CSU: Amendment to the Basic Law to revoke dual passports
According to Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU), foreign criminals should be stripped of their German citizenship in future. "Criminals with dual citizenship must be able to be stripped of their German citizenship if they have committed serious criminal offenses and thus seriously harmed the essential interests of our community," the CSU politician told the German Press Agency in Munich. This would require an amendment to the Basic Law. Herrmann cited serious acts of anti-Semitic violence or serious crimes such as murder or rape as examples.
Those who commit such crimes should no longer be able to invoke the privileges of German citizenship, Herrmann said. Instead, those whose "continued stay seriously impairs the interests of our community" should be able to be returned to their country of origin.
The reform of the citizenship law planned by the "Ampel" federal government would intensify the need for action, as naturalization in Germany would be made considerably easier and dual citizenship would become the rule, said Herrmann. The SPD, Greens and SPD are planning to pass this in the first half of 2024. "Apart from the fact that I currently see no reason to change anything in the current citizenship law: However, the federal government must now also address with the same verve how German citizenship can be revoked in the case of dual citizenship."
Without the amendment to the Basic Law, there is a risk of a "clear imbalance", said Herrmann. "Dual nationals must not be given a clean bill of health that guarantees them German citizenship for life once they have acquired it, regardless of how much they damage our community by committing serious crimes."
The proposed reform by the "Ampel" federal government could lead to an increase in dual citizenship in Germany, potentially necessitating stricter measures for revoking citizenship in such cases. For instance, if the amendment to the Basic Law isn't passed, there's a risk of a situation where individuals who seriously harm the community with criminal acts like murder or rape retain their German citizenship despite being of dual nationality.
Despite the planned easing of naturalization by the "Ampel" government, Herrmann emphasizes the importance of addressing the issue of revoking German citizenship in cases of dual nationality and serious crime, suggesting a potential need for migration policies to address this concern.
Source: www.dpa.com
