Last year, Germany broke the record for naturalization with 291,955 people.
The German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) has announced 2024 data on the acquisition of German citizenship by foreign nationals.
Accordingly, the number of naturalizations in the country increased by 91,860 last year compared to 2023, reaching 291,955.
“There have never been so many naturalizations since statistics began in 2000,” Destatis said in a statement.
The statement noted that the Citizenship Law, which was reformed in 2024, contributed to the increase.
According to the data, Syrians ranked first among those accepted as citizens in Germany last year with 83,150, while Turks ranked second with 22,525. The Turks were followed by Iraqis with 13,545, Russians with 12,980 and Afghans with 10,085.
It is noteworthy that while only 1,995 people with Russian citizenship were accepted into citizenship in 2023, this number reached 12,980 last year. The number of Turkish citizens accepted into citizenship more than doubled during this period.
The law came into force in June 2024
The new Citizenship Law, which facilitates the transition of foreigners to German citizenship and enables dual citizenship in Germany, came into force on June 27, 2024.
With the new law, the legal residence period required to acquire German citizenship was reduced from 8 years to 5 years, and for those who meet certain conditions, this period was reduced to 3 years.
Children born in Germany were allowed to acquire German citizenship if one of their parents had resided legally in the country for at least five years. The requirement for those wishing to become German citizens to renounce their home country’s citizenship was also abolished.
