How to get German citizenship in 2026

How German citizenship works in 2026

Germany does not sell citizenship and does not grant it for investment. Buying property or investing in a business neither shortens the timeline nor replaces residence. The only mainstream route for a foreigner is naturalization (Einbürgerung) after several years of legal life in the country. If someone offers you a German passport quickly and for money, it is either a misunderstanding or a scam.

The basic rule sits in section 10 of the Nationality Act (Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz, StAG): a foreigner who has lived in Germany lawfully and habitually for five years and meets the other conditions shall be naturalized on application. It is an entitlement, not a favour: if every requirement is met, the authority must grant citizenship. But each requirement is checked strictly, and the burden of proof is on you.

Who this route suits: people ready to actually move to Germany, work or run a business there, learn German to B1 and live in the country for at least five years. Who it does not suit: anyone who needs an EU passport without relocating, quickly or without the language. For them there is a table of alternatives at the end of this page.

For the bigger picture on the country see our Germany page, and the visas and permits that start the clock are covered in Germany work visa.

What changed in 2025-2026

The citizenship modernization law took effect on 27 June 2024. It cut the standard period from eight years to five, dropped the obligation to give up a previous nationality and introduced naturalization after three years for applicants with exceptional integration: C1 German, employment, civic engagement. The three-year route lasted little more than a year.

No transitional rules

This is the most painful point. Lawmakers did not protect people who had already applied under the three-year route. The Trier court rejected an applicant who filed in April 2025 and had even sued the authority for inaction: what counts, the court said, is the law at the time of the court hearing, not at the time of filing. In practice, if the naturalization certificate was not handed over before 30 October 2025, the applicant waits five years like everyone else.

What stayed the same

Five years as the standard period, dual citizenship, the rule for spouses of German citizens and birthright citizenship rules were left untouched. However, CDU and CSU politicians repeatedly proposed in 2025-2026 to strip German citizenship from dual nationals deemed extremists or dangerous. In 2026 this is a political demand, not law, but the direction of the debate is worth keeping in mind.

The 2025 numbers

According to Destatis, 332,500 people became German citizens in 2025, 14% more than a year earlier. Among them were 19,700 Russian nationals, up 51%, which the statisticians link directly to the right to keep a previous passport. Only about 1,500 people, under 1%, were naturalized via the special integration fast track. New applications reached 467,400 while 371,100 procedures were completed, so queues keep growing. The average time lived in Germany at naturalization was 12.4 years, and 14.1 years for Russian nationals. Five years is the legal minimum, not the typical timeline.

Naturalization requirements

All conditions are set out in section 10 StAG. They must all be met at the time of the decision, not only at the time of filing.

The 2024 reform matters for self-sufficiency. Previously, benefits received through no fault of the applicant did not block naturalization. Now the law requires managing without Bürgergeld and social assistance, and exceptions are limited to a few groups. For freelancers and entrepreneurs this means income must be stable and backed by tax returns.

You do not have to give up your previous nationality. If naturalization is obtained by deception or knowingly incomplete information, it can be revoked within ten years of the certificate being handed over, even if the person is left stateless.

Getting to five years: permits, permanent residence and time abroad

The five-year clock runs from the start of lawful habitual residence, not from permanent residence. Permanent residence itself is not required to apply: a Blue Card or a permit that can lead to permanent status is enough. But permanent residence is a safety net: it is not tied to an employer and needs no renewals while your case is pending.

In 2026 the minimum salary for a Blue Card is 50,700 euros a year, or 45,934.20 euros for shortage occupations and recent graduates. More on work routes in our article on German residence for skilled workers, and on freelancing and remote work on the Germany freelance visa page. Germany has no investor residence programme: business permits are issued for a specific project of economic interest to the country.

How long you can be away

Under section 12b StAG, trips abroad of up to six months do not interrupt habitual residence. Longer absences are allowed only if you return within a deadline set by the foreigners authority. If absences add up to more than half of the required period, that is more than two and a half years out of five, habitual residence is as a rule considered interrupted. After a break, earlier years in Germany can be credited, but for no more than three years. Living between two countries with rare visits to Germany does not lead to a passport.

If you do not live in Germany yet, the five years usually start with a work residence permit or the opportunity card for job search. Entrepreneurs with a German company will find accounting and reporting in Germany useful: a clean tax history of the company helps prove self-sufficiency.

How and when to get a settlement permit is covered in permanent residence in Germany in 2026.

Spouses, children and citizenship by birth

Spouses of German citizens

Marriage alone does not confer citizenship. But section 9 StAG lets the spouse or registered partner of a German citizen apply after three years of lawful residence in Germany if the marriage has lasted at least two years. If the marriage has lasted three years, the residence period can be shortened in the public interest. All other requirements apply: B1, the test, self-sufficiency, a clean record.

The applicant's family

The spouse and minor children of a foreign applicant can be naturalized together with them even if they have lived in Germany for less than five years. In 2025 such joint naturalizations made up 19% of all cases. For children under 16, age-appropriate German is enough, and the fee for a child with no income of their own is about $60.

Citizenship by birth

• A child of a German citizen is German at birth. But if the German parent was born abroad after 31 December 1999 and lives abroad, a child born abroad does not acquire citizenship unless the birth is registered in the German register within one year.
• A child of foreign parents born in Germany becomes a citizen if at least one parent has lived in the country lawfully for five years and holds a permanent right of residence.
• Descendants of people stripped of citizenship in 1933-1945 on political, racial or religious grounds can have it restored through a separate procedure with no residence in Germany. In 2025, 12,000 people became citizens this way.

