Update on getting dual citizenship in Germany – What works and what doesn’t

Germany’s upcoming citizenship reform aims to modernize the naturalization process by reducing the residency requirement from eight years to five—or three in cases of special integration—and permitting dual or multiple citizenship for all applicants. This legislative shift moves Germany away from an ancestral, blood-based model toward a more inclusive, birthplace-based system. Jan Schneider, from the Expert Council on Integration and Migration, and Professor Gökçe Yurdakul, from Humboldt University, highlight that while these changes remove significant bureaucratic hurdles, administrative backlogs and inconsistent implementation across federal states remain major challenges. Beyond legal mechanics, the reform serves as a symbolic gesture to honor the contributions of long-term residents and guest workers, though experts caution that true societal belonging requires moving beyond instrumentalizing immigrants solely for labor market needs to actively fostering a welcoming, diverse culture that challenges right-wing extremism.