Upon naturalization, you will obtain German citizenship and become an equal citizen of the Federal Republic of Germany with all the associated rights and obligations.

With German citizenship, you can, among other things

• exercise your right to vote in local, state, federal, and European parliamentary elections.
• Enjoy freedom of movement within the European Union (EU), i.e.
  • move freely within the EU,
  • work as an employee or self-employed person in the EU, and
  • travel to many countries outside the EU without a visa.

For discretionary naturalization, the competent authority must determine in each individual case that there is a public interest in your naturalization.

Under certain conditions, the following persons may be naturalized at the discretion of the authorities, even if they have not yet been legally resident in Germany for 5 years:

• Spouses
• registered partners  
• Minor children

Naturalization becomes effective upon delivery of the naturalization certificate.

The competent authority is the citizenship authority of your place of residence.

The following minimum requirements apply to discretionary naturalization:

• You must have been living legally in Germany for 5 years. The required length of residence may be reduced under certain circumstances, for example, if your spouse, registered partner, or minor children are also being naturalized.
• Your identity and nationality must be clarified.
• You must have legal capacity or be legally represented. In the naturalization process, you generally have legal capacity if you are 16 years of age or older.
• You have a permanent right of residence at the time of naturalization, for example:
  • a settlement permit, or
  • another permanent residence permit.
  • A residence permit for the purpose of studying, for example, is not suitable for naturalization.
• You can provide for your own livelihood and that of your dependent family members without receiving certain public benefits. For reasons of public interest or to avoid particular hardship, the requirement of self-sufficiency may be waived.
• You have not been convicted of a criminal offense. If you are currently under investigation on suspicion of a criminal offense, the citizenship authority will suspend the naturalization process until the proceedings have been concluded.
• You have sufficient knowledge of the German language, at least at level B1. This does not apply, for example, if
  • you are unable to meet this requirement due to a physical, mental, or psychological illness or disability, or due to your age.
  • For minor children who have not yet reached the age of 16, age-appropriate language development is sufficient.
• You have civic knowledge. You do not need to prove civic knowledge if
  • you are unable to do so due to a physical, mental, or psychological illness or disability, or due to your age, or
  • you have a German school, college, or university degree, or
  • you entered Germany as a guest worker before June 30, 1974, or you followed as the spouse of this person within a reasonable period of time, or
  • you entered the country as a contract worker before October 2, 1990, or you joined your spouse in Germany shortly after they arrived.
• You are committed to the free democratic basic order of the Basic Law and have made a declaration of loyalty. This means that
  • you do not support any anti-constitutional or extremist activities.
  • If you have supported such activities in the past, you must have credibly renounced them.
• You acknowledge Germany's special historical responsibility for the National Socialist regime of injustice and its consequences, in particular
  • for the protection of Jewish life and
  • the peaceful coexistence of peoples and
  • the prohibition of waging wars of aggression.

• Naturalization application We
  will send you the naturalization application. When submitting your application, please bring the completed but unsigned form with you.
  
  
• Passport photo
  
  
• Curriculum
  vitae You can write your curriculum vitae by hand or create it on a computer. It should contain your complete educational and professional history. If you are involved in voluntary work for an association or organization, please include this if you wish to claim special integration achievements.
  
  
• National passport or travel document and, if applicable, valid residence permit
  
  
• Birth certificate/birth register
  extract If you were born in Germany, we require a current copy of your birth register (not older than 6 months). To obtain this, you can use the online service of the registry office.
  If you were born in another German city, please obtain the birth register extract from the relevant authority there.
  If you were born abroad and therefore do not have a German birth certificate, you must provide one of the following forms of identification:
  • International birth certificate or
  • Original certificate from your home country with a certified translation by a recognized and sworn translator

• Additional documents
  If you are married, divorced, or widowed, you must provide additional evidence. The same applies if you have children. This evidence includes, for example, marriage certificates or birth certificates of your children. You can find out exactly which documents we need for processing during a personal or telephone consultation before submitting your application.
  
  
• Proof of German language skills You
  can prove your German language skills either by graduating from a general German school (Hauptschule, Realschule plus, Gymnasium, or Gesamtschule) or by presenting a German certificate with at least level B1. The German certificate must have been issued by a recognized Telc (The European Language Certificates) institution, for example, the Volkshochschule Mainz.
  
  
• Proof of civic knowledge You
  can prove your civic knowledge either by graduating from a general German school (Hauptschule, Realschule plus, Gymnasium, or Gesamtschule) or by successfully completing a German degree in law, administrative sciences, political sciences, or teaching.
  If you do not have any of these certificates, you must take a naturalization test and submit the certificate of passing the test to us.