the residence itself, meaning visa, residencia and permanent residence, on the ground. If you want to see all 21 countries in the region side by side, read naturalisation in Latin America compared.

For families, birth in the country is also worth a look in Latin America: while the parents collect years of residence, a child born there can have a route to a passport of their own. What applies in each country is covered in the articles on birth in Mexico, birth in Brazil and birth in Argentina. What this means for the whole family is under family.

Sought-after passports with their own rules: Liechtenstein, Monaco, the Gulf, Asia

Some passports are searched for especially often, even though the route there looks different from Canada or Paraguay. Here it pays to read carefully before you build your life plan on them.

• Liechtenstein: Europe's rarest passport and the question of how anyone obtains it at all.
• Monaco: what the principality offers you as a place of residence and where things stand on citizenship.
• United Arab Emirates: whether a UAE passport for foreigners exists at all.
• Qatar: Qatari citizenship and which Gulf route remains.
• Mauritius: citizenship, permanent residence and what awaits investors.
• New Zealand: the route to the other side of the world.
• Japan: naturalisation in Japan and the question of dual citizenship.

Japan shows especially clearly why the other country's rules matter. The Japanese Nationality Act requires five years of continuous residence with a valid status of residence, and since 1 April 2026 the Ministry of Justice has generally required ten; on top come a minimum age of 18, good conduct and secure means of support. And in principle it requires that you hold no other citizenship or lose it on naturalisation. German law would let you keep your German passport; Japanese law does not want to see it next to its own.

Can you keep your German passport?

For Germans, the answer today in most cases is yes. Since 27 June 2024, Germans no longer lose their citizenship when they acquire a foreign one on application. The former retention permit has been abolished. Anyone who naturalises in Canada, the US or Argentina remains German.

But there are two sides to the equation. German law only governs whether you lose your German citizenship. Whether you may hold the new one alongside it is for the other country to decide. That is why the question of dual citizenship belongs to every choice of country:

A naturalisation completed before 27 June 2024 falls under the old law; the new law does not apply retroactively. What that means in an individual case and how things stand on conscription, travel and consular protection is shown in the overview of dual citizenship in Germany. How to handle two passports at the border is covered in travelling with several passports.

A second passport is the lawful way to protect yourself in case your first passport is lost, stolen or held abroad, and it gives you a second state that is responsible for you.

Language, test, oath of allegiance and presence: the hurdles of naturalisation

The residence period is only the first hurdle. Almost every country checks whether you have truly settled in. The forms differ; the logic is the same everywhere.

Language and knowledge

The US requires English in reading, writing and speaking, and knowledge of history and government. Canada tests English or French and knowledge of rights, responsibilities and institutions, but only for applicants aged between 18 and 54. Switzerland assesses integration at federal, cantonal and municipal level. What awaits you in each country, from the language level to the list of questions, is covered in the article on language, test and oath.

Physical presence

More hangs on presence than many people think. The US counts 30 months of presence in five years, Canada 1,095 days, Argentina two years without a trip abroad. Ireland only counts time with a valid residence permission. If you work internationally or have family in Germany, keep a travel log with stamps, plane tickets and receipts from the very first day. How the authorities count the days and how you prove them is covered in years of residence for naturalisation.

Conduct and means of support

Every country requires good conduct. The US speaks of good moral character, Japan of upright conduct, Spain of good civic conduct and sufficient integration. Japan and Uruguay also require that you can support yourself or have a profession, capital or property. Pending proceedings, tax debts or criminal convictions therefore need to be on the table before you apply.

Oath of allegiance

In many countries the process ends with an oath: the Oath of Allegiance in the US, the oath to the King and the Constitution in Spain. Only with the oath or the certificate are you a citizen, and only then do you apply for the passport.

Shortcuts: marriage, family and birth

The general period is not the same length for everyone. Almost every country shortens it for certain groups, and for many emigrants that is the decisive lever.

Marriage: Spain cuts the period to one year for spouses of Spanish citizens, Ireland to three years for spouses of Irish citizens, and the UK likewise to three years in the country. Where the spouse route is fastest and what the authorities check is shown in the article on naturalisation through marriage.

Family: Uruguay shortens the period by two years if you live in the country with your family: three years instead of five. So if you are emigrating with a partner and children anyway, you reach the goal there much faster than on your own.

Origin: Spain grants the two-year period to nationals by origin of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal, and to Sephardic Jews. The Código Civil speaks of "nacionales de origen": what counts is citizenship from birth; a passport acquired later does not shorten the Spanish period. How to spread passports, residence and assets wisely across several countries is shown by flag theory.

Birth: A child born in the right country needs no years of residence at all. More on this under birth tourism.

The route step by step

Every naturalisation essentially follows the same sequence. Know it, and you will not lose years through mistakes at the start.

1. Choose the country to suit your life

Do not choose the passport with the shortest period, but the country where you will enjoy spending that period. Ask yourself: do I want to work there, raise children, pay taxes? Does the country allow dual citizenship? How strong is the passport for travel? For the tax side, look at the taxes page; for freedom of travel, the passport ranking.

2. Secure the right residence permit

Not every stay counts. Switzerland ultimately requires the C settlement permit, the US the green card, Canada permanent resident status, Paraguay permanent residence. So clarify at the outset which permit starts the clock and which does not.

3. Count the days, from day one

Keep a log: entries, exits, proof. Keep your residence permit valid without interruption, because gaps set you back in some countries. When the deadline approaches, do the maths again before you apply.

4. Build up language and integration

Start on the language as soon as you arrive, not in the final year. The test is usually easier than many people fear if you really live in the country.

5. Application, oath, passport

Submit the application with complete documents, prepare for an interview or a test, take the oath and then apply for the passport. The general sequence of a second passport procedure is set out on the process page.

Naturalisation and CBI: why you should pursue both

Naturalisation is the cheaper route and, in the end, the better one. But it has a price you will not see on any invoice: time. Ten years in Switzerland, five years with a green card in the US, and before that the years it takes just to get the right residence permit. Throughout that time, your freedom of movement still hangs on a single passport.

This is exactly the gap a citizenship by investment programme closes. It delivers the passport in months, without years of residence, and you do not have to rebuild your life. Naturalisation carries on in parallel. If you pursue both, you have a Plan B within a few months and, after a few years, the passport of the country you chose to live in. Why this is not double work but the smartest sequence is explained in CBI and naturalisation.

For a fast passport, Sierra Leone leads the field, followed by the Caribbean with Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis or Grenada, as well as Vanuatu and Türkiye. All open programmes are listed in the programme overview, and the amounts are compared under costs. Why a second passport is part of sound protection today is shown by the eight reasons for a second passport.

Whether the route to a US passport can be shortened and what the Gold Card and EB-5 can do is covered in Buying a US passport?.

All naturalisation countries at a glance

From Switzerland to New Zealand, grouped by region:

If you are just starting out, read the second passport roadmap first and then the article on dual citizenship in Germany. If you already know where you want to go, jump straight to the country chapter and work out the period from your own arrival date.

Frequently asked questions