Germany’s Citizenship law to be implemented from 27 June 2024

The new German citizenship law has been passed and endorsed by the government as well in the public Gazzete. The new nationality rules will be implemented from 27 June 2024. This allows dual nationality and faster naturalization in 5 years. In special cases, the citizenship requirement time can be reduced to 3 years as well.

The German government after long debates and bureaucratic hurdles, has finally been able to pass the citizenship law and made it part of the federal law Gazette on 26 March 2024. It took more than 2 months to formalize since the German Parliament (Bundestag) passed it on 19 January 2024. It has also been confirmed that it will be implemented officially from 27 June 2024.

What does the new nationality law offer?

The excellent changes that have been allowed in the law are:

• that dual nationals should generally be accepted in the future.
• naturalization should generally be possible after a stay of five instead of the current eight years,
• citizenship process is even after three years possible if special integration measures have been proven,
• The period of residence of a parent in the Federal Republic required for a child of foreign parents to automatically acquire German citizenship through birth in Germany will also be shortened from eight to five years. The previous option regulation is no longer applicable.

Who can apply for the German citizenship according to the new law?

A person living in Germany can apply for the citizenship if he fulfills the following requirements:

• legal residence (residence permit or work visa) in Germany for the last 5 years (in extraordinary integration cases, it can be 3 years);
• holding an eligible residence title (Aufenthaltserlaubnis),
• life in Germany test certificate (leben in Deutschland),
• German language proficiency at CEFR B1 level,
• no criminal convictions,
• living for yourself and your dependent relatives without making use of social assistance benefits (SGB XII) or basic security for job seekers (SGB II).

This excludes people who have been employed full-time for at least 20 months in the past two years, to people who live in a family with a person who works full-time and a child. Furthermore also to so-called guest workers and contract workers who were in the Federal Republic or the former GDR until 1990.

Nationality after 3 years of stay

One can also apply for citizenship in case of special integration. These have not been specified but could be proven through:

• through school or professional achievements;
• voluntary work;
• particularly good language skilled in German up to C1 level.

According to the law, guests and contract workers do not have to take a naturalization test and only have to prove oral German language skills.

Dual Nationality Possible

The new law also allows dual nationality. If an applicant wants to get German citizenship, he can do so without having to see off their previous citizenship. But for this rule, permission of your current country of citizenship is also important. Some countries do not however allow their citizens to get the dual nationality of other countries.

Eligible Visa Titles for Citizenship

You must also check with your responsible “Foreigners Authority” if your residence permit title is eligible for citizenship. In most of cases, you can be asked to first obtain a Permanent Residency (Niederlassungserlaubnis) to be eligible for the Naturalization (Einbürgerung).

A must follow new rules of citizenship

The nationality applicants will have to follow the following new regulations to get a successful decision on the application:

• Naturalization is not possible if there is plural marriage or if the equality of men and women is not respected;
• It is made clear that anti-Semitic, racist, or other inhumanely motivated actions are incompatible with the basic law’s guarantee of human dignity and exclude naturalization;
• Applicants for naturalization must acknowledge Germany’s special historical responsibility for the unjust Nazi rule and its consequences, in particular for the protection of Jewish life, as well as for the peaceful coexistence of peoples, in particular, the prohibition of waging a war of aggression;
• Naturalization is excluded if the confession by Section 10 Paragraph 1 Sentence 1 Number 1 as well as the commitment to the free democratic basic order and the declaration of loyalty are unrivaled in content are worthy.

This is intended to make it clear to naturalization applicants that only naturalization is possible Anyone who is committed to the values of a free society is allowed (Section 10 Paragraph 1 Sentence 1 Number 1).

Frequently Asked Questions About German Citizenship Law