Germany Granted Citizenship to a Record Number of People in 2024, Led by Syrians
Germany granted citizenship to a record 291,955 people last year, a 46% increase from 2023, with Syrians making up the largest group, according to data released by the Federal Statistics Office on Tuesday.
Reforms in the citizenship law contributed to the jump, the office said. Last June Germany reduced its residency requirement for naturalization from eight years to five and even three in special cases.
Many Syrians who arrived as refugees during 2015 and 2016 when former Chancellor Angela Merkel opened Germany's borders to hundreds of thousands fleeing war and persecution in the Middle East became eligible for naturalization during 2024.
As a result, they made up the largest group of new citizens, accounting for 28% of all naturalizations, or 83,150 people, a 10.1% increase. They were followed by Turks, Iraqis, Russians, and Afghans, who represented 8%, 5%, 4%, and 3% of the total, respectively.
Russians saw the largest percentage increase in naturalizations, with the number rising to 12,980 in 2024 from 1,995 the previous year. The number of Turks taking German citizenship more than doubled to 22,525.
The new citizenship law also allows individuals to retain their original citizenship while acquiring German nationality, enabling tens of thousands of Turkish citizens — many of whom, or whose ancestors, came to Germany as guest workers in the 1960s and 1970s — to become naturalized.
However, Germany's new coalition government of the conservatives and Social Democrats plans to roll back some of these measures and reinstate a minimum waiting period of five years for citizenship.
The conservatives have said citizenship should come at the end of a period of integration, not "jump-start" it, and fear shorter wait times to become a German citizen may drive increased migration and public resentment.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Israeli ‘starvation' of Gaza a ‘war crime': Sweden
Israel's refusal to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and its targeting of aid distribution points is causing civilians to starve which constitutes a war crime, Sweden's foreign minister said Thursday. In early June, UN human rights chief Volker Turk said deadly attacks on civilians around aid distribution sites in the Gaza Strip constituted 'a war crime', while several rights groups including Amnesty International have accused Israel of genocide. Israel has vehemently rejected that term. 'To use starvation of civilians as a method of war is a war crime. Life-saving humanitarian help must never be politicized or militarized,' Maria Malmer Stenergard said at a press conference. 'There are strong indications right now that Israel is not living up to its commitments under international humanitarian law,' she said. 'It is crucial that food, water and medicine swiftly reach the civilian population, many of whom are women and children living under wholly inhumane conditions,' she said. Sweden announced in December 2024 it was halting funding to the UN's Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA after Israel banned the organization, accusing it of providing cover for Hamas militants. Swedish International Development Minister Benjamin Dousa told Thursday's press conference that Stockholm was now channeling aid through other UN organizations, and was 'the fifth-biggest donor in the world ... (and) the second-largest donor in the EU to the humanitarian aid response in Gaza.' The country's humanitarian aid to Gaza since the start of the war in October 2023 currently amounts to more than 1 billion kronor ($105 million), while funding earmarked for Gaza for 2025 totals 800 million kronor, he said.
Asharq Al-Awsat
2 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
IAEA's Board of Governors Finds Iran Isn't Complying with Nuclear Obligations
The UN nuclear watchdog's board of governors on Thursday formally found that Iran isn't complying with its nuclear obligations for the first time in 20 years, a move that could lead to further tensions and set in motion an effort to restore United Nations sanctions on Tehran later this year. The International Atomic Energy Agency's board, which represents the agency's member nations, voted for the resolution at a meeting in Vienna, according to diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the outcome of the closed-doors vote. In the draft resolution seen by The Associated Press, the board of governors renews a call on Iran to provide answers 'without delay' in a long-running investigation into uranium traces found at several locations that Tehran has failed to declare as nuclear sites. Western officials suspect that the uranium traces could provide evidence that Iran had a secret nuclear weapons program until 2003. The resolution was put forward by France, the UK, and Germany, as well as the United States.
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
World Bank to end ban on nuclear energy projects, still debating upstream gas
WASHINGTON: The World Bank's board has agreed to end a longstanding ban on funding nuclear energy projects in developing countries as part of a broader push to meet rising electricity needs, the bank's president Ajay Banga said on Wednesday. Banga outlined the bank's revised energy strategy in an email to staff after what he called a constructive discussion with the board on Tuesday. He said the board was not yet in agreement on whether the bank should engage in funding the production of natural gas, and if so, under what circumstances. The global development bank, which lends at low rates to help countries build everything from flood barriers to railroads, decided in 2013 to stop funding nuclear power projects. It announced in 2017 it would stop funding upstream oil and gas projects beginning in 2019, although it would still consider gas projects in the poorest countries. The nuclear issue was agreed fairly easily by board members, but several countries, including Germany, France and Britain, did not fully support changing the bank's approach to embrace upstream natural gas projects, sources familiar with the discussion said. 'While the issues are complex, we've made real progress toward a clear path forward on delivering electricity as a driver of development,' Banga said, adding that further discussion was required on the issue of upstream gas projects. Banga has championed a shift in the bank's energy policy since taking office in June 2023, arguing the bank should pursue an 'all of the above' approach to help countries meet rising electricity needs and advance development goals. In his memo, he noted that electricity demand was expected to more than double in developing countries by 2035, which would require more than doubling today's annual investment of $280 billion in generation, grids and storage. The Trump administration has been pushing hard for ending the ban on nuclear energy projects since taking office. The US is the bank's single largest shareholder — at 15.83 percent, followed by Japan with 7 percent and China with close to 6 percent — and the bank's decision to broaden its approach to energy projects will likely please President Donald Trump, who withdrew the US from the Paris Climate Agreement and its emission-reduction targets as one of his first acts in January. Twenty-eight countries already use commercial nuclear power, with 10 more ready to start and another 10 potentially ready by 2030, according to the Energy for Growth Hub and Third Way. Banga said the World Bank Group would work closely with the International Atomic Energy Agency to strengthen its ability to advise on nuclear non-proliferation safeguards, safety, security and regulatory frameworks. The bank would support efforts to extend the life of existing nuclear reactors, along with grid upgrades. It would also work to accelerate the potential of small modular reactors. ENERGY MIX Trump administration officials and some development experts say developing countries should not be blocked from using inexpensive power to expand their economies while advanced economies like Germany continue to burn fossil fuels. But climate activists worry that funding more nuclear and natural gas projects will divert funds away from urgently needed efforts by developing countries to adapt to climate change and benefit from abundant alternative energy sources such as solar. 'Net zero does not mean fossil fuel free. It means, still, that there will be 20 percent energy coming from fossil fuels,' said Mia Mottley, prime minister of Barbados. 'We know natural gas is that clean fuel.' Banga said the bank's revised strategy would allow countries to determine the best energy mix, with some choosing solar, wind, geothermal or hydroelectric power, while others might opt for natural gas or, over time, nuclear. He said the bank would continue to advise on and finance midstream and downstream natural gas projects when they represented the least-cost option, aligned with development plans, minimized risk and did not constrain renewables. The bank would further study evolving technologies like carbon capture and ocean energy, Banga said, adding it aimed to simplify reviews and approvals. Banga said the bank would continue advising on and financing the retirement of coal plants, supporting carbon capture for industry and power generation, but not for enhanced oil recovery, which can typically secure commercial financing.
