Germany sets record for naturalizations in 2024,…

In Germany in 2024, a record number of foreigners were naturalized, with Syrians and Turks gaining citizenship at the highest rate when all nations are factored.

The data from 13 German states shows that 249,901 people were given German citizenship, which is more than the population of Chemnitz. However, this data does not include all German states, with results from Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Schleswig-Holstein still pending.

Syrians were in first place. For example, in the most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, 24,349 Syrians received German citizenship.

Turks came in second place and saw a big jump over 2023. In North Rhine-Westphalia, the number of Turks gaining German citizenship jumped 83 percent in 2024 compared to the previous year.

Some other outsized growth numbers were seen in other German states. For example, Russians receiving German citizenship jumped 623 percent in the state of Baden-Württemberg.

During the previous government, the rules for citizenship were relaxed substantially in 2024, including the wait time to receive citizenship in some cases. However, according to Welt, this may have not played such a large role in the uptick in naturalizations, as in many states, those seeking citizenship have already been in Germany for many years.

In Baden-Württemberg, the average stay of residence for new citizens was 14.1 years. In some federal states, cases of people receiving accelerated naturalization procedures were not even registered in even a single case.

This citizenship law provision, which critics labeled “turbo naturalizations,” allowed foreigners to receive citizenship after three or four years if they showed outstanding efforts to integrate. However, the new government is seeking to abolish this rule, even if it is not entirely clear if the coalition can work out an agreement.

One aspect of the new law that may have provided an outsized incentive for many long-time German residents to seek out citizenship was relaxation of dual citizenship rules. Previously, new German citizens would have to give up their old passports, but the new law changed this.