The new regulation of the Nationality Act (StAG) is a done deal and will now be submitted to the Bundestag for a final vote in the next few weeks. Federal Interior Minister Faeser expressed the hope that the law could now come into force as early as the beginning of 2024 .
Shortening of the previous period of residence
Important – and overdue in order to keep up with other immigration countries, such as France, Great Britain or Canada – is the shortening of the required pre-residence period from 8 to 5 years.
In the case of special integration services, the previous period of residence can even be shortened to up to 3 years .
Changes to the ius solidarity principle
With the requirement of shorter periods of previous residence in the case of entitlement naturalisation, there is also a reduction in the naturalisation of children born in Germany to non-German parents (so-called ius solidarity or place of birth principle). In this case, the parents must now live legally in Germany for only 5 instead of 8 years before the birth of the child and must hold a permanent right of residence.
Integration and livelihood security
There are fundamental changes in the requirement to secure one’s livelihood in the context of entitlement naturalisation.
It is gratifying that the achievements of guest workers who entered the FRG before 30.06.1974 and contract workers who entered the GDR before 13.06.1990 are rewarded. This group of persons is also entitled to naturalisation if they receive social benefits under SGB II and SGB XII, provided that they are not responsible for receiving them.
At the same time, however, other groups of people are excluded from naturalization who are not responsible for receiving social benefits – for example, because they are permanently unable to work, care for family members or are single parents.
In particular, the exclusion of children of socially disadvantaged migrants compared to the current legal situation cannot be enforced with the aim of the project and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In our view, this tightening is counterproductive and disadvantages the aforementioned groups of people.
Abolition of the principle of avoiding multiple nationality
A highly welcome change in the new draft law, on the other hand, is the deletion of the principle of avoiding multiple nationality without replacement. According to this principle, naturalisation has so far only been possible if the naturalisation applicant gives up his old citizenship. In particular, 1.5 million Turkish nationals living in Germany will be able to benefit from the new regulation in the future.
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