Naturalization is made easier in Germany
Published: Friday, Jan 19th 2024, 14:30
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In future, people in Germany will be able to naturalize more quickly and retain their foreign passport.
The Bundestag passed a corresponding reform of the citizenship law in a roll-call vote in Berlin on Friday. Of the 639 votes cast, 382 were in favor and 234 against, with 23 abstentions.
At the vote in the second reading, the "traffic light" parliamentary groups SPD, Greens and FDP had previously voted in favor of the amendments. The CDU/CSU and the right-wing populist AfD voted against. The non-attached MPs, most of whom belong to the Left Party or the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, abstained.
This means that naturalization in Germany will be possible after just 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.
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 only the case after eight years.
In addition, people who become German will be able to retain their existing citizenship in future. This is already possible, for example for citizens of other EU countries.
There are also stricter rules. For example, exceptions to the obligation to support oneself are limited to certain cases. The opposition criticized that German citizenship was being granted too lightly.
©Keystone/SDA
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