07/03/2019 09:36
In 2017, around 825 000 persons acquired citizenship of an EU Member State down from 995 000 in 2016 and 841 000 in 2015, according to data released today by Eurostat, the statistical service of the EU. Of the total number of persons obtaining the citizenship of one of the EU Member States in 2017, 17% were former citizens of another EU Member State, while the majority were non-EU citizens or stateless.
In Cyprus 5 517 individuals obtained the republic`s citizenship, a 18% increase since 2016. The 23.8% of them were Russians the 9.1% citizens of the UK and 8.7% Ukranians.
In Greece 34 305 individuals obtained the citizenship of the country, a 3% increase since 2016 (Albanians 86.8%, Ukrainians 1.3% an Moldovans 1.1%).
The largest group acquiring citizenship of an EU Member State where they lived in 2017 was citizens of Morocco (67 900 persons, of whom 83% acquired citizenship of Italy, Spain or France), ahead of citizens of Albania (58 900, 97% acquired citizenship of Greece or Italy), India (31 600, over 53% acquired British citizenship), Turkey (29 900, over 50% acquired German citizenship), Romania (25 000, 32% acquired Italian citizenship), Pakistan (23 100, 45% acquired citizenship of the United Kingdom), Poland (22 000, 63% acquired citizenship of the United Kingdom or Germany), and Brazil (21 600, 74% acquired citizenship of Italy or Portugal). Moroccans, Albanians, Indians, Turks, Romanians, Pakistanis, Poles and Brazilians represented together about a third (34%) of the total number of persons who acquired citizenship of an EU Member State in 2017. Romanians (25 000 persons), Poles (22 000) and Britons (15 000) were the three largest groups of EU citizens acquiring citizenship of another EU Member State.
Half of the Member States granted citizenship to more people in 2017 than they did in 2016. The largest relative increases were recorded in Romania (from 4 527 persons in 2016 to 6 804 persons in 2017, or +50%), Luxembourg (from 3 315 to 4 980, also +50%), Slovakia (from 484 to 645, or +33%), Malta (from 1 495 to 1 973, or +32%) and Finland (from 9 375 to 12 219, or +30%). The number of citizenships granted fell in the other half of the Member States in 2017, with the largest decrease registered in Croatia (from 3 973 to 688, or -83%), followed by Spain (from 150 944 to 66 498, or -56%), Denmark (from 15 028 to 7 272, or -52%), and Estonia (from 1 780 to 880, or -51%). Focusing on former citizenships for which at least 100 people acquired the citizenship of an EU Member State in 2017, the largest relative increase compared with 2016 was for citizens of the United Kingdom (from 6 555 people in 2016 to 14 911 in 2017, or +127%), Luxembourg (from 57 to 109, or +91%), Malta (from 80 to 148, or +85%), Saudi Arabia (from 277 to 507, or +83%) and France (from 3 501 to 5 778, or +65%).
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