Bundestag to vote on scrapping “turbo German citizenship"

Members of the German Bundestag are set to vote on whether to scrap international residents’ eligibility for German citizenship after living in the federal republic for three years.

Bundestag to debate and vote on scrapping citizenship after 3 years

On October 8, members of the German parliament will vote on whether to scrap the country’s “turbo citizenship” law. At 4.30pm, a 30-minute debate will begin on the Bundestag floor, followed by a vote.

The requirements for “turbo citizenship”, also known as “fast-track citizenship”, are high. Eligible applicants must have been living in Germany for at least three years, must have learnt German to C1 level and be able to prove “special integrational achievements”, such as exceptional performance in their studies or at work, or volunteering. 

The proposal is widely expected to pass in the Bundestag on October 8. In this case, the objection law does not need approval from the Bundesrat, which represents Germany’s 16 federal states.

However, in June 2025, a Bundesrat memo stated that the house “regretted that scrapping citizenship eligibility by three years would remove an important instrument creating incentives for integration and recruiting skilled workers.”

The Bundesrat instead recommended that the Bundestag better promote international residents’ integration in Germany, for example by better funding German courses and integration courses.

Why is “turbo citizenship” being scrapped?

“Turbo citizenship” was initially introduced by the SPD-Greens-FDP coalition in June 2024 as part of the government’s citizenship reforms.

During its 2025 federal election campaign, the CDU promised to scrap “turbo citizenship” and broader citizenship reform, which made non-EU residents in Germany eligible for dual citizenship and reduced the residence requirement from eight to five years.

Members of the CDU have long pushed the idea that “turbo citizenship” and allowing dual citizenship for non-EU citizens “cheapens” the German passport, while the AfD have threatened, should they enter government, to strip migrants of German citizenship.

When the CDU won the election and formed a coalition with the SPD in April 2025, the parties announced that dual citizenship for non-EU nationals and eligibility for citizenship after five years of residence would remain, but the “turbo citizenship” policy would be scrapped. This was seen as a coalition compromise by the two parties.

What if you have already submitted a fast-track citizenship application?

The draft law, which the Bundestag will vote on on October 8, states that "a sufficiently long period of prior residence in Germany is an essential requirement for naturalisation, which is intended to ensure sustainable integration into life in Germany" and that “so-called 'turbo naturalisation' does not meet this requirement”. 

Since the citizenship law was reformed, most people have applied via the five-year residence route. According to Tagesschau, in 2024, just 20 people were “fast-track” naturalised in Rhineland-Palatinate, 16 in Baden-Württemberg, four in Lower Saxony, three in Hamburg, “fewer than three” in Thuringia and none in Bremen. Berlin was the only federal state where the number of people who received “fast track” citizenship was in the three digits, at 382.

If, as expected, the draft law passes on October 8, it is still unclear whether there will be a grace period for those who have already submitted their “turbo citizenship” applications.