The door to citizenship in the EU is narrowing: Portugal increased the residency requirement to 10 years, Malta's 'golden passport' has ended

Paths to citizenship in the European Union have become more difficult over the past year. While the standard residency requirement in many countries still ranges between 5 and 10 years, some governments have extended these periods; meanwhile, models that grant direct citizenship in exchange for investment have largely been phased out.

The most significant change was made in Portugal. With the regulation that entered into force on May 19, 2026, the residency period required for citizenship applications for non-EU citizens was increased from 5 to 10 years. For EU citizens and citizens of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), this period was set at 7 years. The new rules do not affect the acquired rights of individuals who had previously applied under the old legislation.

In Malta, the change in citizenship policy focused more on the citizenship-by-investment program than on residency duration. On April 29, 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union found Malta's program, which provided for direct citizenship in exchange for investment, to be contrary to EU law. Following Cyprus's termination of a similar practice in 2020, there are no longer any direct “citizenship-by-investment” programs open to new applications within the EU.

ACCELERATED PATH REMOVED IN GERMANY

Germany has also stepped back from the facilitated path to citizenship it had recently introduced. The regulation that came into effect in 2024, which allowed individuals demonstrating “exceptional integration” to apply for citizenship in 3 years, was repealed on October 30, 2025. While the 3-year application right remains for those married to a German citizen, the standard period is once again applied as 5 years for other applicants.

In contrast, countries such as France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Bulgaria, and Belgium have not recently changed their standard 5-year residency requirement. In Greece, the general period is also maintained at 7 years. However, in Greece, for golden visa holders to transition to citizenship, they must actually reside in the country, learn the language, and pass an exam measuring their knowledge of history, geography, and politics.

According to experts, the direction of citizenship policies in the EU is shifting away from fast and investment-based models toward long-term residency, language proficiency, and integration criteria. In this landscape, citizenship applications based on ancestry remain the primary exception for short paths.