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Applying for German Citizenship in Berlin
All information on applying for naturalization at the State Office for Naturalization (LEA) in Berlin (2024) and other naturalization authorities
HERE YOU LEARN ...
... where you can apply for naturalization
... where you can obtain the application form for naturalization
... which documents you need to submit for naturalization
... how the application process for naturalization works (in particular the appointment)
... how long the naturalization process takes
Written by: Attorney at Law (Berlin)
Publication date: 03.01.2024
Estimated reading time: 14 min.
1. Applying for citizenship (especially Berlin)
1.1 Determine the competent authority for naturalization
1.2 Requirements for naturalization in Berlin (online quick check)
1.3 Apply for naturalization in Berlin online
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2. Citizenship test Berlin
2.1 Naturalization test questions
2.2 Preparation courses for the naturalization test
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3. Naturalization procedure (especially Berlin)
3.1 Initial interview for naturalization
3.2 Documents for naturalization
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4. Processing time for citizenship applicationa Berlin
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Apply for naturalization (especially Berlin)
In this article, you will learn how to apply for naturalization in Germany (especially in Berlin at the State Office for Immigration (LEA)). Although the application procedures differ from city to city and from naturalization authority to naturalization authority, the requirements are basically the same everywhere. In this respect, this article only focuses on naturalization in Berlin at the State Office for Immigration (LEA), as by far the most naturalizations take place in Berlin (approx. 9,000 per year). In this respect, the working methods of the Berlin naturalization authority have a certain general validity throughout Germany.
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Find out which authority is responsible for naturalization
Before you apply for naturalization, you must first find out which naturalization authority is responsible for your case in order to determine the naturalization requirements and obtain the form. If you are resident in Germany, jurisdiction is generally based on your place of residence. As a rule, the city, district and county administrative offices are responsible. If you are applying for naturalization from abroad, the Federal Office of Administration is usually responsible.
In Berlin, the State Office for Immigration (LEA) has been responsible for naturalizations since 01.01.2024.
Until 01.01.2024, the district offices were responsible for naturalization authorities in Berlin. At the State Office
for Immigration in Berlin, a new Department S was set up specifically for naturalization procedures, which
naturalizations in Berlin instead of the district offices. The new department has already started work
and is now processing the files and naturalization applications submitted by the district offices.
Department S of the State Office for Immigration, which is responsible for naturalizations, can be contacted
via a new contact form. When contacting Department S, please make sure that the correct department or the department responsible for you is contacted. The responsibility of the departments depends on your nationality.
Unfortunately, the formation of the new Department S at the Immigration Office does not necessarily guarantee an initial acceleration of the procedure. The State Office for Immigration has taken over around 40,000 open naturalization procedures from the district offices (which still need to be digitized) and at least 1,000 new naturalization applications are submitted every week. The reform of the citizenship law of 19.01.2024 has increased the number of applications even further, as the required period of residence has been reduced. In particular, Syrians who immigrated in the course of the refugee crisis in 2015 are now also eligible for naturalization.
Requirements for naturalization in Berlin (online quick check)
If all the necessary requirements are met, you can apply for naturalization. You can find out whether you meet the requirements for naturalization from your competent authority (see also Requirements for naturalization (VISAGUARD article)). The naturalization authorities of the major cities have regularly compiled information on this:
Apply for naturalization in Munich
Apply for naturalization in Hamburg
Apply for naturalization in Cologne
To determine whether you meet all the requirements for naturalization, you can also use the very comprehensive online Quickcheck tool from the State Office for Immigration. Although the Quickcheck refers specifically to applying for naturalization in Berlin, the naturalization requirements are the same throughout Germany. The online quick check of the State Office for Immigration can therefore also be used for naturalization in other cities.
Apply for naturalization in Berlin online
In Berlin, it has been possible to apply for naturalization online since the Landesamt für Einwanderung (LEA) took over responsibility for naturalization. All you have to do is enter the relevant information in the LEA's online system and upload the required documents. After submitting the contact form, the State Immigration Office will then check your application.
Of course, applications for naturalization in Berlin can still be submitted in writing. The naturalization application should then be sent by post to:
State Office for Immigration
Sellerstr. 16
13353 Berlin
In case of doubt, the application can also be submitted by a lawyer via the special electronic lawyer's mailbox (beA).
Naturalization test Berlin
As a rule, a so-called "naturalization test" must be carried out before applying for naturalization. By passing the naturalization test, you prove that you have "knowledge of the legal and social order and living conditions in Germany" (§ 10 para. 2 sentence 1 no. 7 StAG in conjunction with § 10 para. 5 StAG). Although the naturalization test is not mandatory (if you can prove sufficient integration in another way), it is still required by many authorities. You can find out under which circumstances you do not have to take the naturalization test from a lawyer specializing in naturalization law.
