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GERMAN CITIZENSHIP

EXCLUSIVE: German government to vote on citizenship law ‘on Wednesday’

Germany's eagerly awaited dual nationality law is likely to be passed in cabinet on Wednesday, The Local's sources have revealed.

Published: 18 August 2023 15:19 CEST
Updated: 22 August 2023 11:03 CEST
German cabinet ministers
German cabinet ministers at the first cabinet meeting after summer in Berlin. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Kay Nietfeld

After returning from the summer break on Monday, cabinet ministers are forging ahead with plans to drastically reshape Germany’s citizenship and naturalisation laws.

According to Stephan Thomae, an FDP politician working on the reforms, a cabinet vote on the citizenship bill is scheduled at the next cabinet meeting on Wednesday, August 23rd.

“The current status is that the citizenship law will be presented to the cabinet during the summer break,” a spokesperson for Thomae revealed.

Following a review and amendment process, the latest draft will “be in cabinet tomorrow”, she added.

In response to an earlier request, the spokesperson told The Local that there were “no more points of conflict” in the draft legislation.

That suggests that the government has now ironed out controversial aspects of the bill and will be presenting a new version of it at cabinet tomorrow.

The draft will also be presented by Interior Minister Nancy Faeser at the Federal Press Conference on Wednesday at 12:30pm.

A successful vote in cabinet would then pave the way for a parliamentary vote after the Bundestag returns from recess on September 5th.

READ ALSO: TIMELINE: When will Germany push through the new dual citizenship law?

Sweeping reforms

Since the traffic-light coalition of the Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and Free Democrats (FDP) took office in December 2021, the government has been working on overhauling Germany’s naturalisation laws.

Back in May, a draft version of the new citizenship law was published on the Interior Ministry’s website.

Since then, it has been in a review process in which federal state governments and other stakeholders submit feedback on the legislation and proposals for amendments.

The reforms detailed in the bill include getting rid of a longstanding rule that forbids the holding of multiple nationalities for non-EU citizens. Once the new law comes into force, people from non-EU countries will be able to keep their old passports even after becoming German.

READ ALSO: UPDATED: The key points of Germany’s draft law on dual citizenship

Other changes set out in the draft law include slashing the period of residency required for naturalisation from eight years to five – or from six to three in exceptional circumstances – and easing language requirements for over-67s.

Member comments

  1. Any news on if they could ease the requirements for those who have a female German ancestor who couldn’t pass on citizenship to her children and the children being born prior to 1949? Currently left out of 5 stag and only covered under 14 stag in conjunction with a 2019 decree from the BVA (which requires B1 German language skills)

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GERMAN CITIZENSHIP

Germany to launch campaign informing foreigners about new citizenship law

When Germany's new citizenship law enters into force in June 2024, a website and nationwide information campaign will be launched alongside it to tell people how - and why - to apply for citizenship.

Published: 16 May 2024 10:53 CEST
Germany to launch campaign informing foreigners about new citizenship law

According to a report in German daily Bild, the advertising campaign will kick off on the same date the new rules enter into force – most likely on June 27th – providing foreigners with guidance for their applications.

This was confirmed by the Interior Ministry on Thursday in response to an enquiry by The Local.

Bild refers in its report to a letter written by Reem Alabali-Radovan (SPD), the Federal Commissioner for Integration, to the ministers in the governing traffic-light coalition. 

In it, Alabi-Radovan writes that the campaign will inform would-be applicants “about the requirements and procedures for naturalisation” in order to speed up the work of the local authorities. According to Bild, this information will be available in both German and English. 

As well as pamphlets, there will also be a website where applicants can find relevant information on the new law and explanatory videos, Alabi-Radovan writes.

The government will also take to social networks like X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook to answer questions from foreigners, and will feature stories from successful applicants in their advertising campaigns. 

Currently, there are numerous groups on social media where foreigners can pose questions on the citizenship process and share their experiences.

However, the vast majority of these are run by unofficial sources.

READ ALSO: Where to get free immigration advice in Germany

An influx of applications

With the governing coalition planning to relax many of its rules for naturalisation on June 27th, authorities are expected a tidal wave of applications from foreigners in the country. 

Along cutting ordinary residence requirements from eight years to five, a previous ban on dual nationality for non-EU citizens will be lifted, allowing applicants to keep their existing passports after naturalisation. 

There will also be carve-outs designed to make it easier for members of the Turkish guest-worker generation to naturalise, for example by scrapping the need for formal language tests for this group. 

Back in March, the head of Berlin’s Landesamt für Einwanderung (LEA), Engelhard Mazanke, referred to the government’s upcoming advertising campaign and said he expected that as many as 80,000 people to submit an application this year when the new law comes into force.

However, this is a conservative estimate: according to the LEA, around 330,000 people in Berlin would be eligible to apply after the new law kicks in. 

READ ALSO: Foreigners in Berlin furious over German citizenship delays

Though Berlin is an extreme case, residents in many other parts of the country such as Hamburg and North-Rhine Westphalia already wait more than a year for their citizenship applicants to be processed.

This has sparked concern among foreigners that the new law may exacerbate the long waiting times and hefty backlogs. 

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