Becoming German: what the rules ask, and where applications stall.

Since the 2024 reform, becoming German no longer means giving up the passport you were born with, and the standard wait is five years. That has turned citizenship from a distant idea into a real plan for many people who came here to work. The rules are clearer than they used to be — but the applications that stall usually stall on the same few points.

1. You can keep your other citizenship

The old rule that you had to give up your previous nationality has been repealed — § 12 StAG, which set out the exceptions to it, now simply reads weggefallen. Germany no longer asks you to renounce anything.

The catch sits on the other side of the border. Some countries take their citizenship away automatically when you acquire another one, or require permission first. Germany cannot change that. Check your other country's rules before you apply, not after the certificate arrives.

2. Five years — of the right kind of residence

The regular route requires five years of lawful, habitual residence in Germany (§ 10 StAG). The three-year fast track that was introduced in 2024 for exceptional integration has since been abolished — if you read about it on an older site, it no longer exists.

Two things trip people up here:

• Gaps. Periods without a valid residence title, or long stays abroad, can interrupt the count. Know your dates before the authority works them out for you.
• The permit you hold on the day. You need a permanent right of residence, an EU Blue Card, or a residence permit for a qualifying purpose. Permits for certain temporary purposes — studying and job-seeking among them — do not qualify at the moment of naturalisation, even where the years you spent on them may still count towards the five.

3. The other conditions

Alongside the five years, § 10 StAG expects you to:

• Have your identity and nationality clarified — usually with a valid passport. Missing or inconsistent civil-status documents are one of the most common reasons files stall.
• Support yourself and your dependants without Bürgergeld or social assistance (SGB II or XII). The exceptions are narrow.
• Speak German at level B1, normally shown with a certificate. Exceptions exist where illness, disability or age makes this impossible.
• Pass the naturalisation test (Einbürgerungstest) on Germany's legal and social order. A preparation course is available but not compulsory.
• Sign a declaration of commitment to the constitutional order, including Germany's historical responsibility for the Nazi era and the protection of Jewish life. The law now states expressly that antisemitic and racist acts are incompatible with it.

The fee is €255 per adult, and €51 for a minor child without their own income who is naturalised with a parent (§ 38 StAG).

4. If you have a criminal record

A conviction is normally a bar — but minor ones are disregarded (§ 12a StAG):

• fines of up to 90 daily rates;
• suspended prison sentences of up to three months, once the probation period has passed and the sentence is remitted;
• measures under juvenile criminal law.

Several small convictions are added together, and none of this applies to offences found to be antisemitic, racist or otherwise inhuman in motive. A penalty order (Strafbefehl) you accepted without a hearing is still a conviction — if you are dealing with one now, its size can matter for your citizenship later. See our guide to the Strafbefehl.

5. Your partner and children

Your spouse or registered partner and your minor children can be naturalised together with you, even if they have not yet lived here for five years themselves (§ 10(2) StAG). They still need to meet the other conditions that apply to them. Children under 16 are assessed on age-appropriate German rather than a B1 certificate.

6. When the application just sits there

In many cities the wait is measured in many months, sometimes longer. There is a legal lever: if an authority has not decided an application within a reasonable time and without sufficient reason, you can go to the administrative court — an Untätigkeitsklage (§ 75 VwGO).

The action normally cannot be filed until three months after you applied. That is a floor, not a promise: if the authority has a sufficient reason for the delay, the court can pause the case and give it more time. And the court does not hand out citizenship — at best it pushes the authority to decide. It works best on a complete file that is simply not being processed, and it has costs. That judgement is worth a conversation with a lawyer before you file.

7. If it is refused

A refusal is an administrative decision, and the paragraph at the end of it — the Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung — tells you how to challenge it and where. Usually you have one month from the date it reached you. The mechanics are the same as for a residence decision; our residence permit refusal guide walks through them, and you can work out your exact date here.

8. When a lawyer is worth it

A straightforward application — five clean years, a good job, a passport, B1 and the test passed — rarely needs a lawyer. Your local citizenship authority (Einbürgerungsbehörde) publishes its document list, and free migration counselling can help with forms.

A lawyer earns their fee when:

• your residence history has gaps, changes of status or long periods abroad;
• you have a conviction and need to know whether it counts;
• you cannot get a passport or civil-status documents from your country of origin;
• your income depends on self-employment or has involved benefits;
• the application has stalled and you are weighing an Untätigkeitsklage;
• you have received a refusal or a hearing letter (Anhörung) announcing one.

Ask for the fee up front — many immigration lawyers quote a fixed price for an application and a separate one for court work — and confirm who will handle your file in English.

9. Before you apply

One thing worth holding on to

If you meet the conditions of § 10, naturalisation is an entitlement — the law says you are to be naturalised on application, not that the authority may do so if it likes. Delays are frustrating, but they are not discretion. A complete, well-ordered file is the fastest route there is.