If you want to acquire German citizenship, you not only need proof of language level B1, but also a lot of patience. Depending on the region in Germany in which the application for citizenship in Germany is made, the waiting time is between six and nine months (Leipzig), 26 to 30 months in Frankfurt and in Berlin everything is simply written in the stars. How is it that in cities with over a million inhabitants such as Hamburg or Munich, the waiting time is comparatively short compared to Frankfurt am Main?

According to the Darmstadt Regional Council, the cause is still due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The Darmstadt Regional Council, which is also responsible for the city of Frankfurt am Main, had taken over the processing of applications for compensation throughout Hesse in accordance with the Infection Protection Act. This resulted in a staff shortage (source: RP Darmstadt). However, this argument is not entirely conclusive. The fastest processing time was achieved in the city of Offenbach – also assigned to the RP Darmstadt and directly neighbouring Frankfurt.

What are the naturalisation requirements?

 In their song ‘Sascha’ from 1993, the Toten Hosen sang “Sascha, he’s German and being German, that’s hard. You don’t become as German as Sascha on the side.” Even if the song is aimed at a different background, German citizenship is linked to certain requirements:

• At least five years of permanent and legal residence in Germany
• Unlimited or permanent right of residence
• No criminal record
• Independent means of subsistence
• Passed language test level B1
• Passed naturalisation test
• Commitment to the free democratic basic order
• Commitment to Germany’s historical responsibility through National Socialism

Where were the most naturalisations in 2024? 

Unfortunately, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) does not break down the figures by municipality. However, a look at the federal states is also promising:

North Rhine-Westphalia is not only the federal state with the largest population, it also has the highest number of applications for citizenship. Nevertheless, the city of Cologne, for example, manages to limit the processing time to 20 months and the city of Dortmund to 22 months. Bavaria has the second-highest number of citizenship applications nationwide, but the metropolis of Munich has a moderate processing time of 18 months compared to Frankfurt and Berlin.

To excuse the obviously completely overburdened local authorities in 2025, we must point out that the number of citizenship applications has risen by 46 per cent compared to the previous year (91,000 applications).

Where do most of the people applying for citizenship come from?

With this high number of citizenship applications, the question arises as to whether there is a concentration in a few countries or whether it is a global distribution according to the watering can principle. We must not forget that an application for asylum does not automatically mean a desire for naturalisation. Here is the list of countries of origin with the most citizenship applications in 2024:

The number of citizenship applications from Russian applicants rose by an explosive 551% compared to 2023 (1,995 in 2023). Turkish applicants also accounted for a significant increase of 11,790 applications (+ 110%). It is also striking that the average length of stay of Turkish applicants in Germany up to the date of application was 23.1 years. Syrian applicants only stayed in Germany for an average of 7.4 years from the date of arrival to the date of the citizenship application (source: Destatis).