New citizenship law in Germany

On January 19, 2024, the German Bundestag adopted an amendment to the law on the acquisition of German citizenship. If we talk about the main innovations:

- The residence period required in Germany for naturalization will be shortened from 8 years to 5 years.

- It is possible to reduce it to 3 years under certain conditions, especially in case of outstanding integration successes (C1 language skills, professional achievements or voluntary works).

- If you are naturalized, your previous citizenship can be retained, meaning dual citizenship will now be possible.

- Acceptance of foreign citizenship no longer automatically leads to loss of German citizenship.

The new Federal Law will enter into force three months after its publication in the Official Gazette, probably in May/June 2024 at the earliest.

The following additional information for Berlin residents (valid as of January 1, 2024):

Since January 2024, the State Immigration Office in Berlin is responsible for the centralized processing of naturalization procedures. New applications can be submitted digitally through an online platform.

All applications from regional offices that have not yet been processed will be digitized and are now being processed by the new central Immigration Office. Due to approximately 40,000 unprocessed applications, longer processing times can be expected.

We will continue to keep you informed of current developments.