Members of the German Bundestag are this week voting on two major changes to citizenship law.
The first, backed by the governing coalition of the conservative conservatives (CDU/CSU) and centre-left SPD, is designed to end the option for foreign residents to apply for citizenship after three years – rather than the standard five-year route – if they meet the requirements such as C1 level German and are exceptionally-well integrated. This motion is expected to pass.
A second motion from The Left Party (Die Linke) calls for the mandatory requirement that applicants prove they can support themselves financially to be shelved. The party argues that this excludes many well-integrated residents from applying for citizenship. For example, a single parent caring for a young child, a disabled person unable to work, or a student raising a family may be ineligible for naturalisation simply because they need state support.
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This motion is not expected to pass but it does raise questions about the fairness of the current law.
While there is no clear income requirement threshold that would-be German citizens must meet, anyone applying is obliged to prove they can support themselves and dependent family members without relying on social welfare benefits, with very few exceptions.
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Yet even this rule can be unpredictable. The Local recently reported on a case of an applicant being refused citizenship while receiving short-term unemployment benefits (Arbeitslosengeld I), even though this is not meant to be a sufficient reason to deny an application.
Meanwhile, freelancers also report difficulties and delays in becoming German as they try to find ways to prove they are financially secure. These cases highlight the inconsistencies of the German citizenship process.
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