Germany, record in granting citizenship - At least 309,852 people received German passports in 2025
At least 309,852 people received German passports in 2025, surpassing the 291,955 naturalizations the previous year. Germany has seen a surge in the number of people seeking German citizenship since a law requiring people to hold two different passports came into effect in mid-2024 and reduced the required period of residence to five from eight years.
The statistics come from 14 of Germany's 16 federal states, while data from the eastern states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Saxony-Anhalt is still missing. The western states of Lower Saxony, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein also did not provide complete data. In some cases, the figures are based on preliminary data.
Some municipalities reported that the number of naturalizations was currently falling, but some said they were preparing for a new surge next year, when many Ukrainians who fled to Germany amid the war in their country reach the required length of stay.
A spokesman for the northern region of Aurich said that, since the first major wave of Ukrainian refugees arrived in early 2022, many of them will have been in the country for five years by spring 2027. As the collective protection status for Ukrainian refugees expires in March 2027, many of them will probably use the reduced five-year requirement to gain citizenship in order to secure their legal status.
Ukrainian refugees, in contrast to many asylum seekers, mainly refugees from the Syrian civil war, who came to Germany in 2015/2016, had benefited from "considerable structural advantages." These included permission to immediately find work and receive full residence status.
The number of German passports issued in 2024 represented a 46% increase compared to the previous year. The year-on-year increase in 2025 was only 6%. In 2024, 28% of those who received German citizenship came from Syria, followed by Turkey.
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