Germany to simplify citizenship laws for children of foreign parents: Report | World news

The German government on Friday said it is working on plans to “simplify” the path to citizenship, by speeding up the naturalization of immigrants and allowing dual citizenship.

The Ministry of the Interior plans to open a draft law “soon” that will be submitted to the cabinet for approval, a spokesman told AFP.

Under the new proposed rules, naturalization will be possible after five years of residence instead of eight, and even about three years for people who are considered to have integrated well.

Children born in Germany automatically become citizens if one of their immigrant parents has lived in the country legally for at least five years.

The Interior Ministry also plans to relax some of the language requirements for older immigrants and make it easier for people to become multi-nationals.

Reform of Germany’s citizenship law was a major compromise of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s left-wing coalition when it came to power a year ago.

It comes as Germany, an aging nation home to more than 80 million people, faces a shortage of workers across multiple industries.

The labor agency has predicted a shortage of some 240,000 skilled workers by 2026 in Europe’s largest economy.

“We will create a modern citizenship law,” Scholz’s three-party government said in its coalition agreement.

“From this end, we will make citizenship more possible and easier on the way to get German citizenship.”