Jakarta –
About twelve million people in Germany do not have German passports, even though almost half of them have lived in Germany for more than ten years. This is likely to change with the approval of the new law on German citizenship.
In the future, people who have jobs and can support themselves will be able to apply for a German passport after five years instead of eight.
Additionally, those who join as volunteer firefighters, which is also considered a special integration feat, can become German citizens in just three years instead of six. Dual citizenship will also be possible generally for everyone, no longer just for EU citizens.
“People who have lived here for decades are finally getting full access to democratic participation without having to give up their own history,” Konstantin von Notz, Deputy Leader of the Green Party, told the Tageszeitung media, also known as Taz.
Germany wants to become a “more modern immigration country”
The SPD’s Hakan Demir saw the reforms as a “great success” despite some criticism. The traffic light coalition government consisting of the Social Democrats, the Greens and the FDP is “the only political coalition that would allow this to happen,” the lawmaker told Taz.
On social media
The Minister of State for Migration, Refugees and Integration who also comes from the SPD, Reem Alabali-Radovan, explained to German radio, Deutschlandfunk, that the requirements for obtaining German citizenship will remain very high.
Germany wants to become a modern immigration country and attract skilled workers from abroad, but it still lags behind other countries.
“We must also make an offer like the United States and Canada to qualified people from all over the world,” said Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) in a debate in the Bundestag.
The deputy head of the SPD’s parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Dirk Wiese, said: “We ensure that people who have helped build the country are also legally allowed to take part in life in Germany.”
While SPD MP Adis Ahmetovic told Tagesspiegel: “Dual citizenship is not only an economically sensible instrument to attract skilled labor in the future, but is also an overdue recognition of the great achievements of people with a history of immigration in German.”
Critics say German passports are “for sale”
In contrast, the conservative centrist CDU and CSU parties criticized the naturalization reform. In recent months, their MPs, such as CSU General Secretary Alexander Dobrindt, have repeatedly spoken about the “sale” of German citizenship.
“Preserving the value of German citizenship” was the title of a motion put forward by a parliamentary group in the Bundestag, which described the government’s plan as “fundamentally wrong”. The reform was also seen as ignoring “the migration crisis and integration issues.” They also called for carefully drafted legislation and “developing citizenship laws in line with reality.”
Speaking on Deutschlandfunk public radio, Alexander Throm, domestic policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU faction in the Bundestag, said that the deadline on the new law was too short to ensure that integration was successful in the long term.
“The government is not only changing the citizenship law, but also wants to change our society,” he said.
New article against antisemitism
Another new aspect is that foreigners wishing to become German citizens must not only recognize the basic free democratic order enshrined in the German constitution, but also recognize Germany’s “special historical responsibility for the injustice-ridden Nazi rule and its consequences, especially for protect Jewish life.”
Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann of the FDP said in relation to the occasional anti-Semitic protests on German streets: “It is not in accordance with our values if the greatest mass murder of the Jewish people is celebrated on our streets after the Holocaust and the caliphate called for as a form of government.”
Criticism from civil society
Criticism of the new citizenship law has come not only from the opposition, but also from civil society organizations. This is due to the cancellation of exceptions for people who are unable to support themselves because they depend on social benefits through no fault of their own. In the future, those affected can only be naturalized through hardship clauses. This means that they no longer have legal rights and naturalization will be at the discretion of the relevant authorities.
“Here, we would like to see a legally binding solution, to eliminate discrimination against people with disabilities, single parents or senior citizens, for example, with legal certainty,” criticized Ulrich Schneider, Managing Director of the German Parity Welfare Association. (ae/cell)
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2024-01-22 10:12:55
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