A new law that allows obtaining nationality after a minimum of five years as a resident in the country instead of eight, as was the requirement until now, It came into force this Thursday, June 27, in Germany.
Another of the main novelties of the reform is that will allow third-country citizens to maintain their original nationality in parallelinstead of having to give it up as until now.
This also affects those who had several nationalities by birth, including German, who They will no longer be forced to choose as was the case until now.
Those who wish to apply for nationality must also be well integrated.
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At the same time, the criteria for commitment to the constitutional order have been tightened, since those who have been convicted of crimes of a racist, anti-Semitic or discriminatory nature in general, will not be eligible for nationality.
Those who share our values and make an effort can now obtain a German passport more quickly and no longer have to give up a part of their identity with their old nationality.
“Those who share our values and make efforts can now obtain a German passport more quickly and no longer have to give up a part of their identity with their old nationality,” said Interior Minister Nancy Faeser.
Whoever wants to apply for nationality must also be well integrated and – except in cases of disability or advanced age – work sufficiently to support oneself and one’s family and demonstrate knowledge of the German language.
Authorities expect that with the entry into force of the new law, the number of applications for nationalisation will multiply, which is already overwhelming the limited processing capacity of many municipalities.
In 2023, approximately 200,100 foreigners were naturalized in Germanythe highest figure since this statistic began to be recorded, as reported in May by the Destatis statistics office.
In addition, there are at least 200,000 open files, part of a process that can currently last for years.
The numbers have risen significantly in recent years and, according to a study carried out by the Mediendienst Integration organization with data from 45 cities, they rose by 19 percent in 2023 compared to 2022 and more than 100% compared to 2020. .
According to the recently published study, the main group among those seeking nationalization are the Syrian citizens, followed by Iraqis and Turks.
The new law, which was part of the coalition agreement reached by the Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals, was approved by Parliament in January.
EFE
