Name: Fact check: Is Germany turbo-charging its naturalisation process?
Uploaded: 2025-11-18T19:05:14.461Z
Duration: 1 min 49 s
Description: Narratives online have abounded since the summer about how easy it is to naturalise as a German citizen. The Cube unpacks some of these claims.

Narratives online have abounded since the summer about how easy it is to naturalise as a German citizen. The Cube unpacks some of these claims.

Berlin

Germany's Berlin immigration office has announced plans to double the number of naturalisations to 40,000 by the end of 2025, following a backlog created when the office took over all naturalisation responsibilities from the city's 12 districts in January 2024. Despite public claims suggesting the process has been made easier, the requirements for German citizenship remain stringent, including a minimum five-year residency, a naturalisation test, and B1-level German language proficiency.

The debate over Germany's naturalisation process is rooted in previous government reforms, but the German parliament abolished the three-year fast-track pathway in October, rendering claims of a 'turbo-naturalisation' process outdated. Chancellor Friedrich Merz has also introduced new laws aimed at controlling migration flows.

Fact check: Is Germany turbo-charging its naturalisation process?

Is Germany really turbocharging the citizenship process? A video that recently resurfaced on X shows Alice Weidel, the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany, accusing Berlin's CDU-led government of making it too easy to get German citizenship. In July, Berlin's immigration office announced it wanted to double the number of naturalizations it grants, setting a target of 40,000 by the end of 2025. However, increasing the quota does not necessarily mean the government is rushing the process. Since January 2024, Berlin's immigration office has taken over responsibility for all naturalizations, a process previously handled by Berlin's 12 districts. It generated a backlog of 40,000, which explains the target set by the immigration office. Despite what Alice Weidel claims, there are still strict requirements to be able to claim German citizenship via naturalization. You need to have lived in Germany for at least five years, pass a naturalization test and demonstrate German language proficiency at a B1 level. Most of the debate around Germany's naturalization process goes back to a decision by the former government to reform the country's citizenship laws. In October, the German parliament decided to abolish the three-year fast-track naturalization pathway, making the so-called turbo-naturalization claimed by Weidel outdated. During his campaign, Chancellor Friedrich Merz had promised a shift in German migration policy, adopting three laws to control migration flows.

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