Germany plans to abolish a three-year fast-track naturalisation route that allowed highly qualified foreign residents to gain citizenship with C1-level German and proof of exceptional integration. Parliament is expected to advance the change when it reconvenes on September 8th, though exact timing and any transition period remain unclear. Few foreigners have used the fast-track since its 2024 introduction because achieving C1-level German quickly is difficult. The planned abolition has prompted some residents to accelerate language study and rush applications. One 33-year-old US software engineer in Berlin prioritised intensive German study to qualify.
Germany is on course to abolish a fast-track path to German citizenship that requires C1 level language skills and exceptional integration. We spoke to a foreign resident in Berlin who raced to improve her German to apply before it's too late. When Rachel, a software engineer and musician from the United States, arrived in Berlin in May 2022, she had no idea she'd have the opportunity to become German just over three years later.
One of the main reasons is because passing a C1 German language test is no easy task, especially in a short amount of time. But Rachel, who had previously been living in other parts of Europe, was keen to become fluent in German from the moment she came to Berlin. Initially, she had aimed to apply for permanent residency. Already when I arrived, I was studying a lot of German for that [permanent residence],
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