The bill facilitating dual citizenship in Germany was accepted by the Parliament and became law. 382 votes were cast in favor of the bill titled “Modernization of the Citizenship Law” prepared by the coalition government formed by the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP). While 234 “no” votes were cast for the bill, 23 deputies abstained.
Speaking about the bill in the Federal Assembly, Minister of State for Integration Reem Alabali-Radovan asked for a determined stance against the far right and said, “We have a strong constitution, strong institutions and a strong civil society, but there is no guarantee of eternity. Everything must be defended with determination.” he said.
Green Party MP Canan Bayram also emphasized that it is very important to approve this bill at a time when the far-right Alternative Party for Germany (AfD) is making plans to deport immigrants and said, “We defend a society that stands together freely and equally and to which you can belong no matter where you come from. Thus, finally “We are doing justice to the diversity in our country and breaking down a barrier that has so far prevented many people from naturalizing.” he said.
“WE CREATED A MODERN IMMIGRATION LAW”
In her written statement, Minister of Internal Affairs Nancy Faeser stated that she was pleased with the adoption of the law and said, “Our reform is a sign of our commitment to a modern Germany. We have created a modern immigration law that does justice to our diverse society.” made his assessment.
With the new reform adopted, immigrants are told: “You belong to Germany.” Noting that the message was given, Faser emphasized that naturalization is the strongest commitment to Germany. The law is expected to come into force around April.
RESIDENCE PERIOD HAS BEEN REDUCED TO 5 YEARS
With the “Modernization of the Citizenship Law”, publicly known as the “dual citizenship law”, the legal residence period required to acquire German citizenship was reduced from 8 years to 5 years.
This period has been reduced to 3 years in cases where the person who wants to acquire German citizenship has school or professional success in adapting to the living conditions in the country, does voluntary work or makes special efforts to learn the language.
Since the possibility of dual citizenship has been introduced, the “option model” that was previously in force and forced young people to choose between their parents’ citizenship or German citizenship until the age of 23 has been completely abolished.
Children born in Germany, even if they are not German citizens, will be able to obtain German citizenship if one of their parents has legally resided in the country for at least 5 years.
In order to acquire German citizenship, the person must also support himself and his dependents without receiving social assistance.
The guest worker generation, that is, Turkish workers who came to Germany in the 1960s, foreigners who have worked full-time for 20 months in the last 2 years, and foreign spouses of full-time workers will be exempt from this.
The written exam requirement for German citizenship will also be abolished for the guest worker generation. (AA)
