Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič has approved stricter rules for obtaining Slovak citizenship by signing the amendment to the Act on State Citizenship.
As of July 15, foreigners will only qualify for Slovak citizenship after they have lived in the country for eight years, uninterrupted. Currently, the minimum stay is five uninterrupted years.
Interior Minister Róbert Kaliňák explained that the proposed changes are mainly in reaction to the growing threat of organized crime and international terrorism.
The stricter rules will enable officials to investigate more carefully how much Slovak citizenship applicants have followed the Slovak legal system and adjusted to the Slovak cultural environment.
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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