Germany is moving forward with a plan to ease its citizenship rules as it seeks to attract workers
Germany plans to ease rules for obtaining its citizenship under legislation approved by the Cabinet
BERLIN — Germany plans to ease citizenship rules under legislation approved Wednesday by the Cabinet, a project that the government contends will bolster the integration of immigrants and help an economy that is struggling with a shortage of skilled workers.
The legislation passed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his ministers still requires approval from the lower house of parliament, where the socially liberal three-party coalition has a comfortable majority. It could take effect in January, depending on how quickly that happens.
The government plans to make people eligible for citizenship after five years in Germany, or three in case of “special integration accomplishments,” rather than eight or six years at present. German-born children would automatically become citizens if one parent has been a legal resident for five years, down from eight years now.
Restrictions on holding dual citizenship will also be dropped. In principle, most people from countries other than European Union members and Switzerland now have to give up their previous nationality when they gain German citizenship, though there are some exemptions.
“We are creating a modern immigration law that does justice to our diverse society — and, I may add, finally,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told reporters in Berlin. She said the reform follows years of debates that “unfortunately were often marked by exclusion, resentment and cheap propaganda,” and that applicants for citizenship “will no longer be forced to give up part of their identity.”
Faeser also linked the plan to Germany's quest to attract more skilled workers to the country, which has Europe's
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