10 Nations With Toughest Citizenship Rules: Qatar, Vatican, China, N. Korea Lead

• Qatari citizenship requires 25 years residency, renouncing original citizenship, converting to Islam, and Arabic language knowledge.
• Vatican City citizenship is exclusive to priests, diplomats, or church workers, with no naturalization process for foreigners.
• Liechtenstein (30 years) and Bhutan (20 years) demand extensive residency and stringent approval, with Bhutan's final decision resting with the monarch.
• China and North Korea offer extremely limited or unclear paths to citizenship, often requiring special government approval or being nearly impossible to obtain.
• Other nations like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Switzerland, and Japan also impose strict conditions including long residency, language skills, and renouncing prior citizenship.

Why It Matters: Understand the strict global requirements for obtaining citizenship.