At least 309,852 people received German passports in 2025, up from 291,955 naturalizations last year, as of this week. sunday world Have reported.
Germany has seen a surge in the number of people seeking German citizenship since it became possible for people to hold two separate passports in mid-2024 and the required time for residence was reduced from eight years to five years.
What did the report say about German citizenship numbers?
The figures come from 14 of Germany’s 16 federal states, while data are still lacking from the eastern states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony-Anhalt. sunday world.
It said the western states of Lower Saxony, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein also did not provide complete data, although almost all cities and districts in these states did so.
The newspaper said that in some cases, the numbers were based on preliminary data.
Expected surge in the number of Ukrainians seeking citizenship
Several municipalities reported that naturalization numbers are currently declining, but some said they are preparing for a new increase next year when many Ukrainians who fled Germany amid the war in their country will reach the required residence period.
A spokesman for the North Aurich region told the newspaper that the first major wave of Ukrainian refugees would arrive in early 2022, adding that by the spring of 2027 many would have lived in the country for five years.
Since the collective protection status for Ukrainian refugees expires in March 2027, he said, “many will probably use the reduced five-year requirement to acquire citizenship” to secure their legal status.
He said that unlike many asylum seekers, Ukrainian refugees, mostly refugees from the Syrian civil war, who came to Germany in 2015/2016 had benefited from “considerable structural advantages”.
These included permission to immediately find employment and obtain full residence status.
Biggest increase in naturalization in 2024
The number of German passports issued in 2024 saw a 46% increase compared to the previous year.
According to the newspaper’s data, year-on-year growth in 2025 was just 6%.
In 2024, 28% of those obtaining German citizenship came from Syria, followed by those from Turkey.
Edited by: Wesley Dockery