"The vote on Tuesday made good on an election promise from Chancellor Friedrich Merz earlier this year that his centre-right Christian Democratic Union would repeal the fast-track programme. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the measure needed to go because it had devalued German citizenship. The German passport must be available as recognition for successful integration and not as an incentive for illegal migration, Dobrindt told reporters on Tuesday."
"The programme had only been in place since 2024 and was used by just a few hundred applicants, but it was politically unpopular despite Germany's declining population. A survey by ARD Capital Studio in July found that just 573 people in Berlin had applied for the fast-track citizenship since 2024, representing just 1.02 percent of all citizenship applications. Berlin was followed by 78 people in Bavaria and 16 people in Baden-Wurttemberg as of April 2025, according to the survey."
Germany ended a fast-track citizenship programme that allowed highly qualified foreigners to apply after three years of residence instead of five. The Bundestag voted to repeal the measure, fulfilling Chancellor Friedrich Merz's election promise that the Christian Democratic Union would remove the pathway. The programme began in 2024 and attracted only a few hundred applicants, with ARD Capital Studio reporting 573 in Berlin, 78 in Bavaria and 16 in Baden-Württemberg as of April 2025. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the scheme devalued German citizenship and must not incentivize illegal migration. The repeal drew support from the far-right AfD and criticism from The Left.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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