Germany's Federal Cabinet in Berlin passed a bill that aims to scrap the three-year path to citizenship for those foreigners considered "highly integrated".
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) who had brought the bill forward suggested that it marks the beginning of a "migration turnaround" -- essentially a tightening of Germany's immigration policies -- along with more patrols on the country's borders and the end of family reunifications for refugees.
The looming legal change, which still needs a vote of approval by the Bundestag, would prevent some people from applying for German citizenship until they've resided in the country for at least five years.
But it was initially unclear how many of Germany's foreign residents it would affect, because eligibility for the fast-track three-year path was relatively limited.
To get a better sense of how many immigrants would be affected, and what the changes mean for them, we conducted a survey of affected readers and got an expert view on the move.
How many people are affected?
Dr. Herbert Brücker, head of migration, integration and international labour market research at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), told The Local that he thought the number of people directly affected by the law change would be "very small".
He said that the fast-track was "only earmarked for people who meet requirements regarding earnings, language proficiency and no dependency on welfare benefits etc., but also have to prove extraordinary achievements in the labour market, schools and universities, or other areas such as science, arts or (professional) sports."
Recent naturalisation statistics confirm that very few applicants had managed to gain citizenship with the fast-track path. While Germany saw a record number of naturalisations in 2024, nearly 50,000 more than the year before, only a few hundred of those were from fast-track applicants. In some German states, it seems that not a single three-year naturalisation was approved. In Berlin however there were over 300 new "fast-track" citizens.
READ ALSO: Germany sees record number of foreigners gaining citizenship
In response to our reader survey, several people said that they had planned to apply for citizenship via the three-year route, or had already submitted an application to naturalise after three years of residence.
Disincentivising skilled worker migration?
Asked if he thought the legal change would work against Germany's efforts to lure skilled workers, Brücker said that he would expect it to have a negative effect.
"The fast track procedure was designed exactly to improve the position of Germany in the global competition for talent, for example in comparison to Canada, the US and Australia," he said.
He added that highly-skilled workers tend to be "more mobile than other groups of migrants, and have more choices" about where to go. But he also noted that citizenship is "just one among many factors affecting [immigrants'] location choice".
One reader, who identified herself only as Mel, told The Local, "This feels like a slap in the face."
"As someone who ticks all of the boxes, it's frustrating that [the government] seems to want to penalise people who chose to learn the language, and pay some of the highest taxes."
Mel said she would have been eligible to naturalise as of next year and had turned down job offers in other countries in favour of remaining here and having a chance to apply to become German.
She added that if the law change would be reason enough for her to reconsider her efforts to remain in the country.
"My skills are in high demand and Germany doesn’t seem to want them," she said. "I have turned down job offers in other countries in favour of remaining in Germany to apply. If Germany scraps this route, I will consider other jobs in other countries."
Alexandra Curry from Lower Saxony was another fast-track applicant who was left angry over the move to scrap it.
"I planned my whole life around the application," she said. "I didn't apply for jobs or masters programs, so that I didn't have to leave my state and start the application again.
"So many missed opportunities. Whilst my application is still under consideration and I am likely to be accepted for it, if the cancellation of the law comes into immediate effect, maybe I just wasted the last year of my life and all the missed opportunities for nothing."
Another reader, named Valentyn who lives in Munich, called the move a "bad decision" because it "decreases the desire to integrate."
She pointed out that foreigners who might otherwise push themselves to learn C1 level German to be eligible for faster naturalisation will now just "not care" and settle for B1 understanding.
Is there an argument for scrapping fast-track citizenship?
Roughly half of the respondents to our survey said they either approved of Germany's decision to end the fast-track path, or were indifferent to the change. Notably, most of these respondents also answered that they planned to naturalise after the standard five-years of required residence (suggesting that they would not be eligible for the fast-track path).
Asked how they felt about the end of fast-track citizenship, one anonymous respondent from Hamburg wrote, "Das ist mir egal." ("It doesn't matter to me.")
In defence of their position they wrote that, the number of affected people was relatively small and five years was not a harsh residence requirement for naturalisation compared to other countries.
They added, "I’d rather the government focus efforts on more impactful problems but if this satisfies their itch for further citizenship reform and protects the five year path and dual citizenship, then let’s get it done so we can bring the focus back to more beneficial topics...such as improving the Opportunity Card program, for example."
READ ALSO: Is Germany's 'Opportunity Card' visa too complicated to work?
Many respondents to the survey who were not against the end of the three-year citizenship track shared this view, and many specifically cited the fact that the five year requirement would be maintained (as opposed to the previous eight) as a significant victory.
For his part, foreign labour expert Brücker appears to be more concerned about the symbolic significance of the law change than it's direct impacts.
"We carry out surveys among the entire immigrant population in Germany," Brücker explained. "Interestingly enough, not only the refugees, but also immigrants using employment-related entry channels as well as EU citizens mention the respect for human rights, respect for the rule of law, and the welcoming culture among the main reasons they have chosen Germany as their destination country.
"Thus, I think policies such as 'push-backs' of asylum seekers at the German border...[and] the general atmosphere and sentiments towards immigration also play a role.
"Everything else equal, I would therefore expect that this also reduces skilled and highly-skilled labour migration to Germany."
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