In France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, you can apply for a passport after 5 years of residence. France is attractive because there is no requirement to renounce your first citizenship, but it requires French language at B2 level and submission of documents through a consulate. Alternatives are more expensive and complex, but offer different opportunities.

France and Spain offer comparable immigration programs with one key difference: in France you can apply for citizenship after 5 years of residence, while Spain requires 10 years. This is the main factor that attracts those planning to obtain a second passport to France.

Another important advantage is that France allows dual citizenship. You will not need to renounce your home passport when obtaining a French one, which is critical for many applicants. In Spain, you have to choose one.

Universal programs can help you obtain primary residence in France if you have a financial base. However, the cost of processing in France is twice as high as in Spain.

The main disadvantage: language and consular procedure

For initial residence, French language skills are not required. But when renewing the card, you need a minimum of A2 level, and for citizenship, a B2 certificate is required. This is a significantly higher level than many expect and requires lengthy, serious study.

The second serious drawback is the document submission procedure. In France, you cannot arrive as a tourist and submit documents within the country. You must physically apply at the French consulate in your country of residence and submit your application in paper form.

Obtaining a D visa takes about a year, and the transition to a 4-year residence permit takes another 9 months. Due to the length of the procedure, many choose Spain, where residence is issued in 2 months and does not require an intermediate D visa.

Spain: residence without French, permanent residence in 5 years

In Spain, residence is issued for 3 years and can be obtained in as little as 2 months. After 5 years of residence, you can obtain permanent residence, which is valid indefinitely.

Permanent residency in Spain requires only one condition: you must enter the Schengen area at least once every 5 years. Many permanent residence holders live for years and decades without obtaining a passport—for example, if they do not want to renounce their first citizenship or simply do not see the point.

Netherlands: five-year route to citizenship, but more expensive

The Netherlands offer a path to citizenship identical to France in terms of timelines—you can apply for residence documents after 5 years of residence. However, moving to the Netherlands will cost approximately twice as much as France: the costs of obtaining and maintaining residence are significantly higher.

Очередь перед входом в консульство, люди держат папки с документами

Britain: English language, but outside the EU

Britain is another option to obtain citizenship after 5 years of residence. The main advantage is obvious: the official language is English, so you don’t need to learn French, Spanish or other European languages.

However, there is a significant limitation: the United Kingdom has left the European Union and is not part of the Schengen area. Until you obtain British citizenship, you will not have visa-free entry to continental Europe. This can be a problem if you plan to travel frequently throughout the EU while waiting for citizenship.

On fraudulent naturalisation schemes

In practice, there are offers to obtain passports from Romania, Slovenia or Moldova through origin-based repatriation programs in 1–2 years. In most cases, this is participation in a fraudulent scheme. The contractor company falsifies origin certificates to make you appear as a descendant of citizens of that country.

Such schemes are always exposed, and the consequences are serious: participants are prosecuted for document forgery, and the passport is annulled. The history of the European Union has examples of when mass checks revealed hundreds of false naturalisations. If you do not have real written evidence that your relatives actually lived in the country being offered to you, this is fraud.