The German parliament has cancelled a program that allowed for the rapid granting of citizenship. The move reflects a sudden shift in stance toward immigration in this powerful European economy, which is nevertheless suffering from massive labour shortage in key sectors.
During this year’s election campaign, the Conservatives, led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, pledged to repeal legislation allowing people who have “achieved exceptional integration” to obtain German citizenship in three years instead of five.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told parliament: “The German passport must be a recognition of a successful integration process, not an encouragement for illegal immigration.”
Of the 300,000 naturalization applications filed in 2024 (a record number), only a few hundred were accepted through the fast-track procedure. This program was initially aimed at encouraging skilled labor to settle in Germany, a country facing a labor shortage.
Applicants for this procedure had to demonstrate concrete achievements, such as German language proficiency, voluntary service, or professional or academic success.
Candidates must demonstrate achievements such as very good German, voluntary service or professional or scholarly success.
“Germany is in competition to get the best brains in the world, and if those people choose Germany we should do everything possible to keep them,” the Greens’ Filiz Polat told legislators.
