Moroccans Lead in EU Citizenship Acquisitions, Spain Top Destination

According to statistics provided by Eurostat, Moroccans, Syrians and Albanians topped the list of beneficiaries of the citizenship of the EU Member States during this period. Specifically, 68,900 Moroccan nationals became European.

Spain is the first country to grant nationality to Moroccans with 86%, followed by Italy and France.

Most of the new acquisitions were granted by Italy (131,800 or 18%), Spain (126,300 or 17%), Germany (111,200 or 15% of the EU total), France (86,500 or 12%) and Sweden (80,200 or 11%), representing 73% of new nationalities granted in the EU in 2020.

Regarding naturalization, the highest rates were recorded in Sweden, with 8.6 nationalities granted per 100 non-national residents, followed by Portugal with 5.5, the Netherlands (4.8), Finland (2.9), Italy (2.6) and Spain and Belgium both recording 2.4 nationalities granted per 100 inhabitants.