Opinion poll
Half of the population for new citizenship law
Written German exams and a naturalization test should be avoided for older people who once came to the country as workers through state agreements. photo
© picture alliance / Fredrik von Erichsen/dpa
The study does not reveal whether these attitudes have changed as a result of recent developments in asylum policy.
The lowering of the hurdles for naturalization planned by the traffic light coalition convinced around half of the population in the spring. This is shown by the results of a representative study Survey by the German Center for Integration and Migration Research (Dezim), which is available to the German Press Agency.
At the time of the survey – between the end of March and the beginning of May – individual aspects of this proposed law were still significantly more popular.
However, the study does not reveal whether attitudes towards reforming nationality law have changed since then as a result of recent developments and debates on asylum policy and labor immigration. The Bundestag will discuss the project for the first time on Thursday.
Citizens after just five years
According to the cabinet decision, immigrants should in future be able to become citizens after just five years of residence in Germany. Previously, they had to live in the country for eight years. If you perform well at school or at work, have good language skills or do voluntary work, naturalization should be possible after just three years. Anyone who wants to have a German passport should no longer have to give up their old one in the future.
Written German exams and a naturalization test should be avoided for older people who once came to the country as workers through state agreements. You just have to prove that you can communicate in German in everyday life without any significant problems.
63 percent of the people surveyed by Dezim liked the fact that the draft provides relief for former “guest workers” and foreign contract workers in the GDR in recognition of their life’s work. 16 percent of people living in Germany viewed this proposal negatively. 22 percent of the survey participants chose a middle value on a scale from “very good” to “very bad”.
In response to the more general question “How do you view the suggestion that the German passport can be acquired more easily under certain conditions?” According to the information, 49 percent of those surveyed answered positively. 34 percent of the Germans and foreigners surveyed expressed negative opinions. The answers from 17 percent of the almost 3,000 people who took part in the survey were in the middle.