The German Association of Towns and Municipalities, Marc Elxnat, told MDR that the number of applications for naturalisation in Germany has increased significantly in recent months, not only in the cities but in the rural areas as well.
Elxnat said that while an average district in Germany used to handle about 250 applications a year, currently, the numbers reach 1,000 applications per year in some cases.
Municipal Financial Situation Contributing to Delays
The Councillor of the German Association of Cities and Municipalities said that Germany is attempting to reduce the long waiting periods that sometimes reach several years.
According to Elxnat, work is underway to reduce these delays by redeploying staff and also hiring new staff.
He added that in order to deal with the new regulations, the staff needs to be trained after the processing of applications has become more complex.
Over 200,000 People Acquired German Citizenship in 2023
The interest of foreigners to acquire citizenship in Germany continues to remain high. Based on the figures from the government of Germany, in 2023 alone, over 200,000 internationals obtained citizenship in Germany, marking a new record since 2000.
The majority of those who acquired citizenship in Germany last year were nationals of Syria, Iraq, Romania and Afghanistan.
In June of this year, authorities in Germany implemented the new Nationality Law, which aims to make the process of acquiring citizenship easier.
The new law, among others, permits internationals to acquire German nationality without being required to renounce their German nationality at first. The new law also aims to reduce the residency period requirement to five years.
