Statements

We welcome the reform of the naturalization authorities in Berlin in order to ensure more efficient and, in particular, faster naturalization processes in the future. In view of the federal government's current plans to modernize citizenship law, we would like to emphasize the urgent need to address the catastrophic naturalization situation in Berlin. There are currently around 30,000 naturalization applications in the districts that have not been processed. We immediately need an interim solution that will allow the districts to continue to accept and process naturalization applications until the planned central naturalization office of the state is fully operational. This would prevent unnecessarily long waiting times and improve the efficiency of the naturalization process.

We have major concerns regarding the suspension of the processing of naturalization applications for the duration of the reform. The number of applications for naturalization is growing significantly, which poses additional challenges for the naturalization authorities. Studies by the Expert Council for Integration and Migration show that the majority of people who fled to Germany in 2015 and 2016 will reach the minimum residence period for naturalization by 2024. Up to 146,000 naturalizations are expected by the end of 2024 for people who have fled Syria alone. The Turkish community in Germany also warned of an overload for the relevant authorities, as a significant increase in naturalization applications from people of Turkish origin is expected in the coming months after the reform of the citizenship law with the general acceptance of multiple citizenship was passed.

These figures show: Suspending the processing of naturalization applications would cause a backlog of applications that would paralyze the state naturalization center far beyond the duration of its establishment. Against this background, it is necessary to create an interim solution for the further processing of naturalization applications for the duration of the administrative reform in order to ensure the processing of applications in Berlin in the long term.

Last but not least, the suspension of the processing of naturalization applications against the background of the skilled worker offensive through the amendment of the Federal Government's Immigration Act is a doubly fatal signal for international skilled workers. The state of Berlin must not gamble away its good reputation here and must set a good example. The creation of a transitional solution for the duration of the administrative reform would send a very positive signal.

The proposed interim solution is not intended to be a long-term solution, but to help address the acute problem until the planned central authority is fully operational.