In Berlin, a technical glitch led to the loss of hundreds of digital naturalization applications. According to the IT service provider ITDZ Berlin, 582 cases were identified where the applications were initially recorded but not properly processed reports Berliner Zeitung.
These issues occurred with the Berlin Digital Application (BDA), which allows people to apply for dual citizenship. ITDZ Berlin manages the technical infrastructure for this application. The problem stemmed from a software configuration error when the new Digital Naturalization Application was launched on June 27th.
The ITDZ Berlin monitoring system detected the error on June 28th, and it was promptly fixed. “Since then, all applicant data has been processed correctly,” stated the press office. Affected individuals will be notified as soon as possible and will not face any extra financial burden, as fees will not be charged again.
New Citizenship law increases applications
Since the German government started the new citizenship law on 27 June, the number of applications has increased a lot. Foreigners living in can apply for naturalization after a legal stay of either 5 or 3 years, depending on their level of integration. The new law includes several benefits:
- For former guest workers, only oral language skills are now required, and they no longer need to take a naturalization test. These regulations also apply to the spouses of guest workers and contract workers who moved to Germany during the same period;
- The option to hold dual nationality;
- A reduced residency requirement of only 5 years;
- For those with a high level of integration, the residency requirement is further reduced to 3 years;
- Children born in Germany to foreign parents will automatically receive German citizenship if at least one parent has legally lived in Germany for over five years and holds permanent residency.