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Naturalization test questions
The naturalization test consists of a total of 33 questions. There is a catalog of 310 questions (300 general questions, 10 questions relating to the federal state), 33 of which can be asked in the test. To pass the test, half of the questions (i.e. 17 of the 33 questions) must be answered correctly. The questions are freely available on the Internet. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) provides an online tool that can be used to study for the naturalization test. The tool contains all 310 possible questions. The questions are generally relatively easy to answer if you have already lived in Germany for a while.
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Naturalization test preparation courses
To prepare for the naturalization test, the naturalization authorities usually offer preparation courses. Although participation in the preparation course is not compulsory, it is recommended if you are not yet familiar with German politics and constitution. In Berlin, the preparation courses for the naturalization test are offered by adult education centres. You can see when the next preparation courses start and register for them on the VHS Berlin website. The VHS Berlin website also shows when the next examinations for the naturalization test will take place in Berlin.
Naturalization test Berlin
If you have passed the naturalization test (or if such a test is not necessary), you can apply for naturalization. The naturalization process is started by submitting a corresponding application to the competent authority and ends with the presentation of the naturalization certificate.
Initial naturalization interview
Many naturalization authorities offer an interview before the naturalization application is submitted in order to inform the naturalization applicant about the requirements and the naturalization procedure (e.g. the naturalization authority in Berlin). In this preliminary meeting, the actual application form and all necessary information documents are regularly handed over. Contrary to popular belief, however, the preliminary interview is not a mandatory prerequisite for starting the naturalization process.The preliminary interview is merely a service provided by the authorities that can be used, but is not mandatory. In Berlin, the possibility of an initial interview no longer exists since the State Office for Immigration has been responsible for naturalizations. In this respect, the initial interviews were only carried out by the Berlin district offices. In Berlin, the initial interview has now been replaced by the online Quickcheck tool for checking naturalization requirements.
Documents for naturalization
If you meet all the requirements for naturalization, you can submit the requested documents to the naturalization authority. The required application documents vary depending on the authority before which the naturalization procedure is carried out. In addition, the legal basis and reason for applying for naturalization (e.g. as the spouse of a German citizen) is relevant for the required documents.
In principle, at least the following documents are required (for the standard case of naturalization):
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Application for naturalization (form)
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valid passport
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birth certificates
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Employment contract and proof of salary for the last six months
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rental agreement
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Proof of language skills
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Naturalization test certificate
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Additional documents may be required in individual cases, depending on which documents your case officer deems necessary. The documents also depend on the type of naturalization you are applying for. For example, if you are applying for naturalization due to the marriage of a German, the marriage certificate must be submitted. If in doubt, a lawyer for naturalization can advise you on this.
However, the documents mentioned are not mandatory for every naturalization. This applies in particular to cases in which the documents are not available. In this respect, the documents can also be replaced by the following documents if there are deviations from the standard case:
Naturalization without a passport
A passport is not a mandatory requirement for naturalization. According to the law, it is only necessary that "identity and nationality" are ensured. A passport is of course a good way of doing this, but there are also other options (e.g. ID card). In a well-known ruling by the Federal Administrative Court, it was not possible for a Tibetan nun to present a passport because one had never been issued. The court ruled that naturalization should also be possible in such cases, which is why the presentation of a passport was not necessary (BVerwG 1, judgment of 23.09.2020 - C 36.19).
Naturalization without an employment contract
The submission of an employment contract and proof of salary serves as proof of livelihood. However, if the applicant is not in dependent employment, it goes without saying that they cannot submit an employment contract. This applies in particular to self-employed persons. They must then submit their income tax assessment instead of the employment contract, for example. You can ask your naturalization authority for details on this.
Naturalization with property instead of a rental agreement
A tenancy agreement is also not mandatory. If, for example, the naturalization applicant already owns a house, the purchase contract and an extract from the land register must be submitted instead of the tenancy agreement
Processing time citizenship application
In naturalization procedures, the immense processing time is often a major problem. In some cases, naturalization procedures can take up to seven or eight years without the authorities making a decision. This is particularly problematic if, for example, the naturalization applicant's passport expires. It is also not uncommon, for example, for the applicant to lose their job during the long naturalization process if their livelihood was still secured by an employment contract at the start of the naturalization process. This can then lead to the rejection of naturalization, as the decisive point in time for assessing the requirements for naturalization is not when the application is submitted, but when the authorities make their decision.
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With regard to the completely excessive processing times, however, it should be noted that
the authorities cannot take as much time as they like.According to the law, the authority only has three months
time to process a corresponding application. However, the prerequisite for this is that all the necessary
documents have been submitted. After the three months have expired, the naturalization applicant has the
possibility of filing an action for failure to act with the help of a naturalization lawyer.
The action for failure to act then leads to the authorities being forced by the court to decide on the naturalization.
naturalization.
In Berlin, a considerable delay in processing is currently to be expected. In this respect, almost 40,000 open naturalization procedures are currently unprocessed at the State Office for Immigration (LEA) and new procedures are being added every week. This problem will be exacerbated by the new reform of nationality law. In this article you will find ways in which you can speed up the naturalization process. If the authorities have still not processed your application after several years, you generally only have the option of filing an action for failure to act with a lawyer specializing in naturalization law.
