Last year, almost three times as many Syrians were naturalized in Germany as in the previous year. 19,100 of them received a German passport. According to data from the Federal Statistical Office, there were around 20 percent more naturalizations in 2021 than the year before, although in 2020 the numbers had fallen by 15 percent. In total, around 131,600 foreigners received a German passport last year. In Tübingen, 518 people naturalized last year—111 more than the year before. Furthermore, Syrians made up the largest group to naturalize with 88 persons, while in the previous year there were only 29 persons successfully acquired citizenship. Thus, the number of Syrians who received a German passport actually increased almost sevenfold to 1,879. Across Baden-Württemberg, 17,304 people were granted German citizenship. The Federal Statistical Office attributes the high percentage of Syrian migrants in naturalizations between 2014 and 2016 to the influx of people seeking protection.
Those who fled at that time now meet the requirements to obtain a German passport—i.e. sufficient language skills, a secure livelihood, and, in some cases, the eight-year residency requirement. Regarding the residence period, four out of five of the Syrians naturalized in 2021 were faster than others: on average, they received their German passports after only 6.5 years. Also, they were able to demonstrate “special integration achievements”, as the Citizenship Act declares. In other words, they speak German particularly well or they are involved in voluntary work. In addition, the Federal Statistical Office expects an increase in naturalizations of Syrians for the current year. At the beginning of 2022, about 449,000 Syrians had been living in Germany for more than six years—more than four times compared to the last year.
According to the naturalization statistics, after Syrians, in second place come Turkish (12,200) nationals, then followed by Romanian (6,900) and Italian (5,500). In total, people from 173 different nations were naturalized, with about one-fifth of them coming from EU countries.
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Tübingen am Neckar. Foto: tünews INTERNATIONAL / Mostafa Elyasian.
