Obtaining citizenship in some countries remains one of the most challenging processes for foreigners, with strict residency rules, language requirements, cultural expectations and limited pathways for naturalisation making approval difficult.
While citizenship laws differ from country to country, several nations are frequently ranked among the most restrictive due to the difficulty ordinary applicants face in meeting eligibility conditions or receiving approval.
At the top of a list compiled by MSN, a web portal and online services platform that provides news, entertainment, lifestyle content, weather, sports updates, finance information and other digital services on Friday, these are countries where citizenship is considered extremely rare or almost impossible for most foreigners.
North Korea has one of the world’s most restricted citizenship systems, with very limited opportunities for foreigners to become citizens.
In the Gulf region, Qatar is often cited as one of the most difficult countries for naturalisation, with strict requirements and a limited number of citizenship approvals.
