Since the end of June last year, Germany has seen a dramatic increase in applications for citizenship due to reforms allowing dual-citizenship for non-EU nationals and relaxed requirements for naturalisation. Consequently, immigration offices are overwhelmed, leading to significant delays. Reports indicate that in key cities like Hesse and Baden-Württemberg, applicants may wait years for decisions on their applications, indicating a fundamental challenge in Germany's immigration system amid evolving citizenship laws.
The legal change allowed dual-citizenship for non-EU German nationals, and also relaxed the requirements for foreign nationals to naturalise as German.
In Germany's major cities, hopeful Germans-to-be are commonly made to wait months or even years to hear a decision on their application.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, the average processing time for naturalisations in the state of Hesse was assumed to be two years in 2024.
Those who aspire to German citizenship in the state of Baden-Württemberg currently wait an average of 18 months.
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