The Bundestag has voted to abolish Germany’s controversial “turbo-naturalization” program, but the Alternative for Germany (AfD) has denounced the move as a cosmetic change that leaves the liberal citizenship reforms introduced by the previous left-wing government largely intact.
AfD co-leader Alice Weidel warned that the reform is being falsely presented as a hardening of policy when the most significant parts of last year’s liberalization remain untouched.
“Merz’s new migration lie: The naturalization boost remains in effect and is running faster than ever. German passports are granted after just five years and immediately at birth, with dual citizenship the norm. Only the three-year option is eliminated. A migration turnaround? Only with the AfD!” Weidel said following the vote.
Neue Migrations-Lüge von Merz: Der Einbürgerungsturbo gilt weiter und läuft schneller denn je. Deutscher Pass schon nach 5 Jahren & sofort bei Geburt, Doppelpass als Regelfall. Lediglich die 3-Jahres-Option entfällt. Migrationswende? Nur mit der AfD!https://t.co/9EiuhdY38b pic.twitter.com/fpMFeQ0yjw
— Alice Weidel (@Alice_Weidel) October 8, 2025The new law, proposed by Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt of the CSU and passed on Thursday with 450 votes in favor, abolishes the accelerated path to citizenship introduced by the previous “traffic light” coalition, which allowed highly integrated foreigners to apply for German passports after just three years. From now on, naturalization will only be possible after a minimum of five years of residence.
Support for the bill came from the CDU/CSU and SPD coalition factions as well as the AfD, while 134 MPs from the Greens and the Left voted against, and two abstained. Dobrindt said the reform redefines citizenship as a reward for successful integration rather than an incentive for migration. “The German passport will be available as recognition for successful integration and not as an incentive for illegal migration,” he told parliament. “Naturalization is an important factor for cohesion in our country, but it should come at the end of an integration process, not at the beginning.”
The three-year provision was part of a wider overhaul of citizenship law passed last year by the SPD-Green-FDP government. While that element is now gone, most of the rest remains unchanged. The general residency requirement for naturalization has been cut from eight years to five and will stay at that level, while dual citizenship — long opposed by the CDU/CSU — is now broadly accepted.
SPD deputy parliamentary group leader Sonja Eichwede emphasized that the dual citizenship change “resolves a long-standing conflict” and said the loss of the three-year provision was not significant because “it was hardly used.”
As Tagesschau reported in July, just 573 people – barely over one percent of all new citizens – had qualified for citizenship in the city state of Berlin after three years, while in Bavaria the figure was just 78, or 0.14 percent. In Baden-Württemberg, there were only 16 such cases, and in most other states, fewer than ten, reinforcing Weidel’s claim that the reform will do next to nothing to stop naturalizations.
The Greens criticized the reform’s reversal, arguing it risks deterring much-needed foreign workers. MP Filiz Polat warned that scrapping accelerated naturalization “harms integration and harms the economy,” without explaining how.
The move comes as Germany experiences record-high naturalization numbers. According to data from 13 federal states published in June, 249,901 people acquired German citizenship in 2024 — more than the population of Chemnitz — with Syrians and Turks topping the list. In North Rhine-Westphalia alone, 24,349 Syrians became German citizens.
Some regions are actively pushing to increase those figures. In Berlin, immigration officials are reportedly offered incentives such as remote work for processing as many naturalizations as possible, as the State Office for Immigration targets 40,000 new citizens in 2025. Internal documents obtained by Bild show staff are expected to complete eight naturalizations per week, with one employee describing “mounting pressure” to deliver: “We need to produce high naturalization numbers.”
