It is a bill that is far from achieving consensus.
The German Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, unveiled this weekend the premises of a reform project which aims to change the lines of nationality law in the country.
The goal ?
Facilitate the integration of immigrants in a Germany penalized by the lack of labor by naturalizing them more quickly.
People of immigrant origin in Germany "
must be able to participate in the democratic organization of our country
", hammered Nancy Faeser in a column published Sunday, November 27 in the newspaper
Tagesspiegel
,
stressing that they "
are part of our society
".
A course of action which triggered the kibosh of the opposition, and which revives tensions around the question of German national identity.
“They have lived and worked here for decades”
The aim is to modernize the integration of foreigners working in Germany, “
a multifaceted country of immigration – and has been since the 1960s
”.
“
They have lived and worked here for decades.
They are engaged in volunteer missions.
Their children and grandchildren were born in Germany, go to kindergarten and school here
,” pleads the minister.
The law was proposed when the government coalition, made up of the Social Democrats (SPD), Liberals (FDP) and Greens, was formed a year ago.
The Minister proposes a reduction in the time limit for applying for naturalization.
Immigrants to Germany currently need eight years in the country to apply for citizenship.
The law would reduce this waiting period to five, or even three years if the individual has a perfect command of the language or has done voluntary work.
Their academic or professional success is also taken into account.
The idea is to offer nationality to people who can demonstrate integration deemed to be perfectly successful.
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The bill is based on a second component concerning binationality.
Currently, to obtain a German passport, one must pass a naturalization test with a test of knowledge of German culture, have lived 8 years in Germany, have no criminal record, support oneself, know the Constitution and speak the language.
Officially, a foreign person acquiring German nationality automatically loses their original nationality - in fact, this measure has not been applied for fifteen years.
An official directive which aims to prevent multiple nationalities, but which Nancy Faeser wants to abolish: “
it is wrong to force people to renounce their former nationality if they want to apply for German nationality.
For many, this is a painful step that does not take into account their personal history and their identity
,” says the minister, who wants to adapt the law “
to the reality of life
.”
A law reform that would support a Germany experiencing shortages of skilled labor.
The scientific, technical and health professions are the most affected by this situation: in total, there are nearly 2 million vacancies in these sectors.
"
This modernization of the right to citizenship corresponds to a real demand from employers
", explains Jacques-Pierre Gougeon, university professor and director of the German Observatory at IRIS.
"
Bosses need employees, and migrants meet this demand
."
Germany is undergoing a significant demographic decline, and the population is ageing.
The under 20s represented 18% of the population in 2000: they would represent 16% in 2060, “
while conversely, those aged 60 and over represented 23% of the population in 2000 against 38% in 2060.
In fact, if Germany wanted to maintain its population at 83.2 million inhabitants as is the case today, it would require a net migration of 310,000 people per year.
"
Today, it is 200,000
," insists Jacques-Pierre Gougeon.
For the government, the challenge is then to "
strengthen the attractiveness of Germany
" to "
support the economic activity of the country
".
"This is not the moment"
A bill that is not unanimous on the German political spectrum.
“
The liberal party of the FDP is divided on the subject;
the nationalist party AFD is against this reform, followed by the CDU
”, explains Jacques-Pierre Gougeon.
If the Greens and the SPD support this reform project, “this
is not the time to simplify nationality law
”, raised FDP general secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai in the columns of the
Süddeutsche Zeitung
on 25 November.
Several voices are raised against a new policy which would thus touch the heart of the Constitution of a German national identity, thus accusing the desires of the minister of wanting to “
sell off
” German passports.
“
So far there has been no progress in repatriation and the fight against illegal immigration
,
”
Djir-Sarai said to justify his party's position.
And to support his opposition by acquiring German nationality which should not be "
the beginning of the integration process
", but rather its "
successful result
".
Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who supports the minister's proposal, took care to link this reform to another bill on qualified immigration, which will be adopted by the Council of Ministers on Wednesday.
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Nine months after the start of the conflict in Ukraine, the number of people seeking refuge in Germany now stands at more than one million.
In addition, according to data from the Federal Office for Immigration and Refugees (BAMF), 181,612 asylum seekers, an increase of 20.8% compared to the same period of 2021.
The proportion of migrants arriving in Germany has been steadily increasing since September 2015, after former Chancellor Angela Merkel launched the notorious
“Wir schaffen das!”
(“
we will get there
”).
The country had opened its borders to the migratory pressure created by the civil war in Syria.
At the same time, the country has been honoring since mid-October the promise of a humanitarian program aimed at welcoming a thousand Afghans each month (intellectuals, army translators and political opponents) persecuted by the Taliban regime.
In Berlin, the municipality has just activated level two of its emergency plan to best accommodate migrants arriving in the country.