Germany eases dual citizenship
German lawmakers have voted in favor of changing the law, which would open up the possibility of dual citizenship to swaths of the population. The bill would also reduce the time needed to qualify for naturalization.
Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, on Friday voted to ease the law on naturalization and widen access to dual citizenship.
The German government says the law should help make Germany more attractive to skilled workers internationally, helping to ease stifling labor shortages.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats, the Free Democrats and the Green Party, which make up the ruling coalition government, voted for the legislation.
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The opposition conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) opposed the bill, along with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
From the 639 votes cast, there were 382 yes votes and 234 no votes, with 23 abstentions.
What are the rule changes?
- Under the new law, foreigners would be able to apply for a German passport after five instead of eight years in Germany. In cases where applicants are "exceptionally well integrated," naturalization would be possible after three years.
- Children born in Germany of at least one parent who has been living legally in the country for five or more years will automatically get German citizenship
- Immigrants above the age of 67 will be able to do an oral instead of a written German language test
- Multiple citizenships will be allowed
Dual nationality is usually only allowed for citizens of other EU countries or Switzerland, although it is permitted for other immigrants in certain exceptional cases.
The loosening of the rules would make it possible to gain direct access to dual citizenship no matter where the applicant comes from.
Germany's interior minister said the change would help attract much-needed skilled workers as the country struggles with labor shortages.
"We have to keep pace in the race to attract skilled labor," said Nancy Faeser ahead of the vote.
"That means we need to make an offer to qualified people from the world over, just as the United States and Canada do. German citizenship is obviously part of that."
The move would allow tens of thousands of Turks, including third-generation immigrants whose parents and grandparents arrived from the 1950s to 1970s as "guest workers," to become citizens and voters.
While the legislation is broadly aimed at making naturalization easier, the government wants to make it more difficult for people who cannot support themselves or who do not support the "free, democratic basic order in Germany."
Multiple citizenships
According to the Federal Interior Ministry, around 14% of the population does not have a German passport — that's just over 12 million people. Five million of them have already been living in Germany for at least 10 years. In 2022, 168,545 people applied for German citizenship, which was below the EU average.
So far, dual citizenship has been possible in Germany only for EU and Swiss nationals, those whose country of origin does not allow people to renounce citizenship (e.g. Iran, Afghanistan, Morocco), children of parents with German and other citizenship, refugees who are threatened with persecution in their home country, and Israelis. Syrians who came to Germany as refugees and are considered to have integrated well may also be fast-tracked to German citizenship.
The reforms will bring Germany in line with other European countries. In the EU, Sweden had the highest naturalization rate in 2020, with 8.6% of all foreigners living there naturalized. In Germany, the rate was 1.1%.
According to Germany's Federal Statistics Office, there are about 2.9 million people with more than one citizenship currently living in Germany. That's about 3.5% of the population. The actual number is likely to be higher, however, as it has recorded an uptick, with 69% of new German nationals holding on to their original passport. People with Polish, Russian, or Turkish passports top the list.
Conservative opposition to changes
The CDU-CSU bloc opposed the new rules, demanding amendments to "preserve the value of German citizenship."
They are seeking a tougher line on immigration in a bid to stem the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has enjoyed a surge in the polls.
The government itself has promised a tougher line on certain types of immigration, promising faster deportations of illegal immigrants and failed asylum seekers.
The Bundestag passed a bill on Thursday evening to extend custody to prevent deportations from failing at the last minute.
That includes extending the legal maximum duration of detention pending deportation from 10 days to 28 days.
