In the top 3 in obtaining citizenship are people from Syria, Turkey and Russia. The number of Russians is growing especially fast: in North Rhine (Westphalia) alone, 3,841 people received citizenship – 67% more than a year earlier, according to Welt.de.
The reasons for the boom are several. Many migrants who came to the country in 2015-2016 have now become eligible for a passport. The reform of the citizenship law also had an additional effect: the minimum period of residence was reduced from eight to five years, and dual citizenship became more accessible.
Berlin became one of the centers of the new wave of naturalization: more than 39 thousand people received citizenship there – almost twice as many as a year earlier. Other regions of the country are also recording growth.
Experts attribute the growth in the number of applications from Russians not only to the simplification of rules, but also to political reasons, as well as the possibility to retain two citizenships for travel and family ties. At the same time, the German authorities are already preparing for the next jump: starting from 2027, Ukrainians who arrived after 2022 will be able to apply en masse.
