Germany grants record citizenships with big increase in Russians

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(Bloomberg) — The number of people granted German citizenship jumped by almost 50% to another record last year, with Syrians again fueling the surge as well as a significant increase in the naturalization of Russians.

More than 290,000 people gained citizenship, up from about 210,000 in 2023, according to official data published Tuesday. Some 83,000 were Syrians, while the number of Russians granted a German passport rose more than sixfold to nearly 13,000.

Germany’s previous government under Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz loosened the country’s citizenship law in an effort to attract more skilled workers and address a persistent labor shortage.

Under the current rules, applications are possible after five years of residency, down from the previous eight years, and that can be shortened to as little as three years for those deemed well integrated.

Conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s ruling coalition — which took office last month and includes the Social Democrats as junior partners — has already moved to abolish the fast-track path to citizenship.

The shortened procedure accounted for 7% of naturalizations last year, according to the German Statistics Office.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt described the decision as a way to “reduce pull factors and bring more order to the migration process.”

It’s also a response to political pressure. Voter concerns around irregular migration have helped fuel a rise in backing for the far-right Alternative for Germany party, which wants to curtail the influx of foreigners into Europe’s biggest economy.

After the AfD became the main opposition force in parliament following February’s election, Merz’s CDU/CSU bloc and the SPD have been under increasing pressure to show they have a handle on irregular migration.

—With assistance from Zoe Schneeweiss.