If you want German citizenship, you need to meet several basic requirements. One of them is that most people need to give up their previous citizenship before naturalization can take place. This is emphasized by Matthias Regenbrecht, who is responsible for naturalizations in the Tübingen district office. The legislator basically wants people to have only one citizenship. In general, only foreigners from member states of the European Union can retain their previous citizenship. Anyone who receives political asylum and has a passport is also exempt. Otherwise he would have to make an application in his consulate or embassy. And the law of the state from which the person fled applies on their land. It could be kept there at any time. After all, there are countries that generally do not release their citizens from their citizenship. Regenbrecht cited Tunisia, Afghanistan and Iraq as examples. He said that he couldn’t deny people their naturalization when their country would not let them go. This also applies to Syrians who want to give up their old citizenship but currently cannot. However, Regenbrecht points out a box in the naturalization application that all applicants who want to be naturalized must tick. With the cross the person confirms: I am ready to give up my previous citizenship.
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Foto: tünews INTERNATIONAL; Mostafa Elyasian, 07.07.2020
