5 Easiest Countries in Europe to Get Citizenship

3. Sweden

Average Score: 5

Sweden issues a residence permit to anyone desiring to live there longer than three months for the purpose of working, studying, or seeking family reunion. With no language restrictions and only a 5-year residency requirement, Sweden has some of the most lenient citizenship laws in all of Europe. The residency time is further reduced to three years if the applicant has been married to or living with a Swedish spouse for at least two years. However, only the time spent in Sweden is taken into account for residency and foreign visits comprising of more than six weeks within a year can delay the process. It is also important to note that while the time required for eligibility is fairly short, the application for citizenship can take anywhere from a few weeks to years.

From an economic perspective, Sweden is one of the most developed countries in Europe. It draws visitors from all over the world who come to work or start businesses in the country. The Swedish investor visa has become more appealing, as the country’s economy is recovering after the Covid-19 pandemic. It requires 100,000 Euros and the applicant must relocate their business to Sweden or establish one there. The industries that have historically drawn the most foreign investment in Sweden are telecommunications, information technology, healthcare, energy, and public transportation. Stockholm is the second-most active tech center worldwide, after Silicon Valley. The most well-known music streaming app Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE:SPOT), with a revenue of $12.356 billion, is a Swedish company.