Citizenship possible after 3 or 5 years under new skilled worker strategy

The federal government is going full steam ahead with its mission to make Germany an attractive immigration destination for skilled workers. As well as offering dual citizenship more readily, ministers also want to enable people to apply for German citizenship more quickly, according to a new strategy paper. 

German citizenship in as little as 3 years under new skilled labour strategy

As it seeks to tackle its growing shortage of skilled workers, Germany is hoping to tempt in foreign talent with the offer of a German passport and dual citizenship, as part of a major overhaul of the country’s immigration policies designed to modernise residence and nationality laws and make procedures faster and easier. 

“Germany must be an immigration country that is also attractive in the international competition for skilled workers,” is the key mission statement of the government’s new skilled labour strategy, which was made available to the German news portal The Pioneer on Wednesday. 

According to the draft paper, the government wants to change the current citizenship laws so that, in future, skilled workers would be able to apply for naturalisation after five years. If they have completed “special integration measures”, naturalisation would even be possible after three years. 

Special integration measures could include things like completing an integration course or getting German language certification. 

Every second migrant worker ends up leaving Germany

The skilled labour strategy - which is currently being debated by representatives from the government, trade unions and businesses in Berlin - also wants to consider an issue that has up until now often been sidelined. 

According to The Pioneer, the strategy states that the government is concerned by the statistic that half of all migrant workers end up leaving Germany. Ministers write that this is often due to a “perceived lack of opportunities” or experiences of racism and discrimination. The government’s latest discrimination report found that discrimination continues to be widespread in Germany - an issue the country will have to face as it seeks to update its immigration image.