Jan 19, 2024 at 7:11 PM Update: 17 minutes ago
All immigrants in Germany will soon be able to apply for a German passport in addition to the passport of their native country. They also have to wait less time before they can apply for naturalization. The German parliament passed a law about this on Friday.
Until now, a double passport was only possible for immigrants from other member states of the European Union or Switzerland. Only in exceptional cases were immigrants from other countries eligible for a German passport. If migrants wanted a German passport, they had to give up their other passport.
The new law allows immigrants to apply for naturalization if they have lived in Germany for five years. Under the current rules, this is only possible after eight years. However, immigrants who want a German passport must be able to support themselves and their families.
The current law also requires that applicants for German nationality commit themselves to the “free democratic fundamental order”. The new law specifically states that anti-Semitic and racist expressions and actions do not go together.
The German government hopes that the more flexible rules will make Germany more attractive to labor migrants from outside the EU. Germany is struggling with major shortages in various sectors. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, from the social democratic party SPD, said in June when presenting the law that the labor shortage is a major brake on German economic growth.
The Christian Democratic CDU and right-wing conservative party AfD, both in opposition, voted against the law. They fear, among other things, that these rules will “devalue” the German passport.
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Image: AP
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GermanyAbroad
2024-01-19 19:54:07
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