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The naturalisation behaviour of foreigners in Germany, and findings concerning Optionspflichtige (persons required to choose between two nationalities) ,
Major changes were introduced into German citizenship law in 2000. Amongst other things, the reform made it easier to be naturalised by considerably shortening the necessary residence period (from 15 to eight years), and for the first time introduced elements of the place-of-birth principle (ius soli). Further legal amendments which have taken place since 2005 have included the requirement to demonstrate a knowledge of German at level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) in order to be naturalised, the introduction of a nationwide naturalisation test, as well as the unrestricted acceptance of multiple nationality for EU and Swiss citizens.
1,534 people took part in the BAMF’s 2011 nationwide naturalisation study
Since there have so far been no broad-based surveys in Germany on naturalisation behaviour and on Optionspflichtige, the BAMF implemented its 2011 naturalisation study on behalf of the Federal Ministry of the Interior. This quantitative studysurveyed persons who have been naturalised since 2005, those currently in the naturalisation process, non-naturalised persons who largely meet the prerequisites for naturalisation, as well as Optionspflichtige. Thus, the available data enables a comparative view of these groups for the first time.
Naturalised persons are better integrated
Persons who have been naturalised are overall better integrated than those who have not. For instance, at 58 percent, naturalised persons have more frequently achieved higher school-leaving qualifications than those who have not (35 percent), and than persons who are in the naturalisation process (40 percent). Even if all three groups are well integrated in Germany in terms of language, it is revealed that persons who have been naturalised have a slightly better knowledge of German than the two comparison groups. Accordingly, those who have not been naturalised use their language of origin more frequently than the other two groups, and the German language is less likely to be dominant in their circles of friends.
Legal equality as a motive for naturalisation
The most important reasons for naturalisation are the desire for legal equality with German nationals, as well as the feeling of being rooted in Germany. The place of birth is significant for those who were born in Germany. The majority of respondents is satisfied with the quality of the advice received from the respective nationality authorities. The sources of information on naturalisation mentioned most often are the nationality authorities and the Internet.
The study contains detailed information on the socio-demographic differences and on the divergences in terms of migration biographies between the four groups, on further aspects of naturalisation (state of information on naturalisation, perception and assessment of the naturalisation process, general conditions for lodging the application, duration and costs of naturalisation, perception of the naturalisation test, procedure for release from the previous nationality, reasons for and against naturalisation, support of naturalisation by the social environment, significance of nationality and consequences of naturalisation) and on diverse aspects of the option scheme in German citizenship law.
Research report 15 was drafted by Martin Weinmann, Inna Becher und Dr. Christian Babka von Gostomski.
The report is only available in German.