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Timor-Leste — Citizenship Guide

Citizenship by descent is available; naturalisation requires 10 years; dual citizenship is permitted.

Why Timor-Leste?

The Timor-Leste passport offers visa-free, visa-on-arrival, ETA, or e-visa access to 137 destinations, ranking it #95 globally.

Citizenship by descent

Timor-Leste applies jus sanguinis — citizenship can be acquired by descent from a citizen parent, and in some cases from grandparents or more distant ancestors.

Naturalisation

Naturalisation typically requires 10 years of residence, usually alongside language and integration requirements.

Dual citizenship

Timor-Leste generally permits dual citizenship.

Fees & timeline

There is no standard published application fee — costs vary, so check with official sources.

Compiled from the Citizenship Hub law dataset (approximate). Verify with official government sources before relying on this information.

Where the Timor-Leste passport can travel

Visa-free, visa on arrival, ETA, and e-visa access by destination. Hover for details.

Fiji — Visa required Tanzania — Visa on arrival W. Sahara — Unknown Canada — Visa required United States of America — Visa required Kazakhstan — e-Visa Uzbekistan — Visa required Papua New Guinea — e-Visa Indonesia — Visa-free Argentina — Visa required Chile — Visa required Dem. Rep. Congo — e-Visa Somalia — e-Visa Kenya — ETA Sudan — Visa required Chad — e-Visa Haiti — Visa-free Dominican Rep. — Visa required Russia — Visa required Bahamas — e-Visa Falkland Is. — Unknown Greenland — Unknown Fr. S. Antarctic Lands — Unknown Timor-Leste — Home country South Africa — Visa required Lesotho — Visa required Mexico — Visa required Uruguay — Visa required Brazil — Visa required Bolivia — e-Visa Peru — Visa required Colombia — e-Visa Panama — Visa required Costa Rica — Visa required Nicaragua — Visa required Honduras — Visa required El Salvador — e-Visa Guatemala — Visa required Belize — Visa required Venezuela — Visa required Guyana — e-Visa Suriname — ETA Ecuador — Visa-free Puerto Rico — Unknown Jamaica — Visa required Cuba — e-Visa Zimbabwe — e-Visa Botswana — e-Visa Namibia — e-Visa Senegal — Visa required Mali — Visa required Mauritania — e-Visa Benin — e-Visa Niger — Visa required Nigeria — e-Visa Cameroon — e-Visa Togo — e-Visa Ghana — Visa required Côte d'Ivoire — ETA Guinea — e-Visa Guinea-Bissau — Visa on arrival Liberia — e-Visa Sierra Leone — Visa on arrival Burkina Faso — e-Visa Central African Rep. — Visa required Congo — Visa required Gabon — e-Visa Eq. Guinea — e-Visa Zambia — e-Visa Malawi — Visa on arrival Mozambique — Visa on arrival eSwatini — Visa-free Angola — Visa-free Burundi — Visa on arrival Israel — e-Visa Lebanon — Visa required Madagascar — Visa on arrival Palestine — Visa-free Gambia — Visa required Tunisia — Visa required Algeria — Visa required Jordan — Visa on arrival United Arab Emirates — e-Visa Qatar — e-Visa Kuwait — Visa required Iraq — e-Visa Oman — e-Visa Vanuatu — e-Visa Cambodia — Visa on arrival Thailand — Visa-free Laos — Visa on arrival Myanmar — Visa required Vietnam — e-Visa North Korea — Visa required South Korea — e-Visa Mongolia — e-Visa India — e-Visa Bangladesh — Visa on arrival Bhutan — e-Visa Nepal — Visa on arrival Pakistan — e-Visa Afghanistan — Visa required Tajikistan — Visa required Kyrgyzstan — e-Visa Turkmenistan — Visa required Iran — Visa on arrival Syria — e-Visa Armenia — e-Visa Sweden — Visa-free Belarus — Visa required Ukraine — e-Visa Poland — Visa-free Austria — Visa-free Hungary — Visa-free Moldova — Visa-free Romania — Visa-free Lithuania — Visa-free Latvia — Visa-free Estonia — Visa-free Germany — Visa-free Bulgaria — Visa-free Greece — Visa-free Turkey — e-Visa Albania — e-Visa Croatia — Visa-free Switzerland — Visa-free Luxembourg — Visa-free Belgium — Visa-free Netherlands — Visa-free Portugal — Visa-free Spain — Visa-free Ireland — Visa required New Caledonia — Unknown Solomon Is. — Visa required New Zealand — Visa required Australia — e-Visa Sri Lanka — Visa on arrival China — Visa required Taiwan — Unknown Italy — Visa-free Denmark — Visa-free United Kingdom — Visa required Iceland — Visa-free Azerbaijan — Visa required Georgia — e-Visa Philippines — Visa required Malaysia — Visa-free Brunei — Visa required Slovenia — Visa-free Finland — Visa-free Slovakia — Visa-free Czechia — Visa-free Eritrea — Visa required Japan — Visa required Paraguay — Visa required Yemen — Visa required Saudi Arabia — Visa required Antarctica — Unknown Cyprus — Visa-free Morocco — Visa required Egypt — Visa on arrival Libya — e-Visa Ethiopia — e-Visa Djibouti — Visa on arrival Uganda — e-Visa Rwanda — Visa on arrival Bosnia and Herz. — Visa-free North Macedonia — Visa required Serbia — Visa required Montenegro — Visa-free Trinidad and Tobago — Visa required S. Sudan — e-Visa
  • Visa-free
  • Visa on arrival
  • ETA
  • e-Visa
  • Visa required
  • No admission

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