Analysis:

International travel has gained tremendous momentum over the years, a development not surprising given the prevalence of the global village phenomenon. Greater tolerance and acceptance of cultural differences, along with increased migration for economic and business reasons, have fostered more interactions.

In the midst of such a scenario, mixed nationality marriages were bound to be an inevitable outcome. Consequently, countries offering citizenship through marriage were also a guaranteed consequence of these global trends.

This holds particularly true in the current emphasis on the family reunification concept.

As a significant aspect of immigrant integration policy, the union between families have been greatly emphasized. Citizenship through marriage provides the right to live as equal citizens with one’s spouse, enabling them to establish a future together. Countries are continually evaluated based on their policies aimed at facilitating easy migration and the integration of family members.

Respecting “I Do”

The number of citizenship granted through marriage is rising worldwide. In FY 2023, the US approved naturalization for spouses, amounting to 188,200. The country recorded the highest share for naturalization among the immediate relatives of the US citizens, with spouses representing 21.4%. A similar upward trend in mixed nationality marriages was observed in Switzerland, where the Federal Statistics Office reported 12,000 such marriages in 2020, constituting 34.2% of all marriages in the country. In the UK, the total grants for naturalization by marriage reached 25,854 in 2020.

The prevalence of international marriages is also evident in Central, East, and Southeast Asian countries, with numbers continuously on the rise. Approximately 3.5 million men and women have posted online profiles on various platforms in their quest for  overseas spouses. Between 2019 and 2020, Bangladesh media extensively covered the trend of non-Bangladesh women moving to Bangladesh to meet and marry men they had encountered online. In Singapore, about a third of citizen marriages in 2022 comprised transnational couples (marriage between a citizen and a non-citizen), marking an increase from the 29% recorded in 2021.

More Immigrants in the Marriageable Bracket

While international travel and online access undoubtedly contribute to marriages across nations, one of the primary drivers of migration, the search for better work opportunities, must also be considered. It was observed that a significant number of immigrants moving to the US, which hosts the largest immigrant base, totaling 45.3 million in 2021, did so for work. Among the 1.53 million new immigrants in the US in 2021, 41.8% cited work reasons. Consequently, the likelihood of mixed nationality marriages is expected to increase. Moreover, these workers typically acquire citizenship for themselves first and later sponsor their spouses, once again leading to a rise in citizenship applications and grants through marriage.

Numerous multinational companies in the US depend on foreign workers and sponsor their green cards. The country particularly relies on foreign workers for computer-related jobs, with immigrants constituting 25% of the computer workforce in 2019. Among various top tech companies, including Amazon Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN), Infosys Limited (NYSE: INFY), Cognizant Technology Solution Corporation (NASDAQ: CTSH), and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), there is a consistent practice of sponsoring H-1B visas, thereby bringing in immigrants in the marriageable bracket into the country.

Methodology

For our list of the 17 Countries That Grant Citizenship by Marriage in the World, we have relied on data from our articles. Additionally, we have consulted the GLOBALCIT Citizenship Law Dataset– Modes of Acquisition of Citizenship, 2022, to identify countries that require residence for citizenship by marriage. We then determined the number of years of residency needed before citizenship can be obtained. The countries are chosen and ranked based on the required number of residency years, with a higher rank associated with a shorter time period.

Note: Brazil is not included owing to its high crime rate. The cost of life figure reported is an estimated cost for a couple by doubling the amount found for a single person.