…but hundreds of thousands of older Turkish guest workers won’t benefit from new law
Germany slightly relaxed its dual citizenship laws this week in a move that will mostly benefit its large Turkish minority.
A draft law approved by the federal cabinet on Tuesday will permit a second nationality to people who have lived in Germany for at least eight years or spent six years of schooling there.
But the new law applies only to young people and does not affect older immigrants to Germany, many of whom have lived in the country for decades.
FIVE YEARS TO DECIDE
Until now, German-born children of immigrants had five years between the ages of 18 and 23 to pick German citizenship or the nationality of their parents.
The provision mainly affects Turkish immigrants in the country, as conditions for dual citizenship among EU nationalities tends to be more relaxed.
The new law will remove the obligation to choose if a migrant’s child has grown up in Germany.
Germany’s federal commissioner for migration, refugees and integration, Aydan Özoğuz, said it was a “great signal for many young people in our country”.
She continued: “Hundreds of thousands of them can breathe a sigh of relief.
“I’m pleased that in future many young people will no longer have to decide against their parents’ nationality or even become foreigners in their own country.”
CABINET SPLIT
The new law was driven by the centre-left Social Democrat Party (SPD), a junior partner in the coalition with Angela Merkel.
German chancellor Merkel’s party has long opposed dual citizenship, arguing it is impossible to be loyal to two countries at the same time, but the SPD has argued for completely abolishing the obligation to choose between passports.
The law still needs to be approved by Germany’s federal parliament, where both conservatives and SPD members have promised to push for changes.