🇩🇪 Citizenship

Before the 2024 reform, the standard residence period for entitlement-based naturalisation was generally eight years. The 2024 reform reduced this to five years and, at the same time, introduced the possibility of naturalisation after three years for applicants demonstrating special integration achievements. The 2025 amendment does not return the law to the previous eight-year system. Instead, it keeps the five-year period introduced in 2024 while removing the additional three-year accelerated route. The result is therefore a five-year minimum, rather than a return to the pre-2024 eight-year requirement.