RELOVA JOURNAL

Blog/Published April 21, 2026 · Updated September 19, 2026

German Citizenship in 2026: New 5-Year Rule, Dual Citizenship, and How to Apply

By Anna Moore

German citizenship 2026: standard route is 5 years' legal residence after the 2024 reform, dual citizenship is fully permitted, but the fast track is gone.

Germany's 2024 nationality law reform (Staatsangehörigkeitsrecht) did two things that actually matter, and a third thing that got reversed in late 2025 — worth knowing before you plan your timeline around outdated blog posts. The durable change is dual citizenship: Germany dropped its long-standing requirement to renounce your prior nationality, so you can now naturalize as German while keeping your original passport, full stop, with no exceptions list to navigate. The change that did not survive is the fast-track: an accelerated three-year path for applicants who could show C1 German and "special integration achievements" (professional distinction, volunteer work, academic success) was scrapped as of 30 October 2025. If you were counting on the three-year route, plan around the standard timeline instead — there is no transitional protection for applications that had not yet been decided.

The standard clock: five years, not eight

The baseline residency requirement for naturalization dropped from eight years to five years of legal residence in Germany under the 2024 reform, and this is the figure that now applies universally. Five years of legal residence means holding a valid residence permit continuously — gaps, periods on a visa that does not count toward settlement, or time spent outside Germany beyond the permitted absences can reset or complicate the clock, so keep your Ausländerbehörde paperwork and travel records in order from day one rather than reconstructing them at year four.

Language and civics: no shortcut around B1

Regardless of which route you naturalize under, German language proficiency at level B1 (intermediate, per the Common European Framework) is required, demonstrated either through a certified language exam or, for some applicants, evidence of German schooling. You also need to pass the naturalization test (Einbürgerungstest), a 33-question multiple-choice civics exam covering German history, legal system, and society, plus generally demonstrate financial self-sufficiency — no reliance on Bürgergeld (basic income support) except in specific hardship-recognized circumstances.

What the application actually costs and how long it drags

The naturalization application fee is EUR 255 for an adult applicant (children are cheaper), payable to the local naturalization authority, and that is the official fee — not a figure that includes certified translations of foreign documents, apostilles on birth and marriage certificates, or the language-exam fee itself, each of which adds real cost before you submit. Processing time is the part every 2026 applicant complains about: this is handled at the state (Bundesland) and often municipal level, not centrally, so wait times vary sharply by where you live — some Ausländerbehörden report backlogs stretching well past a year for an appointment alone, independent of how quickly your file itself is reviewed once submitted. Book your naturalization appointment as early as your five-year clock allows; the appointment queue, not your document readiness, is usually the actual bottleneck.

Children born in Germany and other routes

Separately from naturalization by residence, a child born in Germany to a non-German parent can acquire German citizenship at birth if at least one parent has held a permanent residence permit for a set number of years and lived in Germany long enough — a jus soli provision distinct from the naturalization path above, and one that has its own document trail worth starting early if it applies to your family. Marriage to a German citizen does not create an automatic shortcut either; it can somewhat reduce the required residence period in specific circumstances, but the language and integration requirements still apply in full.

Move To Germany Guide 2026 unpacks an adjacent option in more detail.

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