For today, there are 1000 citizens of the Vatican and only half of them have a passport of the city-state, while another half is permit-to-stay holders. Italian, Australian, Swiss and other nationalities are common there. It is very difficult to get the citizenship of this small country. Interestingly, every cardinal receives a temporary residence permit. However, there are special cases in which citizenship can be acquired and it is granted for three classes of people:

1. The Cardinals resident in the Vatican City State or in Rome
2. The Holy See’s diplomats
3. The persons who reside in Vatican City State by reason of their office or service

All citizens of Vatican have a dual citizenship, while the remaining 4000 employees are residents of Rome. The Vatican is an independent city-state which was founded in accordance with the Lateran Treaty (Agreement) between the Italian State and the Roman Catholic Church in 1929. Its territory is only 0.44 square kilometers. The city-state is considered one of the most closed and the smallest country in the world.