The German Bundestag has voted overwhelmingly to repeal the fast-track citizenship law that allowed highly integrated immigrants to apply for German citizenship after just three years of residence, instead of the usual five. The law, introduced in June 2024 by the previous center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD)-led government, was aimed at attracting skilled workers to address labor shortages.
The repeal was pushed by Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and supported by a broad coalition including the SPD and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). A total of 450 lawmakers voted in favor of repealing the fast-track program, while 134 opposed it.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt described the move as a clear signal that German citizenship should be awarded as a recognition of successful integration rather than as an incentive for illegal migration. He emphasized that naturalization must come at the end of the integration process, not at the beginning.
Despite its ambitious goals, the fast-track scheme saw very limited usage since its introduction with only a small number of people qualifying for naturalization under its criteria, which included demonstrating exceptional integration and German language proficiency at the C1 level.
The new government has retained other key immigration reforms, including reducing the residency requirement to five years from the previous eight and allowing dual citizenship in most cases. The repeal reflects a shift toward a stricter immigration stance amid rising public skepticism about migration’s impact on public services.