HERE YOU LEARN ...
... where you can apply for naturalization
... where to get the naturalization form
... which documents you need to submit for naturalization
... how the application process for naturalization works (especially appointment )
... how long it takes to process your naturalization
Written by:
lawyer
Publication date:
01.08.2024
Reading time
9 mins
Table of Content
1. Apply for naturalization (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
2. Naturalization test Berlin
2.1 Questions naturalization test
2.2 Preparation courses for the naturalization test
3. Naturalization procedure (especially Berlin)
3.1 Initial interview for naturalization
3.2 Documents for immigration
4. Processing time for naturalization in Berlin
5. Status of naturalizations in Berlin
6. FAQ (naturalization applications)
1. Apply for naturalization (especially Berlin)
In this article, you will learn how to apply for naturalization in Germany (particularly in Berlin at the State Office for Immigration (LEA)). Although the application procedures differ from city to city or from naturalization authority to naturalization authority, the requirements are basically the same everywhere. 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 (around 9,000 per year).
The way the Berlin naturalization authority works has a certain general validity throughout Germany.
Determine the competent authority for naturalization
Before you apply for naturalization, you must first determine which naturalization authority is responsible for your case in order to determine the naturalization requirements and obtain the form. Responsibility is generally based on your place of residence if you are in Germany. As a rule, the city, county and regional administration offices are responsible. If you apply for naturalization from abroad, the Federal Office of Administration is usually responsible .
Until January 1, 2024, the district offices in Berlin were responsible for naturalization authorities. At the State Office
for immigration in Berlin, a new Department S was created specifically for the naturalization procedures, which
instead of the district offices, carries out naturalization in Berlin. The new department has already started its work
and is now processing the files or naturalization applications that are handed over by the district offices
Contact form. When contacting Department S, please note that the
The correct department or department responsible for you will be contacted. The responsibility of the departments is generally based on your own nationality.
Unfortunately, the creation of the new Department S at the State Office for Immigration does not necessarily guarantee an initial acceleration of the process. The State Office for Immigration has taken over around 40,000 open naturalization procedures from the district offices (which still have to be digitized) and at least 1,000 new naturalization applications are submitted every week. The reform of the citizenship law on January 19, 2024 has caused the number of applications to rise even further, as the required period of residence has been reduced. In particular, Syrians who immigrated in the wake 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 ask your responsible authority whether you meet the requirements for naturalization (see also Requirements for naturalization (VISAGUARD article)). The naturalization authorities in the major cities regularly compile information on this:
Apply for naturalization in Munich
Apply for naturalization in Hamburg
Apply for naturalization in Cologne
If in doubt, you can also use the very comprehensive online quick check tool from the State Office for Immigration to determine whether you meet all the requirements for naturalization. Although the quick check relates specifically to applying for naturalization in Berlin, the naturalization requirements are the same throughout Germany. The online quick check from the State Office for Immigration can therefore also be used for naturalization in other cities.
Apply for naturalization in Berlin online
In Berlin, since the State Office for Immigration (LEA) took over responsibility for naturalization, it has been possible to apply for naturalization online . In the LEA's online system, you simply have to enter the relevant information and upload the required documents. After you have sent the contact form, the State Office for Immigration will then review your application.
Of course, naturalization applications 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).
2. Naturalization test Berlin
Before applying for naturalization, a so-called “naturalization test” must usually be completed. By passing the naturalization test, you prove that you have “knowledge of the legal and social order and living conditions in Germany” (Section 10, Paragraph 2, Sentence 1, No. 7 of the StAG in conjunction with Section 10, Paragraph 5 of the StAG). The naturalization test is not compulsory (if you can prove sufficient integration in another way), but is still required by many authorities. You can ask a lawyer specializing in naturalization law under what conditions you do not have to take the naturalization test.
Questions naturalization test
The naturalization test consists of a total of 33 questions. There is a catalog of 310 questions (300 general questions, 10 questions related to the federal state), of which 33 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 been living in Germany for a while.
Preparation courses for the naturalization test
To prepare for the naturalization test, the naturalization authorities usually offer preparatory courses. Participation in the preparatory course is not compulsory, but participation is recommended if you are not yet familiar with German politics and the constitution. In Berlin , preparatory courses for the naturalization test are offered by adult education centers. On the VHS Berlin website, you can see when the next preparatory courses start and register for them . The VHS Berlin website also shows when the next exams for the naturalization test will take place in Berlin .
3. Naturalization procedure (especially Berlin)
If you have passed the naturalization test (or if one is not necessary), you can apply for naturalization. The naturalization process is started by submitting an application to the relevant authority and ends with the handover of the naturalization certificate.
