European Passports Slip Away: Israelis Face New Obstacles to Naturalization Abroad
The United States, Portugal, Romania, Germany and Italy are just a few of the countries that have toughened up conditions for naturalization. The move comes at a time when many Israelis are trying to obtain another citizenship. "It's like a switch was flipped," says Yoav Stern, the owner of a business that helps people acquire German citizenship, of the increase in applications since the beginning of the Gaza war in October 2023.
Other companies that help people with the process of applying for foreign citizenship also report sharp increases in applicants over the last couple of years, in light of the rise in the number of people emigrating from Israel.
According to a Knesset Research and Information Center report released last week, from 2020 to 2024, more Israelis left the country than returned back home. In 2022 and 2023 there was a leap in the number of Israelis who left for an extended period of time: in 2022, it was 59,400 – up 44 percent from the previous year – while in 2023, it rose to 82,800, another jump of 39 percent. There has been a marked increase in the numbers of departures following the outbreak of the war.
European passports slipping away
In Romania and Portugal, countries where Israelis generally had an easy time acquiring citizenship, the laws have become more stringent, creating an impenetrable block. The main change in Romania is the demand for B1 level (intermediate) Romanian according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: conversation and basic literacy.
"Israelis of Romanian descent speak basic Romanian from home, at best. This creates a situation where most eligible passport seekers can't currently move forward with their application," says Stern. "They need to devote a lot of time and money to studying the language, and for many this is impossible. Reaching the required level takes a lot of time." Perhaps following in Romania's footsteps, Moldova has also started to require language fluency for citizenship applicants.
From 2020 to 2024 more Israelis left the country than returned back home. In 2022 and 2023 there was a leap in the number of Israelis who left for an extended period of time.
Portugal, meanwhile, has doubled the minimum residency period as a condition for naturalization, from five years to 10 (although this is set to seven years for residents from Portuguese-speaking countries).
It has also changed the rules for its Golden Visa program – which grants participants residency and a shorter route to naturalization in return for investing in the country – so it can no longer include real estate investments, after the program's success caused a sharp rise in housing prices in Portugal's big cities.
Attorney Amichai Zilberberg, who specializes in helping people obtain Polish and Portuguese citizenship, says that "In August 2022 the conditions were made stricter, because there were corruption scandals. They weren't made stricter specifically for Israelis, but in practice, this has closed the door for them." He says that nowadays, there are hardly any new applications, other than spouses or children of citizens.
Obtaining Polish citizenship has also become more difficult for Israelis. "In addition to the longer timelines," Zilberberg explains, "the process has also become more expensive. They raised fees by 30-40 percent. This can amount to hundreds of euros."
With millions of Ukrainian refugees in the country and concerns that they may stay and apply for citizenship, Poland is considering more tough steps in the future.
With millions of Ukrainian refugees in the country and concerns that they may stay and apply for citizenship, Poland is considering more tough steps in the future. "There are proposals for a Polish language and culture test," says Zilberberg. "This may also apply to Israelis, but hasn't taken effect yet."
Germany, too, has toughened conditions for naturalization, but the change won't affect most Israelis. "Changes were made in terms of immigration and naturalization for people who've been living as resident aliens in Germany," says Stern. "This doesn't really affect most Israelis, who usually apply for citizenship based on their family history."
Harder U.S. citizenship tests
In another popular destination for Israelis, the United States, one way to be naturalized is through a green card, which allows foreign citizens to live, work and study there for a period of 3 to 5 years, after which they may apply for citizenship. Conditions to do so were greatly toughened due to the Trump administration's anti-immigration policies.
Attorney Dotan Cohen, the CEO of a law firm that specializes in relocation to the U.S., Canada and Israel, says that "during the war, we received more applications to check for hereditary citizenship [eligibility for a parent who's a U.S. citizen to pass it on to their children]. People want to have an alternative plan. There has also been a 20-25 percent increase in the number of green card applications. People want to find out if they have any way to get to the U.S., even without a direct link. They tell me: 'I don't have citizen parents, I don't have an employer, but find me a way to live in the U.S.'"
According to Cohen, "The tests have become harder, but the main change is in the background checks. Criteria have been added to the applications. For example, they require something they call 'good moral character' – that is, not only to demonstrate that you don't have any criminal problem, but they actually require examples of being a good person. They even do an in-depth background check on social media, to see what you've posted and what you've commented on. If, for instance, they find out that you expressed some position discriminating against Black people or women, this could be used against you. There is also a stricter check on applicants' financial means and more. All these are recent changes."
No more Golden Visas
Other countries are also making changes. The Italian parliament this year approved new laws limiting naturalization to descendants of people who lived in Italy a minimum of two generations ago. In recent years, many EU countries have canceled their Golden Visa programs for investors, which was originally launched in southern Europe to revive the region's crisis-stricken economies. The most prominent Golden Visa program was in Spain, shortening the route to citizenship in return for an investment of 1 million euros ($1.16 million), or just 500,000 euros in real estate.
As the right gains popularity, many European governments, inspired by the Trump administration, are pushing a harder line when it comes to immigration and naturalization policies. The change in treatment of immigrants in Europe is also a reaction to the rise in their number: About a decade ago, over a million Syrian, Iraqi and Afghan refugees arrived on the continent; another wave hit after the coronavirus pandemic peaked.