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GERMAN CITIZENSHIP

German Bundesrat set to approve dual citizenship law Friday

After the German Bundestag passed a draft law allowing dual citizenship on January 19th, the Bundesrat (upper chamber) - which represents the federal states - looks likely to pass the law Friday.

The exterior of the German Bundesrat.
The exterior of the German Bundesrat. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Wolfgang Kumm

Even though the draft law – which would also reduce the amount of time someone needs to have been resident in Germany in order to naturalise from eight years to five – has cleared the Bundestag, the Bundesrat must still nominally agree to it.

The upper chamber is scheduled to deliberate it during its current session, starting Friday at 9:30 am, and is expected to pass it.

Although Bavaria, currently led by a conservative coalition between the Christian Social Union (CSU) and Free Voters (FW), has announced they will vote against citizenship reform in the Bundesrat – parliamentarians working on the law within the governing coalition say German conservatives have neither the power nor votes to block it.

READ ALSO: Can conservatives in Germany’s Bundesrat still block dual citizenship?

This is because, for one, citizenship is largely a federal competence that doesn’t affect either the German constitution, state finances, or state administration – meaning the Bundesrat has a largely consultative role on citizenship reform.

Secondly, the parties of the current traffic light governing coalition – the Social Democrats, Greens, and liberal Free Democrats – have enough votes to in the Bundesrat to get around conservatives in the upper chamber.

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Why is the Bundesrat vote important here?

However, the law must still formally pass the Bundesrat. And the date that it does so is currently the biggest factor deciding when exactly the new law comes into effect.

This is because the law reads that new nationality rules, including allowing dual citizenship, can only come into effect three months after it is officially certified – in order to give the German civil service time to implement the new rules.

This official certification comes from the German President. While certification is essentially a ceremonial requirement, it can’t be given until the Bundesrat passes the law.

Once it does, the President is likely to certify it after a constitutional review period, allowing the three-month implementation period to start. The office of the Federal President tells The Local it’s difficult to say just how long that review period could last this time – but that it usually takes around two weeks.

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So when is the new law going to come into effect?

With the Bundesrat scheduled to debate the citizenship reform law on February 2nd and certification likely to happen soon after, the new rules on citizenship – including allowing dual citizenship – are likely to take effect in mid to late May.

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GERMAN CITIZENSHIP

German conservatives vow to overturn dual citizenship if re-elected

Foreigners in Germany are waiting on tenterhooks for the introduction of the new dual nationality law on Thursday - but the centre-right CDU and CSU say they would overturn the reform if re-elected next year.

German conservatives vow to overturn dual citizenship if re-elected

“The CDU and CSU will reverse this unsuccessful reform,” Alexander Throm (CDU), spokesperson on domestic policy for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, told DPA on Tuesday.

“Dual citizenship must remain the exception and be limited to countries that share our values.”

Throm also criticised the new citizenship law for reducing the amount of time foreigners need to live in the country before naturalising as Germans, describing the new residence requirements as “far too short”.

“After five or even three years, it is not yet possible to determine with certainty whether integration has been successful in the long term,” he stated.

“The recent caliphate demonstrations and the rampant Islamist extremism, often by people with German passports, must be a wake-up call for us all.”

READ ALSO: Which foreign residents are likely to become German after citizenship law change?

Despite vociferous opposition, the alliance between the Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party (CSU) was powerless to stop the traffic-light coalition’s citizenship reform passing in both the Bundestag and Bundesrat earlier this year. 

The reform, which permits the holding of multiple passports, lowers residence requirements and removes language hurdles for certain groups, is set to come into force on June 27th. 

But with the CDU and CSU emerging as clear winners in the recent EU parliamentary elections and regularly landing on 30 percent or above in the polls, it’s possible that the party could be on course to re-enter government next year. 

In this situation, the centre-right parties have pledged to try and undo what senior CDU politicians have described as a “dangerous” reform.

“It is not unusual for successive governments to reverse decisions made by the previous government,” Andrea Lindholz, the head of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group said in a recent response to a question

“We will maintain our position on this and will continue to strive for a corresponding change.”

READ ALSO: What are citizenship offices around Germany doing to prepare for the new law?

Whether the CDU and CSU can secure enough votes at both state and federal elections to change the law in the future remains to be seen.

The parties may also have to compromise on their plans with any future coalition partner, such as the Greens, Social Democrats (SPD) or Free Democrats (FDP), all of whom support liberal immigration laws and the holding of multiple nationalities. 

‘Citizenship devaluation law’

The CDU and CSU parties, which form a centre-right alliance nicknamed the Union, have long been opposed to dual nationality in Germany.

During their years of governing in a so-called grand coalition with the centre-right Social Democrats (SPD), the parties had regularly made reforms of citizenship one of their red lines, citing the danger of hostile nations influencing Germany from within. 

In a recent parliamentary speech back in January, Throm had slammed the bill as a “citizenship devaluation law” and accused the government of trying to generate a new electorate to win votes.

CDU politician Alexander Throm speaks in a debate in the German Bundestag

CDU politician Alexander Throm speaks in a debate in the German Bundestag. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christoph Soeder

In comments aimed primarily at Germany’s large Turkish diaspora, the CDU politician claimed that people who had lived in Germany for decades but not taken German citizenship had already chosen their old country over Germany.

The majority of Turks in Germany are also supporters of the authoritarian president Recep Erdogan, he argued.

Responding to the claims, FDP migration expert Ann-Veruschka Jurisch said the opposition was fuelling resentments against migrants by claiming the government was “squandering German citizenship”.

In fact, she argued, the reform has tightened up requirements by ensuring that people who claim benefits and cannot support themselves are unable to become German citizens.

READ ALSO: What you need to know about Germany’s citizenship law reform

In addition, the B1 language requirements have only been softened in a few exceptional cases, for example to honour the lifetime achievements of the guest worker generation who had few opportunities when they arrived, Jurisch said. 

If foreigners have committed crimes, the authorities will be able to investigate whether these involved racist or anti-Semitic motives before citizenship is granted, she added. 

With reporting by DPA

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