I’m going to speak for France because it’s the one I know. 5 years is the time you can start sending your application, and then it takes some time for them to review it, invite you for an interview, and decide whether naturalization can be granted.
So it’s not just those 5 years (during which you pay taxes, you usually need at least three years of tax receipts to be considered for citizenship), but also the time during which you wait for a decision.
I’d say you need at least 6 years. You also should use that time to learn French to at least B1 level.
Not fact checking all of these, but at the very least Spain is 5 years after achieving permanent residency, which takes five years. So it’s 10 years total living in Spain on a non-temporary visa (years spent on temp visas, like a student visa, only count for half a year when it comes to achieving permanent residency).
Many options at 5 years without investment. Malta is fastest at 1 year with investment.
Austria 6 years
Belgium 5 years
Bulgaria 5 years
Croatia 5 years
Cyprus 6 years
Czech Republic 10 years
Denmark 6 years
Estonia 5 years
Finland 5 years
France 5 years
Germany 8 years
Greece 12 years
Hungary 5 years
Ireland 5 years
Italy 10 years
Latvia 5 years
Lithuania 5 years
Luxembourg 5 years
Malta 1 year (investment)
Netherlands 5 years
Poland 6 years
Portugal 5 years
Romania 5 years
Slovakia 5 years
Slovenia 10 years
Spain 5 years
Sweden 5 years
Any that don’t require physical presence?
They often do. Netherlands allows you to leave for 6month per year.
Do you know which don’t have a language requirement (beyond A1, which I assume is doable, B1 is for Poland and tough)
These are mostly for years of permanent residency AFAIA, not simple residency
I’m going to speak for France because it’s the one I know. 5 years is the time you can start sending your application, and then it takes some time for them to review it, invite you for an interview, and decide whether naturalization can be granted.
So it’s not just those 5 years (during which you pay taxes, you usually need at least three years of tax receipts to be considered for citizenship), but also the time during which you wait for a decision.
I’d say you need at least 6 years. You also should use that time to learn French to at least B1 level.
Not fact checking all of these, but at the very least Spain is 5 years after achieving permanent residency, which takes five years. So it’s 10 years total living in Spain on a non-temporary visa (years spent on temp visas, like a student visa, only count for half a year when it comes to achieving permanent residency).