Iraq has naturalized 2,557 foreigners since 2006
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraq granted citizenship to 2,557 foreigners between 2006 and 2026, the Interior Ministry announced Tuesday, offering the first comprehensive public accounting of naturalization figures spanning two decades.
Major General Miqdad Miri, head of the ministry's Relations and Media Department, said that all naturalization cases proceeded under applicable legal standards and current administrative instructions, with each grant subject to security and procedural clearances before approval.
Citizenship in Iraq rests on Law No. 26 of 2006, which sets strict conditions designed to preserve what the law describes as "sovereign integrity." The law recognizes several pathways to citizenship. Birth to an Iraqi father or mother qualifies automatically, a significant change introduced by the 2006 law to extend equal rights to children of Iraqi mothers. Foreign nationals married to Iraqi citizens may apply after five years of continuous legal residence, provided the marriage remains intact. Unmarried foreigners who have lived legally in Iraq for at least ten years may also apply, subject to a clean criminal record, no conviction for a dishonorable offense, and proof of a visible means of livelihood.
Meeting these conditions, however, does not guarantee citizenship. The law grants no automatic entitlement: each application goes before senior state authorities and intelligence agencies for a final discretionary security review, and approval can be withheld even where all formal requirements are satisfied.
