TRANSLATION:
Number of Naturalizations in Germany Hits Record High
More people than ever before received a German passport in 2025. A year earlier, legal barriers had been significantly lowered. As a result, dual citizenship has been permitted in principle ever since.
A new naturalization record is emerging in Germany: According to research by “Welt am Sonntag” (WamS), nearly 310,000 people received German passports last year. This would put the figure above the national record of just under 292,000 naturalizations in 2024.
According to the newspaper, the data comes from 14 federal states, with only Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony-Anhalt missing. There are no overall figures from Lower Saxony, Saarland, and Schleswig-Holstein, but the paper writes that almost all cities and districts in these states provided their naturalization data upon request. Some of these figures are still preliminary.
Ukrainians Seek German Passports
Several municipalities report that they are currently seeing a decline in the number of applications. However, they are already preparing for the next naturalization boom. According to estimates by several authorities, an increasing number of Ukrainians are expected to seek German passports in the coming year.
“Since the first major wave of refugees began with the start of the conflict in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the first refugees will have completed the required five-year residency period in the spring of 2027,” a spokesperson for the northern German district of Aurich told the WamS.
In March 2027, the collective protection status granted to date will expire. “To achieve legal certainty, many refugees will likely then take advantage of the shortened five-year naturalization period, which has become even more attractive due to the new allowance of dual citizenship.”
“Sharp increase” expected
Compared to the refugees of 2015/2016, Ukrainians benefit “from significant structural advantages,” according to the spokesperson. Thanks to immediate access to the labor market, many could demonstrate the required ability to support themselves significantly faster. In addition, lengthy asylum procedures and identity checks are no longer necessary. A “renewed sharp rise in the number of applications” is therefore expected.
Other municipalities also anticipate rising application numbers, but emphasize that Ukrainians have no legal entitlement to naturalization based on their current protection status.
Five years of residence are sufficient
A reform of the nationality law took effect in mid-2024. Since then, anyone who becomes a German citizen has generally been allowed to retain their previous nationality. In addition, the general requirement has been reduced to five years of residence in Germany, down from eight. The current federal government is maintaining these changes.
The number of nearly 292,000 naturalizations in 2024 was a record since statistics began in 2000 and represented a 46 percent increase compared to the previous year. Of those naturalized, 28 percent were from Syria, followed by people from Turkey. According to figures from the WamS, the renewed increase in 2025 is significantly lower at six percent.
Posted by ZweigDidion