“Clear commitment to shared fundamental values”

Reem Alabali Radovan, new nationality legislation came into effect in June 2024. Where do these changes fit into Germany’s journey towards its goal of becoming a modern immigration friendly nation?

The reforms are a huge success. Many people have been waiting for them for years, decades. With these amendments, we have at last closed the gap with other countries’ naturalisation laws. The law is just one of a range of projects adopted by the Federal Government to advance Germany along its journey to becoming a modern immigration friendly nation.

A key change brought in by this law is to open up general access to dual citizenship. What are the advantages of this change?

Many people in this country already hold more than one nationality. But in the past, holding more than one nationality was not open to everyone applying for naturalisation. By bringing in this legislation, we have at last achieved fairness and are allowing everyone to retain their previous nationality in addition to German citizenship.

The law is designed to remove obstacles to naturalisation, such as by reducing the minimum length of residence in Germany. Why was that necessary?

Shorter minimum periods of residence have long been common practice in other countries with high rates of immigration. If we don’t keep up, we become less attractive to international skilled workers when compared to other countries. Of course, everyone needs to meet other requirements for naturalisation, such as being able to speak German well, provide for themselves, and be committed to our liberal and democratic foundations. 

One priority is to make naturalisation procedures quicker and more efficient. What measures does the law include to achieve that?

Most people who become naturalised German citizens have previously been in contact with immigration agencies and submitted documents and evidence. Yet it remains the case that too many documents need to be submitted more than once, making the application process more difficult for applicants and staff alike. The new law improves information sharing between official bodies. At the same time we are digitalising many processes to support the work of naturalisation agency staff, allowing them to use data more efficiently. 

How far will the new law contribute to positive economic and social trends in Germany in terms of skilled workers, for instance?

There’s already a huge shortage of workers, skilled and unskilled, particularly in the healthcare and care sectors. We have a vested interest in ensuring that more skilled and unskilled workers come here and stay here. To do that, we need to create the right conditions. We've already done that in legal terms, but socially some things need to change as well. It’s one thing to attract these people to bring their skills to the German labour market, but it’s quite another thing to ensure that they want to stay here for the long term. That has a lot to do with creating a positive culture which welcomes people, such as integration services, nursery places for children, and fair prospects of becoming German citizens in future. Last but not least, we must ask, what is the mood in Germany? That is another factor in people’s decisions to come to Germany. 

Critics of the new law say that it devalues German citizenship. How do you respond to those views?

The truth is quite the opposite: this law creates incentives to integrate more quickly. We also included provisions in the law that German citizenship means making a clear commitment to shared fundamental values. People applying for citizenship must be committed to our liberal democratic foundations. They must acknowledge Germany’s unique historic responsibility for the crimes of the Nazi regime and their consequences, with particular regard to protecting Jewish life. German citizenship will not be awarded to anyone who behaves in an antisemitic or racist way or in any way that degrades other people.

You have spoken to people who have experienced migration. What does becoming a German citizen mean to them?

For many people, becoming a German citizen means living in safety, in a democracy with a functioning rule of law. Germany’s Basic Law puts human rights front and centre. It guarantees the same rights for all, regardless of origin, religion, gender or skin colour. Last but not least, the fact that people decide to make their futures in this country and become German citizens is both a great benefit to life here, and also a sign of how greatly it is valued.