German Citizenship

1. German Naturalisation

German Citizenship Requirements for Naturalisation

You must have lived in Germany on a residence permit for at least 8 years, or You must have lived in Germany on a residence permit for 7 years and attended an integration course (this becomes 6 years on special integration circumstances)
You must prove German language proficiency of at least B1
You must be financially able to support yourself and your family without any help from the state
You must be a law-abiding citizen with no criminal record
You must pass a citizenship test
You must renounce any previous citizenships

Note: If you do not have any document, which proves your language proficiency, you can complete a government language test administered by your citizenship authority. Either way, you must know German in order to be eligible for naturalisation or any other type of German citizenship.

2. How to apply for Naturalisation?

Get an application form

Since Germany is a big country, each state and place has their immigration office to apply for naturalisation. To begin the process, you must get a naturalisation application form from one of the following places:

Pass the German Citizenship Test

To prove that you are ready to gain German citizenship, you must pass the citizenship test. This test includes 33 multiple choice questions on German living, society, rules, and laws, as well as questions specific to the place you live. The test takes one hour and you must answer at least 17 questions correctly to pass the test. When you pass the test, you will get a naturalisation certificate, which you can add to your document file.

To prepare for the test, you can take an integration course, use the practice test options of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, or simply read more information on German life and laws.

Pay the naturalisation fees

There are also certain fees associated with applying for German citizenship through naturalisation. These are the fees you must pay.

Submit all documents

Take the documents which prove you meet naturalisation requirements, your application form, the receipts that you have paid all fees, and your naturalisation certificate to the office from which you have taken the application form. The officers will go through your case and if approved, you will get the citizenship certificate. The certificate now proves that you are a citizen of Germany and not just a permanent resident.