The number of new citizens in Germany has risen sharply
Germany is expected to set a new record for the number of people granted citizenship. According to preliminary estimates, more than 309,000 people were issued German passports last year, Spiegel reports.
Germany may set a new record for the number of naturalizations. Spiegel reports this, citing an analysis by Welt am Sonntag and data from the federal states.
According to preliminary estimates, over 309,000 people received German citizenship in 2025. For comparison: in 2024, this figure was nearly 292,000. Thus, the country is setting a new historical high for the second year in a row.
The data is not yet final, as some federal states have not yet provided complete statistics. These include Lower Saxony, Saarland, and Schleswig-Holstein. But even the preliminary figures show that the number of new citizens in Germany continues to grow rapidly. One of the main reasons cited is the reform of the citizenship law, which took effect in mid-2024.
The new rules reduced the standard residency requirement for obtaining a passport from eight to five years. Additionally, in most cases, people are now allowed to retain their previous citizenship.
This is precisely why many foreigners who have lived in Germany for years have begun to apply more actively. Local authorities also report that there are an increasing number of Ukrainians among the applicants. After the start of the full-scale war, many Ukrainian families moved to Germany, and some of them are already planning to stay in the country for the long term.
It is expected that the first Ukrainian refugees who arrived in 2022 will be able to apply for citizenship as early as spring 2027—that is when the required five-year residency period will expire. Because of this, authorities are forecasting an even greater influx of applications in the coming years.
In 2024, the number of naturalizations in Germany rose by 46% compared to the previous year. The largest number of new citizens at that time were from Syria and Turkey. Although the growth rate may slow slightly in 2025—to about 6%—the overall trend remains very high.
The German government has previously stated that simplifying the citizenship process should help the country better integrate migrants and attract more workers to the labor market.
At the same time, the issue of naturalization remains one of the most contentious in German politics. Some in the opposition believe that the rules for obtaining citizenship have become too lenient, while supporters of the reform argue for the need to adapt the law to modern realities.
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