The bill which aims to ease citizenship rules and revoke the ban on dual citizenship was accepted by the parliament with 382-234 votes on 19th January 2024. A total of 23 Members of Parliament abstained from voting. The law grants people citizenship who resided in Germany for 5 years instead of the current eight to six years and in the case of “special integrations success” in 3 years. Children born in Germany are automatically German citizens, if one of their parents resided in the country legally for five years. Previously, this period was five years.[1]
The law will make dual citizenship possible, which was generally only allowed for other European Union (EU) members citizens. This would allow tens of thousands of foreigners born in Germany to become voters. Regarding tis topic, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, “With the new citizenship law, we say to everyone who has lived and worked in Germany for decades, obeys our laws and has a home here, you belong to Germany.” [2]
The right-wing opposition bloc criticized the project and claimed that this will cheapen German citizenship. The change was one of a series of social reforms Scholz agreed to make when he took office in 2021. Germany had one of the world’s most restrictive citizenship laws until the change. Therefore, some have called for a citizenship law that recognizes that Germany was ethnically diverse and multicultural with guest workers from other countries in 1960s.[3]
It has been revealed that senior members of the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) discussed plans to deport “non-assimilated” German citizens. After this, the party became the target of protests, and the public opposed the law. Opposition conservatives have also warned of “devaluing” the German passport and “fomenting secession”.
One of the most important aspects emphasized in the text is that Germany’s society has become increasingly diverse, and integration has become a significant issue. The changes in the law aim to reward integration efforts by granting citizenship at full speed to individuals who have been living and working in Germany for many years.
Especially for foreigners born in Germany, expanding dual citizenship is an important step. However, opposition and far-right parties criticize the dual citizenship, expressing their concerns about devaluing German citizenship and creating internal divisions. That reflects the sensitivity towards issues of national identity and loyalty.
The opposition’s reviews highlight the potential problems that dual citizenship can bring along. These concerns are issues that can influence German citizens’ sense of belonging and cause political divisions.
The adoption of the new draft law about dual citizenship and simplifying the citizenship laws in Germany reflects the current discussion along the integration of immigrants living and working in the country. It is communicable that these law changes will put forward the issues related to the increasing diversification of German society and the rising importance of integration.
However, these changes also expose the concerns of opposition parties and far-right parties. They also point out that the dual citizenship could devalue German citizenship and create confusion in matters of national identity and allegiance. These concerns are significant for social integrity and political steadiness.
It is clear, that these changes are a continuation of Germany’s integrations efforts based on historical influxes of immigrant workers. Furthermore, the migration process not only reflects current situation, but also the experiences of previous migrant communities. Therefore, the effective implementation of the new amendments in the law is a significant step towards ensuring the diversity and integration of society in an advanced level.
Possibly this will lead to further strengthening populist and far-right politics in Germany in the future. As a matter of fact, the new draft law maybe expands the migrations towards the region. Thus, although a significant democratic step has been taken, there is also the possibility that Berlin will become more uncovered for internal turmoil.
In view of that fact, migrant crisis is growing in the international arena. It can be said that not only countries facing the problem are confronted with that problem but also in many more countries there is a counterpart. On the other hand, it can be suggested that internal turmoil or difficulties in domestic policies possibly would have an influence on foreign policy output process or would have a negative impact on foreign policy.
Moreover, the strengthening of far-right parties such as the AfD in Germany and the fact that the ideologies of these parties begin to reciprocate more among the public may cause polarization in German policies and increase these polarizations. Furthermore, this situation may cause political unrest and subsequently lead to economic problems. Considering the current coalitions government in Germany, it can be said that the situation may cause the opposition to call for early elections.
In addition to all these, the occurrence of these situations may reduce the significance of Germany as an ally for western countries in short term. As a result, generally one can say that Germany’s historical integration efforts resulting from guest worker influxes are continuing. This is not only a current situation because of the changes in citizenship law, but also include the reflection of previous integration experiences in the past.
[1] “Germany’s Parliament Approves Easing Citizenship Laws”, Al Jazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/19/germanys-parliament-approves-easing-citizenship-laws, (Date of Access: 20.01.2024).
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