Initial interview for naturalization
Many naturalization authorities offer a meeting before the naturalization application is submitted in order to inform the naturalization applicant about the requirements and the process of the naturalization procedure (for example, the naturalization authority in Berlin has done so up to now). In this preliminary meeting, the actual application form and all necessary information documents are usually handed over. Contrary to popular belief, however, the preliminary meeting is not a mandatory requirement to begin the naturalization process. The preliminary meeting is simply a service provided by the authority that can be used, but does not have to be. In Berlin, the option of an initial meeting is no longer available since the State Office for Immigration is responsible for naturalizations. The initial meetings were therefore only carried out by the Berlin district offices. In Berlin, the initial meeting has now been replaced by the online quick check tool for checking the naturalization requirements .
Documents for naturalization
If you meet all the requirements for naturalization, you can submit the requested documents to the naturalization authority. The necessary application documents vary depending on the authority before which the naturalization procedure is carried out. In addition, the necessary documents depend on the legal basis and the reason for which naturalization is being applied for (e.g. as the spouse of a German).
In principle (for the standard case of naturalization) at least the following documents are required:
Naturalization application (form)
valid passport
Birth certificates
Employment contract and salary certificates for the last six months
Rental agreement
Language certificates
Naturalization test certificate
In individual cases, additional documents may be necessary, depending on what your caseworker considers necessary. The documents also depend on the type of naturalization you are applying for. For example, if you are applying for naturalization because you are marrying a German, you must submit your marriage certificate. If in doubt, a naturalization lawyer can advise you on this.
However, the documents mentioned are not necessarily required for every naturalization. This applies in particular to cases where the documents are not available. The documents can also be replaced in the event of deviations from the standard case (see below).
Naturalization without a passport
The passport is not a mandatory requirement for naturalization. According to the law, it is only necessary that "identity and nationality" are secured. Of course, presenting a passport is an option for this, but there are also other options (e.g. ID card). In a very well-known ruling by the Federal Administrative Court, a Tibetan nun was not able to present a passport because one had never been issued. The court ruled that naturalization should be possible even in such cases, which is why presenting a passport was not necessary (BVerwG 1, ruling of September 23, 2020 - C 36.19).
Naturalization without employment contract
The submission of an employment contract and proof of salary serves as proof of securing a livelihood. However, if the applicant is not employed, he or she cannot submit an employment contract. This applies in particular to self-employed people. They must then submit, for example, the income tax assessment instead of the employment contract. You can ask your naturalization authority for details on this.
Naturalization with property instead of rental agreement
A rental agreement is also not mandatory. If, for example, the applicant for naturalization already owns a house, then the purchase agreement and a land register extract must be presented instead of the rental agreement. The authorities often also require the loan repayment plan in order to be able to check the person's means of subsistence.
4. Processing time for naturalization in Berlin
The immense processing time is often a major problem in naturalization procedures. 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 passport of the naturalization applicant expires. It is also not uncommon that, for example, at the start of the naturalization process, the livelihood was still secured by an employment contract, but then the naturalization applicant loses his job during the long naturalization process. This can then lead to the rejection of naturalization, since the decisive point in time for assessing the requirements for naturalization is not the submission of the application, but the point in time when the authorities make a decision.
With regard to the completely excessive processing times, it should be noted that the authority cannot take as much time as it wants. According to the law, the authority only has three months to process an application. However, this requires that all the necessary documents have been submitted. After the three months have elapsed, the naturalization applicant has the option of filing a so-called action for failure to act with the help of a naturalization lawyer. The action for failure to act then leads to the authority being forced by the court to decide on the naturalization.
In Berlin, a significant delay in processing is currently to be expected. As a result, there are currently almost 40,000 open naturalization procedures pending at the State Office for Immigration (LEA) and new procedures are being added every week. This problem will be made worse by the new reform of citizenship law. In this article, you will find ways to speed up the processing of a naturalization . If the authority has still not processed your application after several years, your only option is usually to file a lawsuit for failure to act with a lawyer specializing in naturalization law.
5. Status of naturalizations in Berlin
Since January 1, 2024, the State Office for Immigration (LEA) in Berlin is no longer responsible for naturalizations, but rather the individual district offices. This change has led to massive problems. The LEA has set up a new department with around 70 employees, Department S, specifically for citizenship matters. In addition, the option of submitting naturalization applications online has been introduced, without the need for a personal appointment.
The LEA has also taken over the existing applications from the district offices. But the problem remains: around 40,000 applications are pending in Berlin, and the reform of citizenship law has resulted in tens of thousands more applications.
For more information, see our VISAGUARD blog .
6. FAQ (naturalization in Berlin)
Which authority is responsible for naturalizations in Berlin from January 1, 2024?
Since January 1, 2024, the State Office for Immigration (LEA) has been responsible for processing naturalization applications in Berlin. This replaces the previous responsibilities of the district offices.
How has the processing of naturalization applications in Berlin changed due to the change to the State Office for Immigration?
The transition to the LEA has caused considerable delays and chaos. However, the agency has set up a new department (Department S) with around 70 staff to handle citizenship cases and has introduced the possibility of submitting naturalisation applications online.
What problems are there currently with naturalization in Berlin?
There are currently around 40,000 unprocessed naturalization applications in Berlin. The reform of citizenship law has also resulted in tens of thousands of new applications, which is leading to further delays.
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