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Acquisition of German citizenship reaches record high in 2024

2025-06-10 20:47:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Last year, the number of foreigners who acquired German citizenship in Germany reached an unprecedented level. This increase was partly due to a reform of the relevant law.

The number of naturalizations in Germany reached a new record in 2024. According to provisional results published by the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden, 291,955 foreigners acquired German citizenship last year. This represents an increase of 46% compared to the previous year.

The largest number of those naturalized were Syrian nationals. More than one in four naturalized persons (28%) were from Syria. This was followed by persons of Turkish (8%), Iraqi (5%), Russian (4%) and Afghan (3%) nationality.

An average of almost twelve years in Germany

Among these five most represented nationalities, the number of naturalizations of Russians increased the most in percentage terms. While in 2023 approximately 1,995 Russians were naturalized, this figure reached 12,980 in 2024, an increase of 551%.

The average length of residence in Germany at the time of naturalization was 11.8 years in 2024, slightly more than the previous year, when it was 10.9 years. For Syrian citizens, the average was 7.4 years, for Turks, 23.1 years, for Russians, 14.5 years, for Iraqis, 8.7 years, and for Afghans, 8.9 years.

Legislative reform affects naturalization rates

According to federal statistics, the reform of the citizenship law in June 2024 is one of the main reasons for this significant increase. In particular, it reduces the length of residence required to obtain naturalization: instead of eight years previously, a legal residence of five years is now sufficient. The statistical basis has changed in 2024 due to the entry into force of the modernized nationality law in June last year. In the case of special integration efforts, such as good academic or professional results, the minimum period of residence can be reduced to three years, instead of the previous six or seven years. In 2024, this affected 7% of newly naturalized citizens.

In addition, the law generally allows dual citizenship: people who have been naturalized in Germany can retain their previous citizenship.

But the new federal government wants to do away with fast-track naturalization again. Instead of three years, a German passport would be issued after five years, at best. This would repeal a new regulation of the Scholz government.

"Rapid naturalization after three years of residence was a mistake. We are now putting an end to it. German citizenship should be the end result of an integration process, not the starting point," said Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt./ DW