Home > Citizenship > Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Citizenship

In April 2002 amendments to the 1992 FYROM citizenship law have been passed on to the Parliament for its approval possibly next September. These amendments are proposed in order to bring the FYROM legislation in conformity to the European standards, in particular the 1997 European Convention on Nationality. Should these changes be endorsed by the Parliament, the FYROM citizenship would be granted with minimum 10-year stay on the territory of Republic of Macedonia., instead of 15 years as was the case until now. Person eligible for Macedonian citizenship should not have served a prison sentence, they should not have been banned from the country ; they should have secured a place to stay and stable source of living and would be required to sign a loyalty oath to the state. A new article foresees eligibility for citizenship to anyone married to a Macedonian citizen for at least 8 years. During that time the persons may live abroad. Citizenship would be obtained if they have "strong and effective commitment" with Macedonia. Until now, Macedonian citizenship was granted to people married to Macedonian citizens for three years at the least, but who also lived in Macedonia continuously over a period of one. With the new law citizenship would be granted not only to children found on the territory of the FYROM, but also to children from unknown parents found elsewhere.