"Do not devalue German passport": Union opposes easier naturalization

Interior Minister Faeser wants to reform citizenship law.

"Do not devalue German passport": Union opposes easier naturalization

Interior Minister Faeser wants to reform citizenship law. The CDU and CSU do not consider this necessary. And there are also reservations in the traffic light coalition. The FDP is bothered by the timing.

Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser has encountered strong resistance from the Union with her plans to reform nationality law. But FDP politicians also raise concerns. The Interior Ministry points out that facilitated naturalization has been agreed in the coalition agreement. The Federal Ministry of the Interior is therefore "very optimistic" that further coordination with the other government departments can soon be completed, said Ministry spokesman Maximilian Kall. According to the draft law of the Ministry of the Interior, in future it should be possible to obtain citizenship after five years of residence in Germany instead of the previous eight years.

In the case of "special integration achievements" this should be possible after three years - for example if immigrants have shown special academic or professional achievements or voluntary work or have particularly good language skills. For foreigners who have reached the age of 67, the previously applicable language level requirements are also to be lowered.

The Union thinks nothing of the plans. The German passport should not be invalidated, said CDU general secretary Mario Czaja of the "Rheinische Post". It must continue to apply: "First integration, then citizenship". The granting of German citizenship is therefore at the end, "not at the beginning, of an integration process".

"So what I've seen from the draft law so far, I haven't really found anything good, because basically the requirements are lowered everywhere," said the parliamentary manager of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Thorsten Frei. in conversation with ntv. "It's not just about the shorter stays in Germany. It's about the fact that language skills are sometimes no longer required." The insertion into the German living conditions, which said something about the integration, would no longer be required. "In this respect, one simply has to say that the requirements are being massively lowered. And when you consider that Germany already has very, very liberal citizenship law, that really isn't appropriate and leads to wrong results."

The domestic political spokesman for the Union faction, Alexander Throm, said: "Instead of controlling migration, the traffic light is giving more and more residence rights to rejected asylum seekers." In the near future, "even German citizenship should be distributed widely without demanding that the previous citizenship be given up". But anyone who wants a "commitment to Germany" must be able to expect such a decision. CSU General Secretary Martin Huber said in Berlin: "There is no need to change the existing rules." An integration service must first be demanded, in the end naturalization can then stand.

Bavaria's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann pointed out in Munich that the influx of migrants had multiplied compared to last year and that the accommodation administrations in the states and municipalities were at their limit. Herrmann sees this as a reason to urge the upcoming conference of interior ministers not to set any further incentives for immigration. Herrmann also misses activities to return rejected asylum seekers. "Where is the repatriation offensive announced a year ago? Where are the agreements promised in the coalition agreement with the countries of origin of rejected asylum seekers," asked the CSU politician.

The FDP also has concerns about the interior minister's plans. Its secretary-general, Bijan Djir-Sarai, told the Rheinische Post: "Now is not the time to simplify citizenship law. So far, there has been no progress whatsoever in returning people and combating illegal migration." The responsible departments did not even manage to appoint the special representative planned by the coalition. The traffic light should therefore not take the second step before the first, said Djir-Sarai.

In the opinion of FDP top politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, Faeser is acting too quickly here. It is true that those who live and work in Germany for a long time should be integrated more quickly, said Strack-Zimmermann in ntv's "Frühstart". "But before Ms. Faeser makes it a matter for the boss, she should first ensure that those who are illegal here, those who may have been noticed by law, are properly brought back first."

Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann wrote on Twitter that when it comes to immigration, "all helping hands are welcome in the labor market, but nobody who just wants to hold out their hand in the social system". The same applies to citizenship. The FDP interior expert Stephan Thomae tried to take the edge off the criticism of leading liberals. He said: "Basically, we also want to allow multiple nationalities, but with clear rules so that dual nationalities are not always passed on," said Thomae. Faeser's draft implements many of the agreements from the coalition agreement - "but we still need to vote on detailed questions".

The federal government's integration commissioner, Reem Alabali-Radovan, defended the plans. "We want to create a modern immigration country. This includes naturalizing faster, better and more," said the SPD politician to the newspapers of the Funke media group. Germany needs specialists and workers who "are happy to come and stay with us." If you don't do that, you're selling off Germany's economic power and prosperity. The left also backed Faeser's plans and criticized the attitude of the CDU and CSU. The Union is in danger of "falling into a culture war from the right," said Left Party leader Martin Schirdewan in Berlin.

According to the current legal situation, immigrants must have an unlimited right of residence or a permanent residence permit in order to be naturalised. They must be able to finance their livelihood, have sufficient language skills and be familiar with the basics of the legal and social system and living conditions in Germany.

The latter is verified by a naturalization test. In addition, immigrants usually have to give up their previous citizenship. Exceptions to this apply, for example, to EU citizens and people whose country of origin prevents them from doing a job. The draft law stipulates that the right to naturalization is no longer dependent on giving up one's previous citizenship.