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Vatican tightens citizenship rules
Mar 1, 2011, 15:03 GMT
Vatican City - Residents of Vatican City will no longer be automatically granted citizenship of the world's smallest sovereign state, according to a law introduced on Tuesday.
Instead, members of the clergy, state employees and their families will from now on have to apply for citizenship, according to the law approved by Pope Benedict XVI.
Vatican City covers some 44 hectares - including Saint Peter's Basilica. It currently has 572 citizens and 221 foreign national residents.
The State of the Vatican City was established in 1929 as a result of the so-called Lateran Pacts between the Catholic Church and Italy.
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