The SPD, Greens and FDP had already agreed on the project in the coalition agreement, now it should become reality. People who live in this country should be able to become Germans more easily than before.
Foreigners in Germany should soon be able to obtain German citizenship more easily. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) is now pushing ahead with an agreement on this from the coalition agreement between the SPD, Greens and FDP. “We are a diverse immigration country in Germany and we haven’t just been that since yesterday, we have been that since the 1960s,” said Faeser on Friday on the sidelines of an appointment in East Frisian Emden. “And we want to reflect this reality in one of the most modern citizenship laws we’ve ever had.”
A corresponding draft law is “almost ready” and will be sent to the other ministries shortly, said a spokesman for Faeser on Friday in Berlin. It should now go to the departmental vote. A preliminary version of the draft is available from the German Press Agency in Berlin; the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” had previously reported on it. The “Bild” also wrote about details of the plans, which were largely already agreed between the coalition partners.
incentive to integrate
“Access to German citizenship should be simplified and accelerated for migrants legally living in Germany in the long term in order to enable them to participate on an equal footing,” the draft says. “At the same time, an incentive should be created to integrate quickly.”
Above all, people who have already lived in this country for several years should be able to become German citizens more easily. Instead of eight years, as is currently the case, it should be possible to obtain citizenship after five years of residence in Germany. In the case of “special integration achievements”, this should even be possible after three years – for example if immigrants have shown special academic or professional achievements or voluntary commitment or have particularly good language skills. “I believe that the shorter deadlines are an incentive for integration,” said Faeser.
That’s the relief
Children of foreign parents born in Germany should automatically become Germans if one parent has already had “his lawful habitual residence” in Germany for five years. So far, this has only been the case after eight years. “I think children have had a particularly hard time getting citizenship,” said Faser. Children learn the language faster and are integrated more quickly.
For seniors who are older than 67 years old, Faeser wants to delete the formal language certificates previously required. Instead, the “ability to communicate verbally” should be sufficient in the future. With easier naturalization, the aim is to honor the special lifetime achievements of the generation of guest workers, who have made a significant contribution to the development of the country.
Possibility of multiple citizenships
Having multiple citizenships is set to become much easier with the reform. For integration, language skills, education, professional integration and, for example, “a commitment to the free democratic basic order are far more important than the question of whether someone has one or more nationalities”. The old legal principle no longer corresponds to current practice. For more than 15 years, more than half of the naturalizations “almost consistently” have been “completed with the acceptance of multiple nationalities”.
The plans met with sharp criticism in the Union as well as in the AfD parliamentary group. The domestic political spokesman for the Union faction, Alexander Throm (CDU), complained: “Nancy Faeser treats our citizenship like cheap goods on Black Friday.” Naturalization is the completion of successful integration. “But after three years, with the best will in the world, there can be no question of that.” Anyone who wants to be German should give up other nationalities.
Faeser: Union must “arrive in the reality of life”
Faeser replied in Emden that the Union “must finally arrive in the reality of life”. It’s about depicting the reality of life. Legislation must also understand this. “I’m sure most people in our country think that’s logical.”
There was a lot of encouragement from party colleagues Faesers. Lower Saxony’s Interior Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) told the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” (RND/Friday): “People who have lived here for a certain number of years, do not commit crimes, earn a living and have a regular residence status should, in terms of integration and participation should be naturalized earlier. That makes perfect sense.”
Source: Stern
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