Citizenship right: A decision on naturalization application sometimes takes years

The possibility of naturalization after three years, created by the traffic light coalition for particularly well-integrated foreigners, has so far only helped a German passport faster. This is shown by the results of a survey by the German Press Agency in countries and municipalities.

Accordingly, the new regulation, which will soon be abolished, was only used to a greater extent in Berlin. Among the 29,853 people who were naturalized in the capital between July 2024 and at the end of April, according to the Interior Senate, 500 people with good knowledge of German and special school, professional or voluntary services received German citizenship after three years of regular stay in Germany.

Shorter deadlines have been in place for almost a year

The new regulation was part of a reform of nationality law that came into force on June 27, 2024. Since then, who becomes a German, it is possible to keep the previous nationality. In addition, five years of stay in Germany are sufficient as a prerequisite. The new federal government adheres to these changes.

The Union and the SPD want to delete only the possibility of shortening the deadline for good school or professional performance to three years. The first consultation in the Bundestag is planned for June 26. The CDU and CSU had rejected the shortened waiting period introduced by the SPD, the Greens and FDP at the time. Her main argument: Sustainable integration into German living conditions takes more time.

Just a quick naturalization in Brandenburg

According to the authorities, five people have been naturalized on this basis in Hamburg since the introduction of the three-year regulation. According to the state government, there was a total of 2,530 naturalizations in Baden-Württemberg last year with a length of stay of under eight years. Naturalization was only carried out in the southwest in 16 cases after three or four years. There is talk of “few cases” in North Rhine-Westphalia. There was a single “turbo naturalization” in Brandenburg. According to the Interior Ministry, there were 78 people among the 54,732 foreigners who became Germans in Bavaria between June 27, 2024 and the end of April, where special regulation was used. So far, only four immigrants in Hesse have undergone naturalization after three years.

No “turbo naturalization” in Thuringia 2024

According to the State Statistical Office in Erfurt in Thuringia, 2024, the duration of stay, which is shortened according to the new Citizenship Act, did not yet come into play. In Saxony, the new regulation “only in individual cases” was used, it said from the Interior Ministry in Dresden.

According to the city administration, only a few people have submitted an application for naturalization in Magdeburg, which have been in Germany for less than five years.

High linguistic requirement

One of the prerequisites that are to be met for this is the language level C1. Anyone who achieves this can understand complex texts and have linguistically demanding discussions. The B1 level is sufficient for naturalization after at least five years. It enables discussions about familiar topics such as work, school or leisure and independent language use in everyday life. Exceptions were introduced in 2024 for former “guest workers” and contract workers from the GDR, for which there were hardly any integration offers at the time.

Record number of naturalizations

In 2024, around 292,000 people were naturalized in Germany – a record since statistics began in 2000. This corresponds to an increase of 46 percent compared to the previous year. 28 percent of the naturalized people came from Syria last year, followed by people from Turkey.

Waiting times partly of several years

The increased number of naturalization applications has led to long waiting times in many places. So if you are striving for German citizenship, an average of 18 months in Baden-Württemberg. In Hamburg, the proceedings are 13 months. Around 24,200 people were waiting in Rhineland-Palatinate in March for a decision on their application for naturalization. According to the Ministry of the Interior, in 2024, at the processing time for naturalizations in Hesse, an average of two years was assumed.

According to a survey by the Integration Media Service, the number of applications still open in Munich and Heidelberg increased by around 85 percent compared to the previous year. In Mannheim there was even 2.5 times as high as a year earlier. There were around 33,000 open applications in Munich.

Identity explanation can be complex

A spokesman for the city of Magdeburg told the dpa: “A naturalization procedure is particularly dependent on the documents to be procured on the identity explanation and can take between three months and five years.” It should be taken into account that not all applications would be positively approved, “but the number of applications can be rejected”.