European citizenship laws 27 Members states.

 Summary of 27 European member states' nationality laws

   

EU member states use a common passport design, burgundy coloured with the name of the member state, Coat of Arms and the title "European Union" (and/or its translation).

Member State		Acquisition by birth	Acquisition by descent	Acquisition by marriage	Acquisition by naturalisation	Multiple nationality permitted
Austria		Persons born in Austria who:		6 years' residence if married for at least 3 years	10 years' residence	No
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	3 years' residence—can petition federal government 7 years' residence—automatic by request at city hall 2 years' residence (political refugees and stateless persons)	Yes
Bulgaria		Persons born in Bulgaria who: are stateless are foundlings	Bulgarian nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions: Conditions [show]	No	Holders of a Bulgarian permanent residence permit for at least 5 years	Yes
Cyprus		Persons born in Cyprus who: are stateless are foundlings		3 years' residence	5 years' residence	Yes
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	No (unless the non-Czech citizenship is obtained by birth or by marriage)
Denmark		Persons born in Denmark who: are foundlings	Danish nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions: The child's mother is a Danish citizen; The child's father is a Danish citizen and the parents are married;	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)	No[28]
Estonia		Persons born in Estonia who: are stateless are foundlings		No (unless married to an Estonian citizen before 26 February 1992)	8 years' residence	No (although Estonian citizens by descent cannot be deprived of their Estonian citizenship)
Finland		Persons born in Finland who: are stateless, or are foundlings	Finnish nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions: Conditions [show]	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 undercertain conditions.	Yes
France		At birth, persons born in France who: are stateless, or have a parent born in France At 13, persons born in France upon the parent's request. At 16, persons born in France upon their own request. At 18, persons born in France who: have resided in France for at least 5 years since 11[citation needed]	French nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions: Through parentage (right of blood):[29] The child (legitimate or natural) is French if at least one parent is French.	5 years' marriage;also, after 4 years outside France	Holders of a French permanent residence permit for at least 5 years' residence No residence (former citizens with conditions)	Yes
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: Member of recognized 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: Conditions [show]
Greece		Persons born in Greece who: have a parent born in Italy are foundlings are stateless	Greek nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions: Member of recognized historical Greek community abroad in countries of ex-USSR Ethnic Greek of different citizenship accepted to military academiew, or inscribes to serve to the army, or enlists as a volunteer in time of war	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 Olymbic 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		Persons born in Hungary who:	Conditions [show]	After 3 years	After 8 years and meeting conditions of good character	Yes
Ireland		Persons born in Ireland who:	Irish nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions: Person with a parent who was an Irish citizen registered in the Irish national Birth Register at the time of the child's birth (in practice, this means citizenship cannot be passed down from grandparents if the parents were not registered before the grandchild's birth)			Yes
Italy		Persons born in Italy who: have a parent born in Italy are foundlings are stateless	Italian nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions: Conditions [show]	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 3 years' residence for descendants of Italian grandparents and for foreigners born in Italy	Yes
Latvia		Persons born in Latvia who:	Latvian nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:		After 5 years of permanent residence	No, unless: people who have applied for citizenship before the Latvian Citizenship law of 1995 are eligible to have dual citizenship. Also, recently Latvian Saeima is working on the new Citizenship Law that will allow dual citizenship.
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 language ability		No
Luxembourg		Persons born in Luxembourg who: are stateless, or are foundlings, or have a parent born in Luxembourg		No	7 consecutive years' residence	Yes
Malta		Persons born in Malta who:	Maltese nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:
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 language ability	After 5 years uninterrupted residence, with continuous registration in the municipal register	Under certain conditions: e.g. foreign citizenship may be kept in the event of naturalization via marriage.
Poland		Persons born in Poland who:	Polish nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions: Conditions [show]	Yes	3 years of residence with permanent residence permit card under the condition of speaking polish language 2 years of residence with permanent residence permit card under the condition of having polish ethnicity	Yes but in Poland, Polish identification must be used and the dual citizen is treated legally as only Polish
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 Lusophonecountry and resident in Portugal for at least 6 years on a valid residence permit	Portuguese nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions: Certain descendants of Portuguese citizens can apply for recognition. This is common in former colonies like Brazil.	3 years of marriage	10 years' residence 6 years' residence (for citizens of a Lusophonecountry)	Yes
Romania		Persons born in Romania who: are foundlings have Romanian parents	Romanian nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions: Conditions [show]	5 years' residence in Romania	8 years' residence 4 years' residence (EU citizens)	Yes[30]
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	6 years' residence (the last year of which without any immigration restrictions)	No
Slovenia		Persons born in Slovenia who:	Slovenian nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions:
Spain		Persons born in Spain who: are stateless, or are foundlings	Children of Spanish citizens	1 year of marriage and residence in Spain	10 years' residence 5 years' residence (refugees) 2 years' residence (for nationals of Iberoamerica,Andorra, Philippines,Equatorial Guinea, Portugal, or if the individual is aSephardi Jew) 1 year's residence (persons born in Spain)	Yes (if a Spanish citizen by descent/origin) No (if a naturalised Spanish citizen, unless fromIberoamerica, Andorra,Philippines, Equatorial Guinea or Portugal)
Sweden[31]		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: Conditions [show]	10 years' marriage, has 'strong ties' to Sweden and not resident in his/her native country	Holders of a Swedish permanent residence permit for at least 5 years	Yes
United Kingdom		Persons born in United Kingdom who:	British nationality is acquired by descent under one of the following conditions: see: "British by descent"	6 years' residence (the last year of which without any immigration restrictions)	6 years' residence (the last year of which without any immigration restrictions)	Yes