Germany: Citizenship law passed
01 May 1999
On 21 May, the Upper House of the German parliament accepted a Bill on the reform of Germany's 85-year old citizenship law. 365 MPs from all parties voted in favour of the reforms, 184 MP's, members of the Christlich Demokratische Union (CDU) and the Partei des Demokratischen Sozialismus (PDS) voted against. The law will come into force on 1 January 2000. The reforms will enable children born in Germany to obtain citizenship if at least one parent has been legally resident in Germany for eight years. Adults will now be able to apply for naturalisation after eight years of legal residency instead of the former fifteen years. The new law denies the possibility of dual nationality, a provision originally planned by the red-green coalition. Children born of foreigners will have to decide on their nationality by the age of 23 and revoke one passport. After the CDU collected five million signatures against dual nationality and consequently won the regional elections in Hesse, the power balance in the Upper House changed; the government gave in and accepted the so-called FDP (Free Democrat Party) option model, which in turn was accepted by the Upper House. The CDU/CSU proclaimed that they would try and change the citizenship law again at the first opportunity. They are still thinking of instigating legal proceedings against the reform on grounds of its being unconstitutional.
The new law discriminates against the poor and relatively new immigrants. Nobody dependent on social security benefits is eligible for citizenship. Foreigners however, are less likely to find employment due to discrimination. The government's criteria of "integration" is therefore selective and discriminates against those already socially and economically excluded. Also, foreigners with a "significant criminal record" are denied the privilege of becoming German. However, the new law allows the possibility to deny citizenship even if the applicant has had to pay minor fines, this includes minors convicted under juvenile law. Another precondition is adherence to the German constitution, this means that the Office Responsible for Protection of the Constitution (ORPC) will gain even more powers. This reform has reinforced voelkisch notions of the German approach to citizenship.
Migration und Bevolkerung, Issue 4 (May) 1999.