Government fees and real costs

State fees for naturalization in Germany are modest. What is expensive is not the fee but five years of life in the country, language courses and document preparation.

Fees can be reduced or waived on grounds of fairness or public interest. We quote Murblz support individually after reviewing your documents.

Compare with all programs: second passport cost in 2026

Step-by-step process and timelines

Processing time is the biggest unknown. In Berlin, all applications have been centralized at the state immigration office since 1 January 2024, and it handles a huge caseload. If there is no decision after more than three months, the law allows a lawsuit for inaction, but as the Trier case showed, the court applies the law in force at the time of the hearing.

While your application is pending, your residence permit must stay valid and the conditions must remain met. Losing your job, going on benefits or a new criminal case can halt the process: during an investigation the decision is suspended by law until it ends.

Documents for the application

The exact list is set by your state and city authority and can vary. Usually they ask for:

• the naturalization application and questionnaire, often online;
• a valid passport and your residence or permanent residence card;
• a birth certificate and, if applicable, a marriage certificate, with apostille and translation;
• proof of registered address and a rental contract;
• an employment contract and payslips or, for the self-employed, tax returns and a tax adviser statement;
• a pension contribution record and proof of health insurance;
• a B1 German certificate or a German school-leaving certificate;
• the Einbürgerungstest certificate;
• the signed declaration of commitment;
• details of any foreign convictions or investigations.

Foreign-language documents must be translated. Order Russian certificates early: apostilles and translations take time, and some documents can only be obtained through a consulate or a representative.

Dual citizenship and a Russian passport

Since 27 June 2024 Germany no longer requires you to give up your previous nationality. German citizens who acquire a second passport also no longer lose German citizenship. The rule is not retroactive: those who lost citizenship under the old rules do not get it back automatically. We explain multiple citizenship in more detail in our article on dual citizenship in 2026.

What Russian nationals should know

• You can keep your Russian passport; Germany does not prohibit it. In 2025, 19,700 Russian nationals became German citizens and 24,100 applied.
• Russian citizenship law requires notifying the Interior Ministry of a second citizenship within 60 days. From abroad this can be done through a consulate, and failure to notify carries liability.
• Voluntarily joining the armed forces of another country whose nationality you hold, without German consent, leads to loss of German citizenship unless it would leave you stateless. This does not apply to minors.
• Since 1 January 2026 all 18-year-old German citizens receive a military service questionnaire. Men must answer, and men born in 2008 or later undergo mandatory medical screening. Service itself is voluntary for now, but the law lets the Bundestag introduce conscription as needed by a separate act.

A detailed guide with steps, children, taxes and military service is in the article Germany and Russia dual citizenship.

Taxes: what a German passport changes

Germany taxes on residence, not citizenship. While you live in the country, you pay tax on worldwide income. In 2026 the basic allowance is 12,348 euros, the 42% rate starts at 69,879 euros of taxable income and 45% at 277,826 euros. Capital income is taxed at 25% plus the solidarity surcharge, and church members also pay church tax. More on the taxes in Germany page.

The uncomfortable truth is that the passport ties you to the German tax system even after you leave:

• Extended limited tax liability. A German citizen who was tax resident for at least five of the last ten years and moves to a low-tax country while keeping substantial economic interests in Germany pays tax on a wider range of German income for another ten years. This rule applies specifically to German citizens.
• Inheritance and gift tax. A German citizen remains fully liable for this tax for five years after leaving if they no longer have a home in Germany.
• Exit tax. Not limited to citizens: when someone who was resident for at least seven of the last twelve years leaves, gains on holdings of 1% or more in companies are taxed as if the shares were sold.

If you plan to live in another country after getting the passport, start tax planning before you move. You can compare regimes in taxes by country.

Where a German passport lets you travel

In 2026, the German passport opens 186 destinations without a prior visa, the same as the passports of Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain. Trips to the US need an ESTA, to the UK an ETA and to Canada an eTA.

• The right to live, work, study and run a business in any EU country without permits.
• The right to vote in Bundestag and European Parliament elections.
• German consular protection and, where Germany has no mission, protection from any EU state.
• Keeping your previous nationality and passing German citizenship to your children by descent.

To see how the German passport compares with others, visit our citizenship section.

Risks, refusals and uncomfortable truths

• There is no fast track. Five years is the minimum, and on average people naturalize after 12.4 years in Germany. C1 German and achievements no longer shorten the period.
• The law changes mid-process. The three-year route was repealed without transitional rules, and pending applications were not saved.
• Queues. In 2025, 467,400 applications were filed and 371,100 procedures completed. Waits in big cities can stretch into years.
• The money must be your own. Bürgergeld or social assistance at the time of the decision almost always means refusal. Unstable freelance income is a common cause of queries and delays.
• Convictions and investigations. Even small sentences add up, and an open investigation freezes the decision until it ends.
• Long absences. Living between two countries can reset your residence period.
• Political backdrop. Proposals to strip dual nationals deemed dangerous of citizenship had not become law in 2026, but they come up regularly.
• Citizen obligations. A military service questionnaire for young men and a longer tax tie after you leave.

What we can do is calculate your residence period in advance, find weak spots in your documents and file only when the chances are real.

Alternatives: what suits whom

All residence options are collected in our residence permits section. If you are unsure where to start, write to us: we will compare Germany with two or three realistic alternatives for your family, income and taxes.

What a German passport gives you

How to get German citizenship: step by step

FAQ

186 visa-free destinations with a German passport