The new citizenship law applies from today
Today, Thursday, this central reform project of the current federal government comes into effect: the new Staatsburgerrecht (Citizenship Law). The project was highly controversial up until two weeks ago. This will likely continue to be the case.
Two weeks ago, Union fraction leader Friedrich Merz appealed to the traffic light coalition in the Bundestag to at least postpone the date on which the new Staatsburgerrecht goes into effect. "Then we could discuss again with you how we can come to a reasonable citizenship law that does not open the door further for people who do not really belong in our country," Merz stated.
For the Union, the law is a massive error. "With this, multiple citizenship will become the norm, the general dual passport," Merz criticized. Furthermore, "there is naturalization even with social welfare benefits."
From the perspective of the traffic light, the reform has the opposite effect. "So far, people have been able to become German citizens who do not live off their own labor," FDP fraction leader Christian Dürr stated in an interview with ntv.de some time ago. "That makes many people crazy, and I can understand that. We are linking the citizenship law for the first time in the history of our country directly to the question of livelihood. That is central for me."
"You can become German if you learn the language, integrate, and have a job," Dürr said. "Exactly what we want from immigrants." Moreover, "people who exhibit antisemitic tendencies no longer have a chance to become German citizens."
Until now, a declaration of commitment to the free democratic basic order was required for naturalization. In response to the antisemitic protests in Germany following the Hamas attack on Israel, a declaration "of Germany's special historical responsibility for National Socialist injustice and its consequences, particularly for the protection of Jewish life," is now demanded. The questionnaire for naturalization tests has been accordingly expanded.
False declarations can lead to revocation of naturalization. This was already possible before: According to Paragraph 35 of the Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz, naturalization can be revoked within ten years in case of fraudulent misrepresentation. The new law explicitly states that a false declaration of commitment to the free democratic basic order can also lead to revocation.
The Union's rejected simplification of naturalization is explicitly desired by the traffic light. In the EU comparison, there were relatively few naturalizations in Germany until now - with the exception of the 1990s, when the number rose to over 300,000 due to the naturalization of late repatriates.
For comparison: In the EU in the year 2022, the latest year with available data, there were a total of 989,000 new citizenship acquisitions. The most new citizenships were granted by Italy (213,700) and Spain (181,800), despite both countries having significantly fewer inhabitants than Germany. The Federal Republic ranks third in this statistic within the EU.
In the previous year, 200,100 people were naturalized in Germany, most of whom lived in major cities. Notably, in terms of the so-called potential for naturalized citizens, i.e., the ratio between the number of people who were actually naturalized and the number who could have been, rural regions took the lead. For instance, in 2022, Rendsburg-Eckernförde in Schleswig-Holstein and the Thuringian Eichsfeld achieved quotas of more than 15 percent. Major cities like Cologne, Munich, and Berlin came in at less than three percent.
The naturalization authorities expect that after the enactment of the law, significantly more people will want to become German citizens. One reason for this is the shortened waiting times. Those who have already been living legally in Germany for five years can apply for a German pass in the future. Previously, this required eight years. Married couples of Germans, on the other hand, could already apply for naturalization after three years of living in Germany and two years of marriage.
Naturalization is now generally possible after three years for "special integration efforts." Such special integration efforts could include good language skills, volunteer work, or excellent performance in school or work. Shorter waiting periods also apply for children: All children born in Germany to foreign parents are expected to receive German citizenship in the future if at least one parent has lived in Germany for more than five years legally. Previously, the requirement was eight years.
A special rule for language skills applies to the former guest worker generation. These people, who have been living in Germany for decades, will no longer have to take a written German language test to become naturalized. This recognition is intended to honor the contributions of this older generation, which contributed significantly to the development of the Federal Republic.
Double passports particularly controversial
The issue of double passports is particularly contentious between the opposition and the traffic light coalition. Previously, double citizenship was possible, but only as an exception. Nevertheless, there are 2.9 million dual citizens in Germany, the majority of whom are German-Polish, German-Turkish, and German-Russian.
This millions-strong "exception" is expected to be generally allowed in the future. Whether this is sensible or not is a matter of political debate. Integration Minister Reem Alabali-Radovan of the SPD, for example, said that two passports would be "the most normal thing in the world" by 2024. On the other hand, Goettingen lawyer Ferdinand Weber, in a hearing of the Interior Committee, expressed understanding for the fact that multiple citizenships could be accepted provisionally. However, he criticized the fact that several citizenships could be inherited, even if a person's center of life was clearly in Germany.
Legal scholar Matthias Friehe pointed to security policy issues: German citizens who accept a Russian passport in the future will no longer lose their German nationality, "which would enable the Putin regime, for example, to re-naturalize former Russians." If the federal government takes its own national security strategy seriously, which sees Germany in systematic competition with authoritarian regimes, it means: Multiple citizenships with authoritarian regimes are, as the Federal Constitutional Court once put it, an evil. The legislator should not promote this further, but rather look for ways to reduce existing multiple citizenships.
Government agencies are preparing for many applications
The double citizenship is the reason why the chairman of the Turkish Community in Germany, Gökay Sofuoglu, is expecting a strong increase in naturalization applications. "People have now realized that there will be a double citizenship," he told the newspapers of the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland. He is "calculating with 50,000 applications per year." However, processing will take time. In many cities, it is already difficult to get an appointment at the foreigners' offices. According to a survey by the German Press Agency among state governments and city administrations, there are already many inquiries at the naturalization offices.
The law is an important signal to people with a migration background, "that we see them, recognize them, and let them participate democratically," said Bundestag MP Filiz Polat of the Greens. FDP interior politician Ann-Veruschka Jurisch emphasized that with the reform, deadlines would be shortened but not requirements. Since the hurdles for naturalization are already high after three years, she assumes that more than 90 percent of people will only be naturalized after at least five years.
The Union is not impressed by these arguments and considers the reform to be wrong and would change the law if they win the next legislative period. CDU leader Merz stated in the Bundestag on Wednesday: "The planned new citizenship law to come into force as planned is 'plain ignorance' and 'a denial of reality,' as seldom seen in Germany."
- Friedrich Merz, leader of the Union fraction, continues to criticize the new Staatsburgerrecht (Citizenship Law), arguing that it will normalize multiple citizenship and general dual passports in politics.
- The traffic light coalition, on the other hand, sees the reform as essential for integration. FDP fraction leader Christian Dürr asserts that the law links the citizenship law for the first time in German history directly to the question of livelihood.
- The issue of double passports, which was previously an exception, is expected to be generally allowed in the future. This is a contentious point between the opposition and the traffic light coalition, with some, like legal scholar Matthias Friehe, raising security policy concerns.
