Non-Germans in Berlin can now visit the Landesamt für Einwanderung (LEA) website to fill out a questionnaire and find out more personalised information about whether they are eligible for citizenship.
Berliners without a German passport can now head to the website of their local Ausländerbehörde, formally known as the Landesamt für Einwanderung, to fill out a form which will give a personalised assessment of whether they are eligible to apply for citizenship.
The form assesses cases based on the current requirements to apply for citizenship, not those expected to come with the country’s citizenship law reform planned for 2024. Under the current requirements applicants must have had continued residence in Germany for a minimum of six years - but in most cases eight years - they must prove that they do not claim unemployment benefits (Arbeitslosengeld) and they must hold a qualification in German to at least B1 level.
If the online form assessment determines that they meet these criteria, applicants can begin filling out paperwork and submit their necessary documents via the website. At this point, applicants will incur the 225 euro per person fee that the state of Berlin charges to process a citizenship application.
Want find out if you're eligible? Fill out the LEA questionnaire here!
January 1, 2024, marked the day that the LEA was to take over from local citizens’ offices (Bürgerämter) and assume the responsibility of processing citizenship applications. At least this is the solution while the wait continues for the city’s new citizenship centre, which former mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) promised would significantly speed up the process.
Moving part of the citizenship application process onto the internet is a big step for Berlin’s immigration authorities which have been marred with a major backlog of at least 30.000 applications, partly due to staff shortages.
Launching the new online form did not come without its challenges. At exactly the wrong time - during its launch date - the LEA page where the online form can be found spent the whole day crashing after just 40 people submitted their applications. "The error was rectified within a very short time and the online application is available again,” a spokesperson from LEA told The Local.
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