According to the newspaper Die Welt, there are currently around 1.3 million Ukrainian refugees living in Germany. Concerns centre on March 2027, when the EU’s temporary protection for Ukrainians is set to expire. By that time, many of them will be eligible for a German passport after having lived in the country for five years.
The newspaper notes that German municipalities are already discussing the risk of overloading the agencies. An internal document from the legal committee of the German Union of Cities and Communities indicates that citizenship authorities are already working at capacity. In the event of mass applications, the situation with staff shortages could worsen.
At the same time, there is no unified position in Germany on the very issue of naturalization of Ukrainian refugees. Some municipalities believe that the current status of temporary protection under Article 24 of the Residence Act does not give a direct right to citizenship, as it does not imply “sustainable residence”. Other authorities are preparing to strengthen their staff against the background of a possible increase in applications.
According to expert Jan Schneider from the Expert Council on Integration and Migration, the legal situation is still not fully defined, although in individual cases it is possible to grant citizenship at the discretion of the authorities.
A key factor of uncertainty is the future of temporary protection. According to Deutsche Welle, the EU is discussing the possibility of extending the program beyond March 2027. EU Special Envoy for Ukrainians Ilva Johansson told DW that the protection is likely to be extended for another year, until March 2028.
The German Labor Ministry also confirmed that negotiations on a possible extension of the status are continuing at the EU level, and in parallel, long-term stay options for Ukrainians integrated into the labor market are being discussed.
Against the background of these discussions, Germany is recording a general increase in the number of new citizens. According to Die Welt with reference to 14 out of 16 federal states, in 2025 more than 309 thousand people received German citizenship – a record since 2000. The largest group of new citizens were natives of Syria – 28%.
Since June 2024, a new version of the law on citizenship has been in force in Germany: the period of residence for naturalization has been reduced from eight to five years. At the same time, the previous accelerated procedure for obtaining citizenship in three years was abolished in October 2025, and the rule on the possibility of dual citizenship was retained.
