Germany appears set to post another record number of naturalizations, with more than 309,000 people receiving German citizenship last year, according to data collected by Welt newspaper, reported dpa.
If confirmed, the figure would exceed the previous nationwide record of nearly 292,000 naturalizations in 2024.
According to the newspaper, the figures were compiled from 14 of Germany’s 16 federal states, with only Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Saxony-Anhalt missing.
No overall figures were available from Lower Saxony, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein, although most cities and districts in those states provided naturalization data upon request. Some of the figures remain preliminary.
Several individual municipalities told the newspaper that applications are currently declining, but that officials are already preparing for another potential surge in citizenship requests.
That is because authorities expect increasing numbers of Ukrainians who fled Russia’s war in 2022 to apply for German citizenship from next year onwards, when many will reach the five-year residency requirement for naturalization.
Germany reformed its citizenship law in mid-2024, making naturalization easier.
Under the changes, people acquiring German citizenship are generally allowed to retain their previous nationality. The minimum residency requirement was also reduced from eight years to five years.
The nearly 292,000 naturalizations recorded in 2024 marked the highest figure since records began in 2000 and represented a 46% increase compared with the previous year. About 28% of those naturalized in 2024 were originally from Syria, followed by people from Turkey.
According to the Welt figures, the increase in 2025 would be significantly smaller at around 6%.
- Record
- German
- Citizenship
- 2025
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
