German passport faster: Bundestag votes in favor of reform
Published: Friday, Jan 19th 2024, 15:30
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The path to a German passport will be shorter and multiple citizenships will become the rule. The Bundestag passed a corresponding reform of citizenship law in Berlin on Friday.
Of the 639 votes cast, 382 were in favor and 234 against, with 23 abstentions. The "traffic light" parliamentary groups SPD, Greens and FDP largely voted in favor in the final vote, while the CDU/CSU and AfD voted against. Among the non-attached MPs, most of whom belong to the Left Party or the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, the picture was mixed.
The "traffic light" stands "for a colorful and open society", explained Green MP Canan Bayram. Sharp criticism came from the CDU/CSU and the AfD.
Five instead of eight years
In future, naturalization will be possible after five years instead of the previous eight, and even after three years in the case of "special integration achievements" - this could be particularly good performance at school or at work or civic engagement. The leader of the CSU MPs in the Bundestag, Alexander Dobrindt, harshly condemned this: "Citizenship must come at the end of a successful integration process and not at the beginning," he said. AfD MP Christian Wirth declared: "Proud citizenship is to be sold off."
SPD MP Gülistan Yüksel, on the other hand, emphasized that the more than ten million people living here without German citizenship are needed: "More than half of them have been living in Germany for over a decade. They contribute to our prosperity."
Commitment "to historical responsibility"
In future, children of foreign parents will receive German citizenship at birth if one parent has been legally resident in Germany for five years - previously this was the case after eight years.
In addition, people who become German will be able to retain their existing citizenship in future. This has already been possible, for example for citizens of other EU countries. The exception is now becoming the rule. Alexander Throm (CDU), spokesperson on domestic affairs for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, criticized: "With the general admission of dual citizenship, the commitment to our country is essentially missing."
A commitment to the free democratic basic order remains a prerequisite for naturalization. In future, a commitment "to Germany's special historical responsibility for the National Socialist reign of injustice and its consequences, in particular for the protection of Jewish life, as well as to the peaceful coexistence of peoples and the prohibition of waging a war of aggression" will be added.
Fewer exemptions for recipients of transfer payments
Those who came to the Federal Republic as guest workers or as contract workers in the GDR only have to prove their oral knowledge of German in order to be naturalized and do not have to take a naturalization test. This is justified in the reform law with the "recognition of their life's work" and also with the fact that in the past, those affected were offered few integration opportunities such as language courses.
Anyone who wants a German passport must be able to support themselves and their dependants. Those who were dependent on social assistance or basic income support through no fault of their own were previously subject to an exemption. In future, this will only apply to certain groups and cases. These include guest workers who have often worked in the low-wage sector and their spouses who have joined them. In future, foreigners with full-time jobs who have worked for at least 20 months within the last 24 months and foreigners who live together as a spouse or registered partner with a minor child and a partner who works full-time will also be exempt.
©Keystone/SDA
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