The Berlin Wall Crumbles Before Immigrants: What's Behind Germany's New Law Easing Citizenship?

It appears that the German government has decided to dismantle the Berlin Wall for millions of immigrants and individuals seeking German citizenship, much like the actual Wall that was brought down in 1989 with the conclusion of the Cold War.

Under the leadership of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Berlin government approved a new law on August 23, 2023, which aims to streamline the procedures for granting citizenship to immigrants, surpassing many of the obstacles and conditions that were previously imposed on acquiring German citizenship.

According to the data from the Ministry of Interior for the year 2022, over 12 million individuals in Germany hold foreign citizenship, with 5.3 million of them residing in the country for at least 10 years.

In 2022, a total of 168,545 individuals applied for German citizenship.

What are the new requirements that will facilitate citizenship applications? And why did the Bundestag (German Federal Parliament) ease the conditions for obtaining citizenship?

 

Comprehensive Easements

The German government has definitively adopted the new citizenship law after sending it to all states for review over the past 3 months (May 2023 to August 2023).

The law is now awaiting a vote in the German parliament in October 2023, with the majority of the ruling party's support, to be enacted at the beginning of 2024.

The law will allow dual citizenship, departing from the previous requirement for individuals to renounce their original nationality to obtain German citizenship.

Dual citizenship was previously limited to citizens of the European Union and Switzerland.

Among the easements in the new law is that citizenship will be possible after residing in the country for 5 years instead of the previous 8.

It will be available after 3 years for specific integration cases, including language proficiency acquisition.

For instance, surpassing the B1 level in the German language will be a requirement for naturalization within a 5-year period, and achieving higher language levels will reduce the duration to just 3 years.

This is in addition to displaying strong academic and professional performance, participation in volunteer and charitable work, and the ability to independently sustain one's livelihood through employment are also considered.

One significant amendment is that temporary residency permits will now suffice for obtaining the right to citizenship, including temporary workers and those who have received residency permits for family reunification cases.

Regarding children born to foreign parents in Germany, they will automatically receive citizenship upon birth if one of the parents has been legally residing in the country for more than 5 years.

It is assumed that the proposed reforms will reduce long waiting times and expedite the processing of citizenship applications during previous periods.

 

Citizenship Hurdles

Despite the significant and unprecedented facilitations introduced by the law, it still includes prohibitions and obstacles that prevent certain individuals from acquiring German citizenship.

At the forefront are those who have committed crimes driven by "anti-Semitism," racism, or other inhumane motives.

The procedures require public prosecutors to inform immigration authorities about the criminal activities of these individuals in order to prevent their naturalization.

Individuals who practice polygamy or work against gender equality as stipulated in the constitution will not be granted citizenship.

Those who do not adopt German ways of life in a general sense will also be denied citizenship.

The cases of foreign individuals who have provided forged documents to German authorities will be re-evaluated.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser commented on the new law, saying it reflects the diverse society in the country.

She pointed out in statements to the Editor Network Germany (RND) that Germany is in global competition to attract talents and aims to enhance what it offers to immigrants by facilitating the path to obtaining citizenship.

 

Pivotal Plan

On November 28, 2022, the German Interior Minister defended the government's plan to facilitate individuals' applications for obtaining citizenship, despite fierce disagreements within the ruling coalition and the opposition, under the pretext that this could incentivize illegal migration.

Minister Nancy Faeser stated in comments to Euro News that she aims to promote immigration and training to address the skills shortage that weighs heavily on Germany's economy. This comes at a time when the increasing population age is putting pressure on the public pension system.

"We are introducing a modern immigration bill which would better serve our modern and diverse country. The new nationality law is one of the most important reforms of our coalition government. I am very pleased that we are now implementing this," she said.

Faeser said the reform was essential to attract highly skilled workers from abroad and ensure the competitiveness of German companies.

"We are in the middle of a global competition for the brightest minds. We urgently need skilled workers in many areas of our economy. But we will only attract the best minds if they can become fully part of our society," she said.

On December 10, 2022, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that his country could significantly increase its population in the coming years.

The government seeks to boost immigration to help alleviate labor shortages and solve the retirement pension system crisis.

During a citizens' forum in the Potsdam region near the capital, Berlin, he stated that the government is working to attract foreign workers to sustain economic growth.

He added, "We are doing this because of the increase in the elderly population or population aging, which threatens our future. This makes an increase in the population by 7 percent to reach 90 million people by 2070 a reasonable prospect."

 

Migration Legacy

Germany has been one of the most accepting European Union countries towards immigrants for many years. On March 2, 2023, the German Federal Statistical Office announced that around 19 million people, equivalent to 23 percent of the country's population, have either immigrated to Germany since 1950 or are descendants of immigrants.

This marked the first time that Germany's population was analyzed based on immigrant proportions, rather than solely based on nationality.

As a result, Germany held the highest ranking in Europe, with the average immigrant population across the continent being 10.6 percent, according to the German Press Agency (Deutsche Presse-Agentur).

The agency added that approximately 3.7 million people, or 4.5 percent of the population, have one parent who is an immigrant and the other with German roots.

In response to this development, Ahmad Zidan, the Imam of the Islamic Center in the German state of Dresden, affirmed that modern Germany's renaissance was built upon immigrants who arrived in the aftermath of World War II in 1945.

He stated to Al-Estiklal, "After the World War and Germany's defeat, a significant number of immigrants, especially Turks, for example, arrived in the country. They were the cornerstone of Germany's economic and cultural renaissance, rebuilding it from ruins."

He added: "The main challenge Germany faces is the aging population and the existence of a very large elderly group in need of care and substantial expenses, covered by the government, in contrast to the small number of young people capable of working and producing.

"Germany, being the largest economy in Europe and one of the world's major economies, is considering this matter with concern, as it is fundamental to national security. That's why they eased the naturalization procedures, under the assumption that immigrants on German soil will have priority, and this is only natural."

When asked about the nature of the conditions, Zidan answered: "The most important condition that could facilitate asylum requests is integration through language acquisition and engagement in society, along with demonstrating academic, sports, or any other type of competency."

The second aspect is the ability to work and earn an income, followed by avoiding conflicts with societal norms. In such cases, obtaining citizenship will be relatively straightforward, especially with the relaxation of conditions regarding the duration of years and waiting on lengthy lists.